FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

I sense a change in the air!

It isn't a new season,

but maybe...

It is inside my bones.

Little digitigrade legs of white and grey fur hurried towards a seated human, paws kicking up dirt. But a single misstep sent the pup tumbling into John.

"Gotcha!" He laughed and caught Tekobu. A little tail wagged as he was steadied. Little furry hands with even smaller claws grabbed onto the human's arm. Canine eyes gleamed happily at the fur less arm.

"Careful..." John whispered as the pup's jaws opened wide. A muzzle full of teeth gently clamped down on the human arm and nibbled. The pup softly growled, holding onto the boy's arm. John moved his arm around and the pup scrambled to hold on. After several shakes, Tekobu opened his jaws and released John's arm before giving it a few licks. "Well..." John raised his arm away. 'At least that's better than biting.' The human thought while he was licked.

Under Amu's direction, the boy was helping Sanuswa with a few house chores and watching after her boisterous pup, Tekobu. The babbling infant pup was barely one full year old, and a handful for anyone but John liked helping villagers. His tongue was speaking the tribal language better, and he had fun spending time with different people. He was very thankful to be watching Tekobu than learning medicine from Kazana, the village's eldest shaman. Sanuswa was wary at first and closely watched John, but quickly came to trust the human.

"Ah! What are you doing?" John laughed as the pup fell into his lap and bit his knee. He helped Tekobu scramble out, but couldn't let him wander too far. "Hey. Don't go over there." John blocked the little canine from walking away. The little canine fell down and started whining.

"Aaaa... Wauh!" Tekobu loudly complained and looked around.

"Uh oh." John held onto the little infant, but didn't know what to do. "Sanuswa." He spoke up and looked over. A light grey and white patterned canine head turned to see the unfolding scene.

"Are you okay Tekobu?" The pup's mother crawled to the whiny pup, breasts lightly shifting with every move. Like any nursing mother, Sanuswa left her breasts uncovered. The canine mother had a typical pattern of light grey and white fur, but with strong hints of brown in her back, sides, and elsewhere. Long hair of matching color trailed down her back to the base of her idle tail. Sanuswa sat down beside John and took control.

"Hungry?" John watched the mother move her whining son and settle him on her leg. The little canine quickly found what she was offering in front of his nose and latched on. Keeping an arm around her nursing pup, Sauswa turned her head to John. "Can you bring me the small basket with two feathers and a seashell tied to it?" She requested.

"Yes!" John jumped to his feet and hurried inside. Less than a moment passed before the human returned outside with the correct item.

"Thank you." She hummed and pulled out a cloth with materials to sew. John sat down to the she wolf's right, waiting to help her with anything else. The wolf's right arm lifted up to shake a cloth.

'Huh?' The boy noticed something on her that he hadn't before. "There's a mark on you." John crept closer and pointed at the mother wolf's other side. Within the hints of brown along her light grey and white fur was fair colored skin.

"Hm? Oh, yes that is my scar." She lifted her breast and showed him that the line traveled underneath before stopping in the midst of her chest fur.

"A scar?" He reached out and touched it. The bare line of healed skin felt odd, but similar to his own skin. "Did a claw cut you?" John guessed. The natural weapons seemed to be the likeliest culprit.

"No." She softly chuckled. "It was from a hunting accident. When I was younger I was part of a hunting group. We were in the woods far across the moor." She waved a hand. "I had my spear in hand, ready to stab a deer we had run down. But someone using a bow let loose an arrow from further away and hit me by mistake."

"Ouch." John frowned.

"It was the worst thing I had experienced. It was lodged in my skin, but we couldn't pull it out or the arrowhead might break off. Kazana had to cut my skin here," her clawed finger drew along the line, "to lift the arrow out." John found himself holding onto the same spot along his body while she spoke. "The bleeding was stopped and I slowly healed. Ever since I whelped Tekobu and nursed him," her muzzle bloomed into a happy smile as she looked down at her suckling pup, "my breast became large enough to cover the scar. All I feel is him." She concluded the happy outcome.

"Wow. That's a really good story!" John liked it.

"Someone without a scar is without a story."

"What does that mean?" His brow furrowed. Sanuswa's smile didn't fade as she ruffled his hair.

"Hey!" He covered his head and leaned out of her reach. The boy stared at the ground and combed through his longer hair. A pair of paws stepped into his view.

"Hi John." A familiar canine face peered down at the boy.

"Azande! What are you doing here?" John looked up at the adolescent she wolf looming over him.

"Looking for you." She smiled.

"Hello Azande. How have you and your mother been?" Sanuswa greeted the young amber red and cream furred canine.

"We're doing alright." She answered. "My mom is at home right now." The mother wolf nodded as Azande turned to John.

"Can you come play? You're not chanting or doing other shaman stuff." She pointed out.

"Um..." John looked over at Sanuswa nursing her infant pup.

"It's ok. You can go." The wolfess smiled and approved with a nod. "I have Tekobu within my sight." She rubbed her suckling infant pup's back. John didn't notice Azande's tail start to wag, but he felt a strong pair of hands grab him.

"Come with me." She pulled the human to his feet.

"Okay, okay." He paused to brush dirt and grass from his naked rear. John only made two steps before a canine hand grabbed his leg and pulled the him back down. The human found himself in the arm of Sunuswa, by her side.

"Thank you for taking care of Tekobu with me." Sanuswa gave the boy a strong hug with her free hand, and licked his cheek.

"You're... welcome." He tried wriggling out of her strong grip, but to no avail. Azande held back a laugh while the human was coddled by the nursing mother.

"Ok. You two stay out of trouble." She released John and patted his back.

"Bye." John called over his shoulder at the mother and pup before leaving with Azande. John wiped his face as he kept up with the adolescent she wolf. 'Wolf spit...' He grimaced while jogging.

"What were you doing with Sanuswa?" Azande asked.

"I was helping her watch Tekobu."

"Why?"

"Amu told me it was part of my training to help villagers. It was fun."

"Did you say fun?" Azande cleared her ear with a finger.

"Yeah..." He answered. The adolescent gave him an odd look but shrugged it off as they reached the wide moor bordering the village. The human spotted a few pup's around their age standing idly. They were of varying heights, anywhere between his age and six or seven years old. Their coat colors were just as unique, from black to white and every variation in between.

