Whitebark Stream upon one summer's morning

her name is amalia. kivaluk says, a bit more defensively than he meant to. but hearing this stranger who has known nothing but natigvik's kindness call amalia 'your wolf' made him cringe. made him ( even more ) prickly. the least she could do, he thinks sourly, was learn her name.

he parts his mouth to speak, prepared to defend himself next despite that she was right, he closes it with a small snap as she continues on. the stubborn part of him that is still childish wants to tell her that he only takes lessons from his father ...but if that were true he'd be waiting for some undisclosed amount of time.

there was no telling when kigipigak would return. and...kivaluk was the oldest son. he could not afford to be childish. not anymore.

right, the boy concedes, ears fluttering against his skull; thinking that he was still close to the safety of natigvik. but not close enough. what kind of foul beasts? other wolves? kivaluk inquires because he's assumed that they — wolves — were the top of the food chain.