Lost Creek Hollow it was not meant that we should voyage far.

Heat raced to her cheeks and the tips of her ears at Rheia's question. It sounded like a correction to Sif, and she was quick to nod in agreement and attempt to pronounce the word correctly. "Ma-oun-tin," she repeated, tail wagging when it sounded just about right. "Maoun-tin." There. Got it.

Her victory was cut short by concern and sympathy as the other girl struggled through her own response. Sif's ears flicked forward and back, uncertain, until she moved a bit closer to Rheia and touched her nose to the other girl's cheek, mouth opening to speak words of comfort, only to find none. Instead, Sif just tried to convey earnest encouragement and patience through her expression alone, and ended up gazing at Rheia in something like dewey-eyed adoration.

She seemed to give up on her first train of thought. Sif had no idea where she'd been going with that. But her next words made a bit more sense to the girl, and the general idea Sif gleaned had her wagging her tail once more. "Home with me?" she asked excitedly, eager to have another wolf with her in Sleepy Fox Hollow.