Swiftcurrent Creek Precious and Fragile Things

Fresh blood. Thank you. Bazi the staunch atheist said a silent prayer to the darkened heavens, and followed her nose in the direction indicated by a helpful gust. She owed much to the wind; they were fewer new, and it was harder to keep the borders adequately patrolled.

Like she had done, Dovev waited silently at the borders. He was a rangy creature, made thin by time alone - or so Bazi presumed. Like her, he came from the north, which set the pale Alpha's tail to wagging as she approached him, blue eyes scrutinizing the male's broad body for marks. He seemed to be in good health.

"You're like me," she stated bluntly - meaning from the north. "How long did you travel to get here?" Bazi had been carried, literally, by conservationists she had scarcely caught a glimpse of during her long rehabilitation.