"Who are they?" John felt a little nervous as they slowed down to a walk.

"We're playing with them." Azande grinned and approached the group. "I'm back!" She barked and waved. All six pups looked surprised at who Azande had brought back with her.

"The human?" One of the pups spoke up.

"Yeah. John." Azande answered.

"Can he play?" A young female pup wondered.

"He is naked." The youngest pup pointed at John curiously.

"He could be a shaman!" The young female smacked the youngest one's hand resulting in a startled yip.

"His sheath looks funny." Another whispered.

"And his face is so flat..."

"Hey!" Azande piped up and all of their canine ears turned to the adolescent. "We needed another person, so I knew John would be able to play." A male wolf of brindle fur color stepped forward. He was the same height as Azande.

"Do humans not wear clothes?" He questioned.

"He is training to become a shaman." Azande told them. "And humans look different."

"Why should he play with us?" One asked.

"If you do not, then he can put a curse on you!" Her biting remark made the younger ones lean back some.

"Then show us." The brindle male challenged. The amber red and cream furred she wolf turned to John.

"Show us magic or something." Azande kindly asked to the boy's shock.

"I can't do that!" John fretted under a whisper.

"He hasn't learned one yet," the female adolescent whipped around, "but when he does..." She added nonchalantly. "He can use it on you." Her voice hinted at excitement. The brindle male's ears fell back and his snout wrinkled up for a moment.

"Fine. He can play too." He yielded.

"What are we going to play?" John whispered to Azande.

"Capture..." She whispered.

"What's Capture?" He asked.

"Ok!" The brindle furred male declared. "Let's play capture."

"Wait." John spoke up. "How do you play?"

"Do humans not play?" The brindle male looked down at the boy.

"Humans don't play capture?" A younger pup scratched an ear curiously.

"Just hurry up and explain the game to him." Azande impatiently placed her hands on her hips.

"Capture is a game where one is picked to... Is he listening to me? His ears aren't facing me."

"Yes! I am." John spoke up to everyone's surprise, leaving them silent.

"His ears can't turn like ours." Azande mentioned.

"Okay..." He mumbled. "It's a game where one has to capture everyone else. Each person captured helps the one capture the remaining players. The last person captured begins as the one who captures everyone else for the next game." The brindle furred male explained.

"I understand." He nodded.

"Ok. I'll start as the capturer." The brindle male raised a hand. All of the other pups scattered away.

"Run John!" Azande barked. The startled human ran away. Everyone was spread out around the capturer by a short distance like a ring. A female red wolf around his height trotted up to the human.

"Are you nine springs old?" She spoke up. Much of her fur was a warm reddish orange, like a fox. Long red hair was braided and the rest was tied into a loose tail fashion that was common.

"No. I'm uh... almost twelve summers." John had to think when spring ended for the area.

"Really?" Her head tilted a little, letting her hair sway. "You're short for twelve."

"Aaah!" A series of barks and yells made their heads turn as the brindle male chased after an Akita pup first. Their hair trailed behind them as others avoided their path.

"Run away Okaho!" A few cheered, but the older brindle male managed to grab the smaller female Akita. Both were sent tumbling to the ground, but the brindle male was triumphant in "capturing" the female Akita. With bits of grass in their fur, they jumped to their paws. Now both set their sights on the remaining six to capture. The brindle male broke off in a run towards Azande and two others. The Akita's eyes focused on John and the female red wolf.

"Run!" She squealed happily. The red wolfess pup ran to the left and John ran to his right. The Akita turned and pursued the human. John ran through the grassy moor only for a body to tackle him swiftly. Knocked onto his back, John felt the canine pin his arms.

'I'm caught.' The human blinked his eyes, and was met by a toothy canine smile.

"Gotcha." The Akita triumphantly smiled. In a flash she sprang over him, making her fur colors blur past his vision until a loincloth hit his face. John quickly rolled over and jumped to his feet. Everyone was either being chased or chasing someone, except for one small pup hiding among a tall section of grass. John pointed directly at the hidden canine whose face immediately lit up in surprise.

"I'll capture you!" The human declared and charged. The smaller fluffy grey furred wolf yipped giddily and darted away. He laughed and chased after the smaller pup. Thanks to his age, John managed to catch the smaller grey wolf pup who squealed in defeat. The fast paced game had left Azande as the sole person who hadn't been captured, but enough pursuers were able to grab ahold of the quick footed adolescent.

"Azande is the capturer now!" The youngest ones cheered as everyone regrouped. John trotted over to the center with everyone else.

"John!" A sharp aged voice made the human freeze mid stride. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look. An elder female skunk was standing nearby glaring intently at John. A few voices murmured behind the naked human.

'Uh oh.' Azande's ears fell back, knowing what would happen next.

"Sorry. I have to leave." He told her before running to the skunk. 'I'm in trouble again.' He nervously thought. The old skunk's expression was usually neutral, but her brow was firmly knitted with hard eyes. Without a word she turned around. John's shoulders slumped forward as she led him back into the village. He peeked over his shoulder at the group of pups. They were silently watching him leave until he left their sight.

'Darn.' John stared at Kazana's white striped tail. 'I wish she would've waited a while to teach me again... I was having so much fun.' He followed the shaman into the medicine hut. Kazana sat down where several medicinal plants were stored. Her tail tapped the ground beside her for the boy to sit. John masked his disappointment and joined the skunk as she began pulling out different herbs. He didn't like learning about herbs in the slightest. It was confusing and in their dried out states, John could hardly tell one apart from the other.

'She's pulling out nearly a dozen...' John tensed at the impending difficult lesson. Not only that, but he was being taught more complex aspects about the spirits. There were different kinds of spirits, good and bad, but certain ones to call upon for what was needed. It was taking up so much concentration, John began to wonder if he was already reaching a limit. A similar situation was developing with chants. The basic ones Amu had taught him were only the beginning. There were more complex chants for healing, hunting, fishing, ensuring fertility, and so much more. Becoming a shaman was not what he had imagined...

"We will start by reciting all of the herbs that grow within the forest." Kazana's old voice spoke. A black clawed finger pointed in the direction of the village's closest forest.

***

The afternoon turned to evening with only one break to eat. Time seemed irrelevant and impossibly slow to the human as the skunk's lessons droned on and on. She would occasionally test him to see if he was retaining what he was taught. Amu even returned, but didn't interfere with Kazana's teachings. John frowned as Kazana retrieved yet another plant.

