Sun Mote Copse Starting from zero got nothing to lose

Four days since impact.

An outside observer might conclude that life was terribly dull for a four-day-old wolf cub, but for Alyx, it was plenty eventful. She'd already learned what it felt like to be hungry, to be cold, and to have a tummy ache. She knew how it felt to be stung by a bee, and the hot, painful swelling of her flesh in response, a telltale indication that little Alyx was probably mildly allergic to bees. She knew how to produce a high-pitched cry when she was dissatisfied, a low keening sound when she was only a little unhappy, and a variety of crooning whimpers when she was pleased.

You could say that Alyx was working very hard, indeed, to adapt to this new life. Already she'd put on over a pound, literally doubling in weight since her birth, though she'd also lost a bit of water weight in the process. Her senses of touch and smell were much stronger already; she could tell when Lumps 1 and 2 were touching her and when they weren't and she could sometimes catch snatches of the early spring scents from outside. When this happened, she would crane her wobbly head and sniff with interest.

Kind of like right now. She couldn't see or hear Bronco creeping into the den, but she could smell him, aided by his rapidly shedding fur. Alyx lifted her head as best she could, using her scrawny forelegs to leverage herself further, and sniffed in her older brother's direction with an inquisitive mewl.