Phoenix Maplewood first star I see tonight

A naïve as he might seem, Dusty recognized the let-down, and was finally seeming to internalize that this wolf didn't want to be friends with him. He gazed at her wordlessly for a moment, his dark eyes blank and his crooked whiskers quivering. It was the longest break in sound and motion that Ruona had experienced since Dusty first came into sight.

"Thank you for explaining, ma'am," he said at last, a little more reserved than before as an incredible loneliness welled up in his chest.

Not for the first time, Dusty thought about turning around and marching home. Or better yet, wailing at the moon until the flower eater tracked him down once more, and then he'd even have company on the long journey back to the desert.

"You've got some awfully helpful ancestors," he remarked, but he'd begun to backtrack as he retreated (for the first time) back into himself. "That's really somethin'. All mine's good for is passin' on a singin' voice."

This was a joke, but it fell a little flat.