that was just a dream (J)

Bazi was quick to respond, ever alert to the threat of intruders and potential pack-mates. With the hour of Njal and Tuwawi's departure close at hand, she was wary of the need to bolster numbers - for every ten wolves that joined, few lingered beyond a two months.

Swift, feather-light steps brought her to the source of the summoning howl. She went alone, confidence in her own leadership abilities growing with each day that passed. She was starting to believe the spiel - the thereat that was required by a leader, and that Fox had shunned in favour of practicality.

The wolf at her door was a shaggy, grey-brown creature - lean like hammered metal. She approached him with her tail flagging high, muzzle raised and nostrils flaring. He carried the scent of greenery on him - flowers, possibly herbs.

Within twenty feet of the pledge, Bazi stopped - tall and wide-legged, drawing a deep sample of the stranger's scent into her lungs. "Name and business," she told him, her voice firm but gentle. If he was any kind of wolf, he knew the drill.