the lonely mountain

The wolf that she had called forth turned out to be her cousin, thank the heavens above. Justice laughed and closed the distance between them, and reached with her own muzzle to touch his outstretched one, giving him a warm familial nuzzle. Justice felt more at peace than she had in a long time and finally knew where she would settle: wherever her cousin lived. "I know!" she exclaimed, not sure where she should even start. "When I was one, I went to Seahawk Valley with my siblings to see if any of our other family was there." The journey had not gone exactly as planned, unfortunately.

"On my way home, I got sidetracked and lost, basically. I was taken in by a group of wolf and coyote hybrids called the Khalas." Justice hesitated, unsure yet again abut how much to reveal. This was her cousin, however, and she was compelled to tell him all. "They were so interesting, Mordecai! I learned so much about healing and fighting and life while living with them." Now came the rough part. "However, I was chased out because I trusted the wrong wolf. His name is Kadezj, and he is a horribly smooth talker. He talked me into siding with him over the alpha and when he went to challenge him, he lost. I was nearly killed because of him."

Despite all that, though, she was here with him, keeping him alive and semi-healthy because she was more honorable than even she knew. "We were only saved because his brother stepped in for us, and we were able to escape. I fled and he followed. I've been taking care of him, because of the oath I swore to him." She had felt stupid about that every single day since, but there was nothing she could do about it now. "I know I shouldn't have, but I am a woman of my word. Our family honors our word, for better or worse." With a whine, she looked into her cousin's eyes and asked, "Do you think you could take us in for the winter and help him heal? He won't cause any trouble. I daresay he isn't in any shape to do anymore than sleep for a few more weeks."