Whitewater Gorge only one remained to haunt me.

The roar of the rushing rapids below well matched the roar of blood in her ears, an overload of auditory information that left her head hollowed and numb. 

His words were swept away by the echoing ferocity of the Gorge but he was hard to miss - a bear was her first thought. Blearily, her gaze stuttered to focus upon him - her lips twitching back to reveal a lackluster snarl that seemed more scared than defensive if the whites of her eyes were to be believed. 

A heartbeat passed and the conformation of his gargantuan build clicked some thought process into place: wolf, not bear. 

She who would have been Liri rolled onto her back with a grunt, scarred belly displayed in submission - the language of bodies the only she could dreg up to answer a question she had not heard.