Qeya River mysterious as the dark side of the moon

a pale wolf of heavy stock met them, shorn of ear and the wearer of a suspicious gaze. loko felt pinned underneath it.

every day he was learning: from his mothers, he learned the unspoken social graces -- how to speak, how to touch, how to carry oneself among peers.

from his father's reception of this man, loko learned something deeper: a kindred wariness which curled around them like a sleeping cat.

he remained silent. his da spoke for the two of them now, and it was up to the man with ox in his blood whether to accept or turn them away.