Nova Peak I

There was a hole in Moon Runner’s heart the shape of Sister (@Saturdays Sunrise)… none would fit it perfectly, but Cloud Dancer came close. Perhaps it was the familiar pale pelt or their similar age that bestowed the gift of kinship… but no, it was deeper than that. Cloud Dancer’s spirit was magnetic to Moon Runner’s. As if they were two notes in the same song.

When Cloud Dancer nosed her coat, Moon Runner’s back legs kicked out in a big stretch, as if to present the opportunity to check her pelt up and down. Plenty of nature’s scents were there – but no other’s. And furthermore, Moon Runner’s own aroma was cold and not yet spiced with the season.

She loped after Cloud Dancer.

Would she seek out a mate? The memory of Blood Spot claiming dominance over Proud Mother during her estrus was vivid. Moon Runner only knew a linear hierarchy. The wellbeing of the leading pair’s children came first. What instinct would reign supreme? To procreate or to abide by pack law?

The smell of Grim Tooth furled from Cloud Dancer’s pelage in great wafts.