'I don't know what that one is either...' The human worried.

"Do you know what herb this is?" She held up the dried stem and its somber leaves. His silence lingered without an answer. "Chickweed..." Her voice answered as if she hadn't been talking to him at all. "It is used for ailments of the skin like itchiness or even bruising."

"Okay." He tiredly nodded.

"Fennel." She pointed to the next one. "Is an herb that every shaman should know. It's a vitally important herb to villages. Consuming it helps mothers produce milk, heals her womb, and even helps in digestion. It grows from around our village towards the coast..." The elder skunk droned on at length about the herb's importance, its history, and how to prepare it for consumption. Her words were a recipe for sleep to the boy.

'Her voice is so... boring.' John tried keeping his eyes open, but the human started nodding off to sleep. A crisp snap made his eyes shoot open. "Huh?!" He found the elder skunk staring down at him contemptibly.

"If you don't learn this then you cannot become a shaman." She coolly told the boy. John hung his head shamefully.

"Don't say that Kazana." Amu spoke up.

"It's true. He shows no interest in medicine, only chanting and running around."

"He has plenty of time to learn about medicine. He's not even an adolescent yet."

"All he wants to do is play! He's just a pup Amu!" The female skunk sternly spoke.

"Of course he is a pup, but he still wants to become a shaman!" Amu defended John. The boy fearfully watched the two shamans bicker and argue about his actions until both stopped talking. The tense mood in the air calmed down somewhat during the prevailing silence.

"The sun is setting." Amu finally spoke up. "We can try dreaming with the spirits again." She patted the deer pelt beside her. John remained in his seat like a heavy stone. "John?"

"I... I want to sleep with my mom tonight..." He quietly spoke up. The red panda's ears perked up in surprise, but she did not question his wish.

"Ok. That's fine." Amu nodded. "Sleep well." She gave him a brief hug. The older skunk gave an affirming nod before John promptly left the medicine hut. Light was beginning to fade outside as the sun finished setting in the sky.

'It's cold!' He rubbed his arms from the cooler air nipping at his skin. The naked boy hurried to his mother's hut. Other villagers had already returned to their huts, but a wolf or two lingered outside to collect firewood or go rain. The human bypassed huts until he reached one that was most familiar. Crouching down, John brushed his head past the hanging door flap. The low embers of a dying flame illuminated the hut in a fuzzy, dim glow. John's eyes blinked to adjust. He scanned the quiet home. His mother was reclined on a deer pelt, having just settled down to sleep. Her loincloth was hanging from the wall, nearby the dreamcatcher hanging above her head. The boy crept inside the cozy abode. Lenape's ears wiggled.

"Hmm?" Her head rose up and looked over. "Is that you John?" The boy didn't answer at first and approached towards his mother. Through the dim light an arm wrapped around him. The heat from her padded palm drew a sigh from the human. For the first time since Kazana had found him playing in the field, he felt at ease.

"You're sleeping with me tonight?" She asked.

"Mhm." He hummed and crawled over her.

"Are you alright?" Her gaze followed him.

"Yes." John quietly answered and laid down on the deer pelt with her. His mother's arms securely wrapped around her son as he snuggled close to her. John stared at the dark wall of fur directly in front of his eyes. The dimmest of glows from the nearly extinguished fire were visible over his mother's shoulder. Lenape softly blew a sleepy sigh and went back to sleep, but John found sleep a little more elusive. He nibbled his lip and listened to his mother's calm breathing. Thoughts whirred through his head.

'I can't tell her...' John silenced his worries. 'Not now.' He finally closed his eyes.

Quick footsteps walked over the dewy grass as John went to the medicine hut. It was a quiet morning, and village was waking up. He passed a hunting pack sunning together, but few other villagers. The boy was normally excited to go to the medicine hut, but right now pensiveness and anxiety plagued him. Days had passed since John first tried dreaming with the spirits, learning more of the shaman's ways, and the pup who told him that he didn't want to be around him. His stomach gnawed hungrily as John turned by the chieftain's hut. He couldn't eat through the stress. His mother even berated him for not eating something before he left in a hurry. She almost ran out of the hut to chase him.

The human reached the medicine hut with a sigh. Training to become a shaman wasn't something that he had enjoyed as much as he had thought. It was a lot of hard work, often performed alone, and he missed seeing his mother and friends. Sitting still to meditate, collecting herbs, memorizing medicine, and following Kazana's strict guidelines were all very boring to the boy. All of the things he had enjoyed had very little to do with those practices. A human taboo he couldn't get away from was his nervousness and embarrassment towards nudity. The shamanic attitude towards nudity didn't remind him that he was human and everyone else in the village was not. Sometimes he didn't even notice that everyone else wore clothing. Although, there were only two shamans in the village. The nudity emphasized that he was different from everyone else. The looks he received from pups around his age were an easy reminder. He remembered what Kazana had told him the first day he decided to become a shaman.

'What if I took the wrong path?' John stared at old discard herbs in the grass that he was supposed to remember, a constant challenge for his human mind to understand. After enough hesitating he knelt down and crawled thought the door flap. The aromas of different plants instantly tingled in his nose. A low fire was growing cold in the hut's center. Amu was seated calmly on a deer pelt examining two kinds of bark. The naked red panda was lost in her work and barely noticed the door flap move.

"Hello John." Amu looked up and happily greeted the human. John silently sat down beside her, but his eyes fell to the ground where her black furred leg rested. "Are you feeling ill?" She lowered her head, trying to meet his gaze.

"No." He answered after a silent moment. The somberly voice told her it was something else. John bit his lip, wrestling the worries within when a warm furred arm rested on his back.

"It's ok." She hugged him. "Tell me what's wrong." Her soothing voice helped encourage him to talk. John looked up into her soft brown eyes.

"Will I ever grow fur?" He asked Amu, making the female's brow raise up.

"Grow fur? What makes you say that?"

"I'm... Different." He sullenly replied. "A human who-"

"Hey. You shouldn't think of yourself like that."

"I saw a pup playing alone so I asked to play with him, but he didn't want to play with me because I'm... A human." He bit his lower lip tensely. Amu could see the tension on the boy's face, wanting relief.

