Wapun Meadow But he left it in the bag with the tag still on

Reigi's behaviour wass nothing like the other wolves he'd encountered; where mama and auntie Indra were dominant in their adulthood and represented the unquestioned authority of Lucas' life, Reigi was strangely submissive. He didn't understand it and read it incorrectly, freezing in place while she trembled, unsure of what he'd done to make her upset. "'M sorry," he tried, pressing back his beige ears. That he didn't know what he was sorry for didn't matter.

Another trait separating Reigi from Nunataq was that she seemed capable of speech, whereas her lookalike daughter never uttered a word. The masked female began to say things that didn't make sense, and Lucas frowned, rocking back onto his chubby haunches. He shook his head, rounded ears flapping. "No, auntie Indra is Nu and Marten's mama," he said, but there was a thread of doubt in it. If Indra was truly their mother as Lucas had always believed—because his father had been all but entirely absent from his life and therefore wasn't around to explain Indra's adopted children—then why did Nunataq look so much like Reigi? "I think," he added, voice wavering as his frown deepened. Maybe he wasn't so right about it as he thought.

They had a sister named Cone or something. He tucked it away somewhere in his mind, that he might share it with them later, once he knew what was really going on here. Although he wasn't sure what to think now—of Reigi, of Nunataq and Marten, of aunt Indra—he was extroverted and kind at his core, and her greeting made him smile. "I'm Lucas," he introduced, beating his tail rhythmically in time with hers. "Why don't you live here? With Nu and Marten and Cone? If you're their mama, I mean."