Stone Circle My song for you this evening

Kristjan had returned from his latest exploratory diversion only to find that Kvarsheim's precious Anda had gone missing.

Troubled, the boy chose to remain in their territory to help support his siblings and packmates during this time of new upheaval. It was a disturbing turn of events, especially when he still felt surges of uncoiled suffering in his heart — hence the constant traveling to ease his mental burden. These swells came less and less, but this particular stage of grief seemed unending.

And Skáld's absence brought fresh waves of pain to his hopeful spirit.

***

Hope won out, this time.

Skáld's voice lifted over the stone circle, and Kristjan raced to meet him, his heart pounding — willing the sound to be real.

Finally sighting the curly-haired Anda was like seeing the return of a loved one thought dead. Skáld! he cried, using all the restraint he could manage not to smother the collapsed wolfdog in his relief. He licked his muzzle, his ears, between his eyes, unable to speak again until he had ascertained that Skáld was really there and all in one piece. What happened? he blurted, a whine in his voice as he looked over the weakened wolfdog.

His breath hitched as he thought, unbidden, of how close he had come to losing another pillar in his short life. Though he almost felt normal at times, this troubling stage persisted still, even after all this time.

Stage four: depression.