"You can't force someone to like you, but you can change their minds with actions. You're the first human who has ever been in this village. Not everyone, especially the young, will react the same."

"I want to be normal like everyone else."

"We've talked about this." She mentioned.

"I know." An upset huff escaped his lips.

"You can't be anything except what you already are. A hunter cannot force a deer to be snared. No one can force nature to change. This is the way things are."

"But I'm not-" A finger softly touched his lips.

"Don't believe that you are not supposed to be a human. You are very much a villager like anyone else." John fell silent and nodded despite the unhappiness remaining inside him. His feelings were every bit noticeable to the red panda like the smell of smoke.

"Tell me what is really bothering you." The red panda asked. "I know being a human or wolf is nothing about it." John stared at the ground and didn't say anything. It felt so hard to say. "You can tell me." She reached out and lifted his chin up.

"I don't think I want to be a shaman anymore." He admitted and tears began rolling down his cheeks. He had rushed into becoming something he wasn't ready for, and had no idea if it was a way of life he desired. The red panda didn't seem surprised at all to hear his confession.

"That's okay. It's nothing to be ashamed about." She hugged him.

"But I couldn't learn every plant, or dream of meeting a spirit. Or anything else..." He wiped his eyes and sobbed. "I wanted to do something good... All of this feels too different." The red panda consolingly patted his back.

"Whatever path you choose to walk down will be good." She reassured him. "It's normal to feel upset like this." John nodded despite having to wipe his eyes.

"I can't stop crying..." He sniffed.

"It's fine." She patted his back. "Don't allow your emotions to sway you, but never attempt to shun them." John wiped his eyes one final time and looked up at the female red panda. "Feel better?"

"Yeah." He nodded and took a few deep breaths.

"You know, I heard that several villagers have tried to become shamans under Kazana's tutelage, but everyone quit at some point."

"Was all of this a waste of time?" The human asked. Amu shook her head.

"Hopefully you'll remember some of the plants that heal. Plus, you have a stronger bond with the spirits. None of your time with us was useless." Deep down John knew she was correct. The human learned more of the tribal language, unspoken cues like ear movements, and even more.

"Thanks Amu." He hugged the red panda. The shaman's bare fur felt very soft against his skin.

"Mhm." She hummed and returned the embrace. Her cheek fur alone acted like a pillow against his cheek. John started to go for the exit when Amu stopped him. "Here. Don't forget your loincloth." She held up the boy's garment wearing an amused grin.

"Oh. Thank you." He walked back to her.

"I'll put it on for you." She offered and held the garment up to his waist. He wiped his eyes while she tied on the double sided garment. Amu the red panda was always so nice to him, just like his mother wolf Lenape. "There. A loincloth is good on you anyway. You look more at ease."

"It feels better to wear it." He missed the little bit of privacy and sense of normalcy it provided.

"You're too young for this strict life. Try a few different things, but enjoy being a pup." She patted his knee. John felt so much relief from her words.

"Thank you." He quietly spoke. The red panda shaman smiled in return as he went to the hut's door flap.

"If you have any questions about the spirits or medicine, don't hesitate to visit!" She called out.

"Okay... Bye." John said before leaving the medicine hut, a shaman in training no more. A slight breeze greeted the human as he stood up. It ruffled his hair and his only garment tied around his waist without a chill. It was the eve of summer. The weather was becoming its warmest. Gone were the days of constantly wiping floating hairs from his face. As if stirred by the wind, John started walking.

'I need to tell mom.' He worried while passing by the quiet tribal huts. Most adults who were not elders or nursing mothers were outside the village by mid morning. 'That's Huvovi's hut.' John paused by a humble hut. The door flap was still, and no smoke was coming from the top of the home. "She would know what to say." John knelt down and poked his head through the door flap, hoping to seek the elder's guidance.

"Hello? Huvovi. Kechek." He called out but his eyes found no one in the dark house, not even embers in the fire. The canine smell in the air indicated that they had just left earlier. "They're not home..." He crept back and resumed walking to his hut.

"Aah! Ahaha!" He heard the squealing laughter of a pup. Looking over, he could see a mother coyote holding a pup maybe five years of age in one arm. The little coyote pup wriggled around while her free hand rubbed along his belly. The mother wore a kind smile, but John could tell that she was aware of his presence. The human hurried to his home and found the door flap still. A faint trail of smoke was still exiting the hut.

'I hope she hasn't left on a hunt.' He didn't recall her mentioning one. John ducked and crawled into the hut. Lenape was still inside, tending to the fire pit. The firewood had smoldered into ash leaving only traces of smoke wafting to the ceiling.

"You're back early." She glanced over her shoulder. John didn't say anything and quickly sat down beside her. Lenape could tell his silence meant something. She turned to face her son, and she immediately noticed he was wearing his loincloth made by Koan again. "What's wrong?" Her attention immediately focused on him. Words hung in his throat, afraid of what she might say. Seeing her son's distress, Lenape wrapped her arms around him in a sweet hug. John breathed a sigh of relief. The feeling of her soft fur against his skin always comforted him.

"I don't want to become a shaman anymore." He admitted through a face full of fur.

"You don't?" She blinked in surprise. John shook his head.

"She told me that it was ok." He murmured.

"It's ok... It's ok..." Lenape held her son close. The human didn't say anything else for a while, and liked the warmth she provided. "You didn't tell me." Lenape spoke when they undid the embrace, but left her hands on his shoulders. John stared down at his mother's lap, unable to look at her directly.

"I was afraid you would be mad at me." He shamefully admitted. A padded finger gently lifted his chin to meet her gaze. His mother's expression was anything but angry. Her canine muzzle wore a soft grin, and her eyes appeared to smile equally.

"Why would I be mad at you?"

"You were happy when I wanted to become a shaman."

"I will be happy with whatever you choose to do." She gave her son a toothy smile. A grin formed on John's face, but his stomach suddenly interrupted with a prolonged growl. Lenape looked at her son with an amused grin. "You didn't eat this morning."

"You're right." He bashfully remembered how nervous he was earlier.

"I already ate." She glanced at the empty fire. "But I will cook anything you want." The grey wolfess smiled with all of her teeth.

"Your milk." He decided for her closest comfort, and in a moment she was nursing him in her lap. John closed his eyes and ate. The familiar taste was much more welcoming than the shamans' bland vegetable soups. Lenape hummed an old tune never feeling more content than when they were together like this.

