Stone Circle Dusk will reveal...

Merrit squinted through the shower of kisses, and he held himself firm. Her force might have toppled a smaller child, but his sister was small compared to him. His legs stayed steady and kept him upright even as she pressed against him. While stoic in composure, Merrit's content showed in the slightest wag of his tail, and the occasional steal of his tongue to return a peck across her cheek.

But Arlette seemed to gather her courage, and soon she clambered off to present herself to the party. Merrit watched, unafraid, but content to remain in the background. The attention of the bigger wolves seemed most fixed on Arlette, and he had no desire to take that from her. He blinked when she glanced his way, but his periphery caught movement, and when he turned, Keen had already moved to press against his side.

His duty shifted from his youngest sister then to focus on the older, who seemed to have drawn just as much attention as Arlette, yet in subtler ways. Merrit felt the anxiety that reeled from her fur, and he pressed closer to offer Keen his strength. With a lean, he reached his nose to her ear, and whispered something soft for only her to hear - mono-syllabic, and babbled, but his murmur ran with the intent to comfort and reassure.