Porcupine Ridge thinner

the child was male; vuk whined at terich, motioning him closer with a thump of her tail. exhaustion swam in her head as her eyes fell to the little ones who had not lived, and she swallowed a sob. "b-bury ... p-plea..se," came her voice, cracked with thirst and ragged with disuse. 

a thought came to her then -- she staggered to her paws and lifted the newborn gently into her mouth. staggering only once, vuk moved at a halting pace in the direction of the den she had shared with illea during her time in the ridge pack.

the scent in the den was stale, but it was warm and large enough for the two wolves and the pup to curl close near each other. vuk entered without hesitation, and lay down with a sigh, pulling the child against her belly and lying a foreleg over him to keep his tiny body close.

terich would join them when he had finished, she was sure -- her grief was so great that she did not want to know where he had buried her other children, and she wept silently until sleep bore her off, ears filled with the quiet suckling sounds of her only living pup.