'You're growing up, John.' She reminded herself that they wouldn't be sharing intimate moments like this much longer. She placed a hand on his shoulder to hold him. Her brief sadness dissipated when her gaze rested down to her nursing son. The wolfess knew that he drew comfort in from it as well. 'I remember it was not long ago when he only came to my breast through hunger.' She recalled his hesitant attempts to establish a physical bond with her. But that testy connection grew into something much greater over the past three seasons. John simply laid in his mother's lap while he ate, and noticed her smiling face watching him. It made him feel warm inside, and that made him feel happiest most of all.

"Hello!" A female voice called out. "Are you here, Lenape?" A canine head suddenly peeked in through the door flap. A large claw bearing hand rested visibly on the dirt floor. The nursing she wolf and human blinked and looked at the hut's door flap. Amytis was peeking inside, and a second canine head peered through the flap. Both wolves had amber red and cream fur colorations.

"Azande?" John instantly recognized the adolescent she wolf.

"John?" The she wolf was equally surprised to see the human.

"Hello!" Lenape greeted the mother and daughter pair who promptly entered.

"Sorry to interrupt a feeding." Amytis sheepishly grinned, ears folding back. "I didn't expect both of you to be here." She admitted and sat down.

"Don't worry. He's about finished, but he wakes up hungry every morning." The grey wolfess chuckled and patted her son's back.

"I don't think pups can eat enough in the morning." Amytis smiled. Azande crept up to John. A little necklace made of little bones and wood dangled around her neck.

"Hey! Wanna practice archery with me?" The young wolfess asked.

"Can I go mom?" He slipped out of the wolf's lap and sat up.

"Yes. Of course you may." She smiled. The parents watched their pups scurry outside the door flap.

"So tell me what happened." Amytis broke the silence. "What did you tell him?"

"I did not tell him anything, and John didn't say anything. He just surprised me this morning by coming back and telling me that he no longer wanted to become a shaman." Lenape was just as surprised as her friend. "When we came back from the Nanu village I thought he would want to learn hunting, because he didn't like being left here when I was part of a hunting pack."

"You don't like being separated from him either." Amytis pointed out.

"I don't..." Lenape blew a sigh. "Then he talked to the shamans... I liked the idea of John becoming a shaman so he could live a safer life in the village." She admitted. "They don't fight during wars, and only travel to friendly villages. I didn't visit him a lot so he could focus on that."

"Lenape, you should be with him to help support him, and then you will have to let your son decide his own path. After that you'll have to let him walk it on his own."

"I know." She humbly nodded.

"I have to admit, I thought the spirits left you when you suddenly decided to raise him." Amytis half grinned. "But I'm glad you did. Both of you are happier because of that." Lenape grinned happily and felt her tail wag once. Her eyes glanced at Amytis's chest cloth.

"I'm going to hate weaning him." She softly spoke and stared at the hut's wall. "He's growing up so fast."

"If I had a deer pelt every time a mother has spoken those words." Her friend sympathized.

"I feel so motherly, happy, and close to him... I don't want to let that go so soon."

"You'll still feel that way watching him grow up." She grinned and placed a hand on Lenape's shoulder.

"I do." The charcoal grey she wolf nodded, wearing a bright smile.

Outside, Azande and John ran to the top of a low lying hill overlooking the entire village.

"What are doing here again?" John paused to catch his breath. The adolescent wolf quickly spun around on a paw, causing her hair and loincloth to ruffle around. John noticed that she wore two loincloths that covered her front, instead of just one. Azande stopped and planted both paws on the ground before facing the human.

"Practice archery... I see that you stopped training as a shaman." She glanced at the loincloth that he was wearing again. John silently nodded. The disappointment was very fresh in his mind like the dew lingering on the grass. "A few of my friends asked me if you were ok."

"Who did?"

"Two from the group we played with." She told him. "Everyone knows how tough Kazana is. One time, she pulled a pup by his tail because he wouldn't sit still." John wasn't surprised to hear that about the old skunk, and oddly felt happy that he didn't posses a tail.

"She is tough." John quietly agreed.

"What are you going to do now? Farm? Fish? Hunt? One family farms, but several people fish. I know Kantala's dad fishes."

"There aren't many fish around here." He observed the creek from a fair distance.

"I meant at the river. There's some in those waters."

"Oh. I'm not sure..." He stared along the wide open moorland. Hibernia's rolling hills of grass seemed endless to the human youth, and so were the possibilities that they held.

"You can become a hunter." Azande suggested. "That's what I want to become. Your mother is a hunter too."

"She is." John suddenly remembered and pondered the option. "But I couldn't go with her."

"Pups can't go hunting with packs." She shook her head. "You have to practice and then if you are allowed, you can follow someone in a hunting pack and watch them."

'I could hunt with my mom.' John thought about it, and liked the idea. "What do I have to practice?"

"A lot of things." She turned away. Azande skipped and jumped as they walked further away. Her two loincloths practically danced as the garments flapped to her motions. The little carved bones and wood on the necklace she wore clacked together as it bounced off her chest.

"Like what?" John asked when she stopped again. "You don't have a bow with you to practice archery." He pointed out. The amber red and cream wolfess blinked and wiggled her nose. Her eyes scanned the grass for a solution.

"Here." She grabbed a stick lying on the ground. "Hold this and practice the motion with me."

"The motion?" The human stared at the stick in his hand.

"Drawing a bow back." The she wolf mimicked the gesture for him to understand. "All you have to do is aim." She found a stick for herself and pretended to shoot an arrow. John looked down the gentle slope and imagined a deer standing still. He mimicked Azande's motion and released the imaginary arrow.

'Would it hit what I am aiming for?' John glanced at Azande after a few imaginary practice shots. He saw the young she wolf widen her stance and grab her loincloth. She wiped somewhere he couldn't see.

"What are you doing?"

"Wiping." Azande replied before letting both cloths hang naturally in front.

"I don't understand." The human had seen a few females wearing two loincloths at once, but never asked why.

"It's my second time bleeding from the womb." She grinned and wagged her tail. "I'm growing into an adult wolf!" The giddiness nearly overwhelmed her. "I think it's really exciting!" She beamed with pride. "Don't you?"

