The Heartwood Light a blunt, grab my gun, slide these old boots on alone.

With her eyes shut, Towhee didn’t know someone was nearby until she felt the vibration of footsteps through the blanket beneath her back. Her eyes popped open and she jumped a little when she saw a young wolf a few yards away. She hadn’t caught his question, naturally, but as she hastily rose onto all fours, she realized he looked a little familiar.

Unaware that he’d essentially just posed the same question, she said, Do I know you? and then her eyes cut to a much more familiar figure over his shoulder. Howdy, stranger, Towhee said, feeling her heart squeeze with gratitude that he’d come here when she’d called, even silently.

Her brother didn’t say anything as he looked curiously at the young stranger. Towhee refocused on him too, trying to place him. He looked to be about the same age as her two youngest. And the longer she looked, the more obvious the family resemblance became.

You’re one of Kukutux’s, aren’t you?