Dragoncrest Cliffs i ran into the devil, he loaned my twenty bills

It had been a long journey from Trigeda, what with the pit stops in the taiga. Ephraim would be lying if he said he wasn't looking forward to the opportunity to rest safe within the territory. He hadn't been able to explore much of it prior to leaving, so he was also looking forward to getting better acquainted with it. From as far back as he could remember—since his memories of Ankyra Sound were fragmented and indistinct—he had been on the move. His family had been roaming prior to the great storm that drove him into the taiga, and he had only been in Drageda's land about as long as he had been traveling with Thuringwethil. He sorely wanted for some stability at last.

He was silent as he followed Helix and Eurycrates, bringing up the rear in case the loner got any funny ideas in his head. But the large brown wolf didn't seem like as much of a threat with the Fleimkepa present, and he could see Heda's hulking dark form in the distance. His tail, which had been held at a rigid half-mast, drooped down to hang at ease now that the commander was near.

Squinting, Ephraim watched as another figure, nearly as large as Thuringwethil, approached. His hackles ruffled defensively and he took up a stiff-legged gait that carried him swiftly forward. Recognition began to nag at him when he could make out the sharp golden splashes on the black-and-white coat, but he wasn't certain until he was close enough to make out the juvenile's paws. He was pleased to see dew claws on the back feet, unlike any wolf he had ever met. Ephraim couldn't help his lips twitching toward a smile at the sight of Tux, now far larger than he, but he did his best to keep his composure and seem serious and grown up. After all, he was just a little hybrid among large full-blooded wolves. He couldn't afford to act like the excited kid he seemed to be next to them.