Verdigris Ravine skin

He spoke of the wolf.

Candle drew in a quick breath and went still, thoughtful; it brought her some measure of peace to know that he wanted to protect her, and all of The Tribe. For a moment she let her thoughts wander, let herself imagine what might follow: the wolves would not forget them if they retaliated. Thus far she had not been sought, and with everything in her she wanted it to remain this way.

And besides, their numbers were dwindling. Candle would remain by S'ari's side even if she was the only one left, even if all of the others faded away as Meridian had. But she did not want to do this alone. No wolf, She decided finally, her reluctance showing in her expression. M-Meri... gone. Only K'oa, Kusuma, and you. Stay. Need you.

She beckoned for him to follow her so that their few spoken words would not disturb S'ari. T-Tri - be small, And she did not know what to do about this, but still lacked the proficiency in Zoug's language to express more complex thoughts. Instead she turned questioning eyes to Zoug, asking wordlessly for his advice, his opinion. To her it made no difference, but Candle was no leader; she was their Mediator, and her job was only to ensure that The Tribe thrived. If thriving to them meant maintaining what they had established under S'ari, she would try. But first she had to find out what her remaining kin truly wanted.