Hushed Willows You are the reason.

Dakota was gone, as was her mother. What he felt far more personally, however, was the lack of Dorea that followed suit.

Unable to locate his young friend, Sundance made to retrn to his mothers - carrying with him the overwhelming weight of his sorrow. He had experienced overwhelming loss in his young lifetime. Losing his third parent had been an adjustment, but with his demise came finality. Uncle Cortez had taken his leave, departing with warmth and love. This time, however, things were different.

She had simply vanished, like her family before her, and Sundance couldnt help but wonder if it was all his fault. Had he not been welcoming enough? Did she change her mind, decide she didn't like him anymore? The boy pressed on through the weeping trees, tail low in defeat and with a smooth little pebble held gently between his teeth.

When first he saw the ashen-pelted stranger laying below a willow's branches, he felt... afraid, almost. He was a giant of a wolf in comparison to all the adult males he'd known in his family, lacking the slender and long-legged frame of both Ariel and Cortez. His hide was marred in places, and Sundance stared curiously at the sores but could not find the courage to venture closer.