"Yeah... It is." His quiet voice betrayed his words. Azande wiggled her nose and furrowed her brow.

"You seem really quiet. Are you ok?" She asked. The human hesitated.

"Yeah... But I don't think I was a good shaman in training. I wasn't good enough."

"You were a great shaman in training!" The red and cream furred she wolf declared. "You could chant and do all that other stuff." John didn't know what to make of her compliments.

'I barely started learning, but it was too much.' He kept the thought secret.

"Don't look so sad." A hand shook his shoulder.

"I just want to... I don't know how to say it." He looked away briefly. Azande's head tilted curiously. "I want to be useful because my mom helps me do everything, and I want to help her." The human tried explaining the complex thought. The wolf blinked as the wind blew her long hair.

"How about I tell you a funny story to cheer you up?" She offered.

"Ok." John didn't like passing up a story and sat down. Azande knelt down before him and thought for a moment. "A story... A story..." The she wolf thought aloud while John patiently waited. "There was once an old female wolf shaman. She was so old that her breasts nearly reached the ground when she sat down! As if Kazana's are not hanging that low already." She grinned and poked the human's side, making him giggle. "Some days the shaman would sit down and think of a powerful spell for days like this." Azande hunched forward, squinted her eyes, and made a kissing face. John laughed. He could easily imagine the old female skunk doing that. "But despite this, she was a powerful shaman. A warrior from a far away village was jealous of her powers and met her in a field to fight her. He was huge and armed with every weapon!"

"Every weapon?"

"Spears, knives, arrows, and everything... But the shaman sat down and thought of a powerful spell." Azande hunched over and made the funny face again. John laughed. "She jumped up and called for the wind to blow with all its might. A great gust picked up the warrior and threw him so far away that he ended up at the end of the great waters." Azande blew air past her lips and mimicked flying through the air. John rolled onto his back and laughed.

"Feeling better?" She asked when he finished laughing.

"Yes. Thank you, Azande." He sat up wearing a little grin. She smiled at how innocent he acted without even knowing it. "Do you think I'm weird?"

"Weird?" The she wolf chuckled at the fast question. "Nope. Just grow that hair out so I can braid it." She ruffled his hair.

"Ah! Stop!" He laughed and pushing her hand away. The young she wolf grinned, sticking the tip of her pink tongue out at him. She was like a sister that he never had.

"Hey! Since you're not training as a shaman anymore, do you want to walk around the west forest and moor tomorrow? My mom and I going to collect firewood."

"Sure. I'd like to." He nodded. Without a moment's waste, a padded hand grasped his arm and ran with him back to the village. The ground blurred beneath his legs. "Slow down!" John's legs struggled to keep up as the she wolf brought him back to his hut. His mother and her mother were just exiting his little home.

"Mom! Can Lenape and John collect firewood with us tomorrow?" Azande slowed down to a rough stop. John caught his breath and managed to wrest his arm free from her.

"Of course they can." Amytis stood up and agreed. Lenape smiled, liking the idea as well.

"Yes!" The young adolescent declared. "Can they sleep in our home tonight too?" She went a step further.

"Sure." Amytis agreed. "Is that alright with you Lenape?"

"It's only the morning." The charcoal grey wolf was amused. "I think that is a great idea, if that's alright with you John." Lenape looked at her son.

"Well..." He glanced at all three pairs of canine eyes watching him. "Yes. I'd like to."

"That settles that." Amytis grinned. "We're going to visit Asawa and a few others, if you two would like to go." She said before walking away with Lenape. John's eyes returned to Azande. The canine's eyes were eagerly staring at him.

"What?" John noticed that her tail was constantly wagging.

"You can play all day now." The amber red and cream furred wolf smiled.

"I can-!" He felt a padded hand grasp his arm as the wolf practically dragged him off to play.

***

The sun had drawn low for the evening. Only an hour's time of daylight remained as two figures trotted along the edge of the village to a particular hut. A few crickets were already chirping in the grass along the outer village. A pair of paws briskly walked over the short grass and dirt with a noticeable spring in each step. The human feet not far behind were more akin to plodding. A distant howl in the air went unanswered as John and Azande walked.

"You're slower than earlier today." Azande remarked with a bright smile. John merely eyed her. The wolf clearly knew the answer to her own question. "How many pups asked you if our shaman casted a bad spell on you?"

"I think everyone believes Kazana put a bad spell on me." John commented.

"Haha! That might be true." She grinned and tapped his side with her tail. The ever playful wolf trotted ahead of him before turning around. "Come on. We're almost at my hut." She waved.

"I'm walking." His tired body picked up the pace. Thankfully, they reach a hut with smoke escaping through its top.

"My home!" Azande sang and crawled through the door flap. John entered behind the energetic she wolf. Amytis and Azande's hut was alike any other tribal home in the village. Although the home smelled different, but it was definitely canine to his human nose. Weapons to hunt with were against the back wall; animal pelts were arranged for the extra company to sleep together; and a dream catcher was hanging over a pair of deer pelts that covered some of the dirt floor. The fire pit was alive. Orange and yellow flames crackled and popped in the hut's centerpiece. Their mothers were busily preparing and cooking the food, chatting about whatever crossed their minds. The aromas were tantalizing to John's nose.

"We're back!" Azande barked.

"What did you two do all day?" Amytis asked as they sat by the fire together.

"Everything!" Azande flashed an eager canine smile of teeth. "We played a game with a stick with a few others; then we wrestled; and then we played a game of capture..."

"Sounds like you two played all day." Lenape grinned as she checked the fire.

"Everyone thought Kazana put a curse on him."

"A curse? Why would they think that?" Lenape questioned.

"Because she looked angry when John was playing with us the other day."

"She is a quiet and stern shaman. That's nothing new." Amytis shrugged.

"You aren't saying anything John. Are you alright?" His mother's head craned towards him and smelled the air.

"Yes. I'm hungry."

"John needs to wrestle better." Azande hooked an arm around the human's waist and squeezed him.

"Unhh!" He wheezed.

"Everyone could pin him to the ground."

"I've never wrestled before." He insisted.

"I can teach you." Azande wrapped her other arm around him and leaned back. John tried worming away, but couldn't free himself from her strong grasp.

"Play nice Azande." Amytis warned her daughter.

"I am." She relented and John scooted aside.

