Wapun Meadow If I was out of my body you would see the truth

Aventus, it seemed, succeeded in going unnoticed.

The boy followed along with the others, but slunk cleverly from one adult's shadow to the next, concealing himself from his sire's allies despite his interest in such a large congregation. He wasn't as curious as his sister and his heart didn't thrum with excitement at the idea of leaving home or meeting a bunch of strange wolves. Strange wolves in such numbers were surely trouble, and like his hesitant mother, Aventus didn't like being here.

Wapun Meadow didn't enchant him, much, either. The image of a larger, sun-kissed white pup played on the backs of his eyelids as he moved from Rosina's shadow to Evien's and then Astara's. He remembered being here and interacting with her and not understanding much of it. He was bigger now and understood better now, but the gilded girl was not among these wolves. The others failed to capture his attention like she had, all but one.

From Astara's flank, Aventus could practically taste the tension that wound through her. He lifted his eyes to the culprit, a she-wolf standing far taller than she ought to here where Ursus ruled. Even a child like Aventus knew that was stupid, and so his gaze lingered on her, but his ears listed toward his dam for indications on how one dealt with such pomp. The words she spoke didn't match her actions, and astute little Aventus picked up on it all.