Moonspear The change

Elke seemed interested in the greater heights of the mountain, and Sialuk smiled. She was a proud child, glad to have been born in a place as magical as Moonspear. It was a powerful place, too. The wolves who were born here were destined to do great things. Even the wolves who came here later in life followed similar paths. Sialuk's own mother had been born on an island, and she had made her way here to meet taataa. For this, Sialuk was grateful. Without the two of them meeting, she would not exist and neither would her brother, Saviguk.

Her cousin confirmed what Sialuk had suspected: they were siblings.

She did, Sialuk said. Is there a reason she might not?

Being timid was not necessarily a reflection of a wolf's worth. Sialuk's own mother was often classified as such, although her daughter knew from experience that her mother was far tougher than she let on. Gentle, yes. But her timid nature seemed to be a mechanism for signaling to others that she wished to be left in peace.

Perhaps it would be better for Sialuk to adopt some of that nature, although there was probably too much Ostrega in her blood for that to ever truly happen.