Moonspear you are to me like a very, very wild thing

That sounded pleasant. It had been a long while since she and her sisters had haunted the wilds together, inspiring awe and terror on the wolves of the valley floor. It was not, however, an activity she thought Nikai would approve of, somehow. He was so good and sweet, and his family had been broken up at such a young age by such violence...

But this was the way of the wilderness, she reminded herself. This was power, and power was the only thing that protected her from losing the rest of her family. From losing him. Weilding power over the other denizens of their realm would keep her little niece and nephews alive. One day, it might keep her own children alive.

"I look forward to it," she said sincerely, moving back to the dry elk skull and shifting it carefully into place among many others. The antlers were the real find; Alya wondered if they might make good chew toys for future generations. "Perhaps, with the famine that is sure to follow this mass exodus..." she trailed off, sounding uncertain. "I've been wanting to have pups of my own for a while, now. But maybe it's not the right time."