"Everything alright?" Lenape quietly asked.

"Mmhm." He nodded.

"Okay. Just wanted to be sure." She said with a characteristic canine grin.

"Is the food ready?" Azande peered at the flickering flames. Her tail wagged eagerly.

"Hmm... Should be." Amytis pulled the rest away from the fire. "Let's eat!" Amytis and Lenape sat together with them in a tight circle. Food was passed around and all four quickly devoured the meal. John liked eating together with others in the village. There was a great variety of game, depending on what was caught, and no rush to eat. Having experienced scarcity in his former human homes, it was a blessing to him. The human's eyes looked at Azande's mother. He noticed that the adult was wearing a double loincloth in front like Azande, yet his mother was not.

"Azande, what does growing into an adult feel like?" He asked her.

"Eh... Normal." She looked over herself, and ruffled her fur with a hand.

"Really?"

"Yep. I can't wait to wear a chest cloth!" She flashed an excited smile of canine teeth. "But I'm not old enough just yet." Azande leaned closer and whispered to him. "You don't want to wear one too young. I've heard that it is bad luck."

"Bad luck?" Her mother grinned in amusement.

"Is that true?" John looked at both female wolves.

"Elder Huvovi told me that." Azande added.

"Well, I wouldn't say wearing one too young would give you bad luck." Amytis answered. "If you go through the effort to make one, make sure you've grown into it. And some females don't need to wear one until they're older."

"I want to wear one soon." Azande whispered to John before taking another bite of food. The human's eyes wandered as he finished eating. There were always new things to discover. A knife decorated with strips of rabbit fur was placed among small woven baskets containing unknown mysteries to the boy. Looking above, there was a dream catcher decorated with several tassels and feathers. He reached up to touch the significant ornament that Amu had tirelessly taught him about.

"Hey. Don't mess with that." Azande pulled the human's hand down. "That's our dream catcher."

"Does everyone have a dream catcher?"

"Everyone that wants to sleep without having nightmares." She answered. "Didn't you learn that as a shaman?"

"Yes, but some people didn't have one."

"I'm sure they have their reasons." Lenape answered as she picked another piece of fish.

"Let's tell stories to pass the time." Amytis thought aloud.

"Ok."

"Sure."

"Does anyone have a story to tell? John?" The amber red and cream furred wolf mother asked. The boy shook his head and the other two canines didn't speak up. "Let me think of a story then." Amytis paused to think for a moment. "Ah!" her face lit up with an idea. "I used to always tell this one to Azande when she stopped nursing from me at a young age." The mother recalled.

'Huh?' John wondered what it could be. One of Azande's ears folded back.

"Ok. Once there were two pups who were siblings, a male and female. They were born at the same time and both had the same pattern of fur. At a young age the male chose to stop nursing from his mother's breast. He declared that he wanted to be a hunter at an early age. The village's shaman told him that he must be a pup before he could be an adult, and then he must be an adolescent before he could be an adult. But he didn't listen to the shaman or any other villagers. He grew up shorter and weaker than his sister. The pup who chose not to nurse never grew up to be a good hunter like his sibling. All the elders shook their heads and proclaimed that he didn't nurse long enough... Telling that story kept Azande at my breast for another four seasons."

"I remember you telling me about this before." Lenape chuckled.

"Because it worked!"

"Your mom told you stories?" John found the idea strange.

"Parents always tell their pups stories." She told him.

"Does anyone else have a story?" Amytis asked. John and Azande grew silent.

"Hmm... What can I tell..." Lenape folded her arms in thought. Her ears perked forward when she settled on a single story. "Long ago, by many generations, there was a Great War between many tribes and villages resulting in the loss of many lives. There were so few males after the war that many..."

"Let's not tell a story that has war." Azande's ears folded back slightly.

"Hmm..." Lenape thought. "I know another story, but it is very short."

"Tell it." John wanted to listen.

"Okay." The grey wolf smiled. "There was once an old villager who went to the river early in the morning to fish. It was very foggy, quiet, and no one else was around..." Lenape's voice remained soft and gentle, making the scenery sound too peaceful, and ready to become a scary tale. "When he was ready to doze off, a giant fish poked its head out of the water."

"Eaten..." Azande whispered under her breath.

"The villager was surprised as the fish began speaking to him. It said, 'Have you fished your entire life?' The villager shook his head and replied. 'Before I fished, I farmed. Before that I herded sheep. Before that I hunted. Before that I played as a pup. But whenever I did something, I always enjoyed being with my friends and family.' The fish then spoke. 'You have lived a good life. Fish will always come to you when you fish from this river.' And then the fish disappeared into the murky water. The fisher came back to his village later with enough fish to feed everyone." Lenape finished the short tale.

"I don't understand the story." Azande admitted. John seemed equally perplexed. "Did the fish swim away and never talk to anyone else? Why didn't the villager catch the talking fish?" The young she wolf's questions were left unanswered.

"I liked it." Azande's mother grinned. The two mothers began to clean up and ready the deer pelts for bedtime.

"Hey. Wanna go sit outside?" Azande nudged John.

"Ok."

"Can we go outside for a while mom?" Azande asked.

"Just don't leave sight of our hut." Amytis allowed.

"Ok. We won't." She promised and led John outside the door flap. The door flap trailed over his back revealing the uncovered nighttime sky. Twinkling stars created enough light to see despite the present darkness's shadows. The human could imagine both shamans abiding by their ways and staring up at the stars, chanting. The same questions John had about the world entered his mind, but the outside air stirred him back to the physical world. The sudden cool, yet humid air prickled the human's skin like little biting teeth.

"It's cold." John folded his arms to shield himself from the cold. Azande wiggled her nose, but the wolf's fur was a very protective coat from the cold. They sat down outside the door flap together.

"It's cooler." Azande exhaled, releasing a visible cloud of breath.

"It's like you blew a cloud from your mouth!" John watched the "cloud" quickly dissipate.

"That's my breath!" She giggled before taking in a deep breath. A stream of breath was exhaled, and Azande stared down her snout to watch it quickly dissipate.

"I've never seen that before." He smiled and blew out, creating a vanishing fog of his own.

"We are sharing our breath." The pair giggled and blew their breath for a while before taking the time to stare up at the quiet sky. Only the softest songs by crickets preened the cool air.

