Stone Circle Crawl out of love

While she could no longer consider her sister too fat to hunt, Nanook quickly guessed that Desna wouldn't be leaving the Stone Circle anytime soon. She hadn't yet seen the pups, but the way Desna hardly left the den at all in the week and a bit since the birthing was enough to convince her of this. Which rendered her sister just as useless to take care of herself, and just as dependant on the pack to provide for both her and the little bundles who had effectively stolen her sister and turned her into an antisocial mole.

Not that she was bitter, or any different herself.

Nanook sloshed through the quick moving stream until the waters sped halfway up her legs, cool and brisk. She shivered, though the late summer sun brought warmth. For all the things she missed of the night, at least the daylight provided this. With careful attention, she scanned the depths and peered through the ripples to discern the dance of sunlight on the surface from the treasures she sought beneath. Simple thoughts filled her, thoughts of water and fish, and when she would find the energy to follow the stars again and breach Easthollow to venture in the unclaimed land. No, no. Not until Desna could hunt for herself; not until Desna didn't need her anymore, at least in the way she needed her now.

But there was a bore in fishing, and another slippery flash blurred by while her thoughts roved to more curious matters. Like the Stone Circle, and what had put the rocks in place. Like Desna, and if she even liked eating fish. Like starlight, and how she actually missed the pitched laughter of foxes at night.

Like the little grey and gangly pup drinking away downstream. Her eyes lit up. She'd kept a good distance from the small family who had joined Easthollow in the earlier months of summer, for no reason other than the business of her own studies and schedule. But today, even company looked better than her sorry bout of "fishing" and she ploughed toward him with the current in great and clumsy splashes.