So be it

Pump did not quite share the same views about companionship of other wolves. She hadn't formed any sincere or genuine attachments in her birth pack, she preferred to work and scavenge for food alone and joined a group hunting only out of a dire necessity. Had she not been born in the wild, but in an urban area, she would probably have chosen her dog ancestors way of life - living near people and scavenging in the dumps. No pack or close relationship there were needed.

"I am fine with my own company," she concluded and got up to her feet. She had been lying down for quite a while and felt that it was the best time to return to the Ridge. The wolf-dog stretched and shook her coat, then eyed the antler before her thoughtfully, trying to decide, whether she should bring it back or not. "But that's the way I am and you are the way you are," Pump was not very good at expressing smart things with the right words, but then again she wanted to make sure that just because her peers about family, children, mateship etc. were different and did not work for her, didn't mean that she felt any less respect for those, who did and were happy with their choices.