Emberflame Ridge schneemusik

Riiiight.  Yeah, he totally had a reason.  Totally.  He was under their spell, so it was probably all a lie.  Probably insulting him too with whatever that unfamiliar word was.  The brush creaked and shuffled a bit as he backed into a more sturdy branch, stuck for a moment.  Mali had stopped growling since he wasn't being actively chomped on, but he still was ready to use his own teeth if status changed.

'Cause I gotta find a place for both me and my sister first.  And maybe dad too.  But he seemed really unsure about that last addition, as he was beginning to think it was more and more likely that their only remaining parent didn't care if they existed any more either.  It sure seemed like it to Mali.  The stupid women and their kids were apparently more important to Delight than his own neglected brood.  They're trapping us there.  They just ignore us so we aren't strong enough to leave -- they want everyone to stay forever.  At least until they decide to toss us out because we're not their dumb babies and then we get to die or something.  Which probably wasn't true unless he kept up his mouthing off, but creeping around trying to avoid the other wolves his age and raiding his own pack's caches because he couldn't do anything else with any reliability wasn't exactly a way to live.  Mali assumed his sister's condition was caused by her being too afraid to go "steal" as much as he did, it wasn't like he knew any better.  Honestly, another pack probably wouldn't want him anyway, but he hadn't thought that far.