Big Salmon Lake And I Ran

Meeka hesitated. She hadn't been expecting the stranger to show such interest in her. She kept her distance, but decided it would be okay to tell him her story.

"I was on a camping trip with my family," she began. She paused before continuing. "A little orange dog with a poofy tail came near the tent at night when my parents were sleeping inside." She didn't know what kind of animal the intruder was, so she described it to the stranger as best as she could. "I thought it wanted to hurt them, so I broke my leash and chased it away. But I couldn't find my way back."

"By the time I managed to find the camp again, they were gone." She explained. It had taken her days to return to the place. She'd tried to smell her way back, but the intruder had led her on a long, winding chase through the woods, causing the inexperienced tracker to wander in circles. "I've been looking all over for them." She wondered if perhaps this wolf had seen them.

"Yesterday, a couple wolves caught me wandering through their territory. They did this to me," she said, referring to her wounds. "I thought they were going to kill me, but I managed to get away."

Meeka turned the tables and posed a couple questions of her own. "You're a hybrid too?" She studied him, and recognized a few shared traits. She guessed he was part husky, like herself, but with a much more prominent wolf heritage. "Does life get any better for us out here?"