Totoka River everloving

Things were desperately quiet on the homefront. The wolf would stare up into the sky, envying the flock of cohesive birds, or the movement of deer in pairs through the trees. The canyon camp was empty, and the scents of the Tartok wolves Ivev had traveled west left were like puffs of dandelion seeds- faint and light on the wind. She had come to accept their coming and going as the way the seasons turned without her control, yet the white wolf was longing for a place to call home. It had been almost a full moon since Ivev had wandered into the Teekon, flitting from landmark to landmark. There had been enough to eat or scavenge, but she wouldn't fare well in the winter, even with her northern roots. Her kind was dependent on each other to help carry through the winter. Besides, packs always had some sort of family atmosphere, no matter how twisted or demented it was. She would enjoy the company of others through the winter, just as she had done in Abendrot.

The air was cool and misty, pulling out puffs of breath from Ivev's jaws as she traversed a wide, grassy slope that ended at the banks of the river. She had walked down this way just to cross at a narrow point, in which large shales of granite were strewn into the water. It would be easy to cross them with a leap or two, and then keep up the pace east. But the white wolf drew up to the river bank first, her muzzle bent low to lap up a few drops of water. The light morning fog was ringing with the sounds of birds, and the occasional crow from the autumn-foliaged trees upriver.