Ankyra Sound Once you had a hook and ladder up into the headless night

Some things were much better in theory than in practice. The open road appealed to Sugar immensely, yet it was also very lonely. That was harder on her than she'd anticipated, particularly after her parents' deaths. It didn't help that she hadn't found a single trace of her brother. Day after day passed without any sign of him or anyone, leaving the yearling feeling adrift and more than a little bereft.

In her desperation for a little company after the solitude stretched on too long, Sugar retraced her steps back toward the sound. She had no doubt Stryx and the others were taking care of Raleska, that she and the pups were in good hands. This house call was much more about fellowship than medicine, though she showed up with a spray of various herbs in her mouth nonetheless.

She placed them gently at her feet where she paused about a dozen yards from the new mother. "Hey," she greeted softly, "it's Raleska, right?" Sugar wondered if the she-wolf remembered her at all. Just in case, she didn't move any closer just yet. "How are you feeling?"