Moonspear you’re the voice

Ray shot his mother a sheepish grin when she plucked a stray needle from his hide, pausing to give himself another little shake to remove any other cling-ons. He hastened back to his mother's side and was glad she chose to go around rather than over the mountain. He had lost a little weight and put on a little muscle since coming to Moonspear, but he was still a chunky boy and it was still terribly hard to climb the higher slopes.

He felt a sense of foreboding from the moment Meerkat next opened her mouth, almost as if she could read his mind. Well, of course she could. She was his mom, and everyone knows moms can read their kids' minds. It didn't stop him from feeling a little deflated by how easily she cut to the quick of it.

He contemplated fibbing — everything's fine, mam — but Ray couldn't bring himself to do it. Not to her face, not when she had specifically asked. Once he started, it all came rushing out. I'm just... Not sure I fit in here, ya know? There's so many of us now and everyone else seems to know what they're doing here, but I don't. Every job already has someone doing it.

I keep thinkin' about how big we are here, and how tiny Moontide was. The whole pack is only four or five wolves, mam! Ray's brows sank a little. They had all seemed like very capable wolves, and yet he couldn't help worrying how they would feed their children with so few.