"Why did you want to come outside?" John looked over at Azande. The young she wolf's facial fur and hair were aglow from the starlight, leaving the rest as dark outlines.

"I don't know." She admitted and licked her nose. "It's nice and quiet out here."

"Mmhm." He agreed. A silent moment passed between the two, marked by the same chirping rustic crickets.

"Hey John."

"What?" He half expected her to ask him about the stars.

"My mom thinks I tease you to be mean." Azande spoke up. "But that's not true."

"Some villagers don't like me." John recalled the pups who teased him at the creek, not to mention the avoidance or lingering stares.

"That happens to everyone." She wiggled her nose.

"I think it's different... because I'm a human."

"I'll punch their muzzles off." She grinned and held up a fist. John felt some surprise that Azande, a wolf herself, would defend a human like him from other villager's bad remarks. "Anyway, I don't tease you to be mean." Azande admitted. "I'm having fun, because we're friends." The wolf reached out and nudged his shoulder. "I want you to know that."

"What does that word mean?"

"Which one?"

"Friends. I haven't heard it."

"It's someone you like who isn't your mate or family. Or maybe someone you are nice to and is nice to you." She scratched her head as John blinked unsure. "A friend... It's someone you would punch someone else for." She creatively thought.

"Punch someone for..."

"We're friends." Azande placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Friends." For a moment he didn't feel cold at all despite chill bumps forming along his skin.

"Are you cold?" Azande noticed the human start to shiver.

"Yeah." His teeth started to chatter. "Let's go back inside." He crawled back into her home with the canine on his heels. The hut was completely dark and warmer than the cooler outdoor air. Their parents were laying down on two deer pelts together, ready to sleep. John crept over and laid down with his back to Azande's mother. The young she wolf laid down right beside him, and propped her head up with an arm. Her legs brushed up against his with scarcely any room left between them. Yet, Azande hardly noticed the close contact she shared with him. Her eyes were aglow with exciting ideas.

"We can practice hunting while they gather firewood." Azande whispered. "I'll bring my quiver and a bow, and then we can creep through the forest." John quietly listened to her weave an interesting plan for tomorrow, but he had an odd reassuring feeling. They were laying beside each other naked, talking to each other like normal. Their mothers were sleeping behind him, one's fur even touching his back, naked as well.

'We're friends...' He fondly thought and understood what she has meant.

"John..." The human blinked as Azande whispered his name. "Hey, do you want to?" She asked. He could hear her tail wagging and thumping quietly on the ground.

"Yeah. That sounds fun." John agreed as a back bumped into him.

"It's dark. Time to sleep." Amytis reminded them.

"Ok." They whispered. The adult rolled back and settled down to sleep. Azande and John looked at each other briefly through the darkness.

"We'll hunt tomorrow." Azande whispered the promise before laying down completely. Their arms mingled together like their legs with little space eft between them. John nodded but kept his eyes open. He felt comfortable and warm despite not having a blanket of rabbit furs. The boy thought for a moment before finally placing the odd fuzzy feeling inside.

'I'm sleeping at a friend's home.' He closed his eyes, finding comfort at the fact.

John stirred from a full night's sleep. He woke up in a warm bed with his mother's arm loosely draped over his side, but also a furry body against his back. Opening an eye, he spotted her breasts inches from his mouth. John nudged forward and searched through the furry mass. Oddly, there was a lot more fur than he remembered normally touching his face. The taste was vaguely different, and nothing came out. There was even more fur around his mouth than he remembered. John lazily grumbled in confusion and back off. He looked up only to find that the wolfess was not his mother, but Azande's mother! She found the boy's sudden confusion humorous, and snickered feeling the human quickly back off.

"S-sorry Amytis." He blushed trying to back away only for her arm to keep him close. The hand suddenly rubbed his back. John looked up and was surprised to see a smile on the mother wolf's face.

"That's fine. I haven't felt anyone there while waking up in a long time." She softly replied before lifting her arm. Because offspring in native villages were generally nursed until puberty, it was common for another mother or female to help nurse one's pups. Although, John thought of it as an odd tribal practice. The human boy felt a furry body pressed against his back suddenly stir. He barely noticed how warm his backside had been until a damp nose brushed over his ear. A muzzle rested on the side of his neck as limbs curled around him.

"You can get up now, Azande." Amytis half grinned at her daughter's feigned sleep. The younger amber red and cream furred she wolf peeped an eye open as if caught.

"I'm awake." She licked her own nose. John untangled himself from the furry bodies and sat up.

"Where's my mom?" He found the charcoal grey she wolf absent.

"Your mother woke up earlier and went to get some water, but you were still fast asleep." Amytis spoke with a grin before sitting up as well. "She will return soon."

"I was sleeping so well..." Azande mumbled from the deer pelt. The young she wolf stretched and yawned before snapping her jaws shut. The door flap shifted as Lenape entered the humble hut, holding a large bowl of water.

"You don't need to be quiet." Amytis called out. "We are all awake."

"Well then... I have returned!" She smiled, seeing that no one was asleep.

"Your pup is hungry." Amytis glanced at John. "He tried nursing from me, but I don't have anything for him." She softly laughed.

"Aww, you must be really hungry John." Lenape sat down beside her son.

"Mmhm." He nodded and rested into her lap.

"You tried nursing from my mom?!" Azande laughed with a resounding canine bark. A hot flash of embarrassment made itself clear on the boy's face. "Did you even drink any milk?" She teased.

"A mouthful of fur." He muttered before latching onto one of Lenape's providing teats. The adolescent she wolf chuckled.

"I stopped drinking my mother's milk when my womb bled for the first time." Azande recalled.

"You hardly had any since you were ten." Amytis corrected her daughter. Lenape softly smiled and held her son close with an arm. "Now that John is eating, we need something to fill our bellies." The cream and amber red she wolf glanced at the empty fire pit.

"Do we have anything leftover?" Lenape smelled the air.

"A little..." Amytis peered into the empty fire where a few cooked pieces remained.

"I can get something from the smoking lodge!" Azande leapt to her paws.

"If you get fish, make sure they smell good!" Amytis called out as her daughter bolted out of the hut. He didn't pay much attention to the parents while he nursed. "My pup... She's hardly a pup anymore." The mother sighed and shook her head with an amused grin.

"I think she left without putting on her loincloth." Lenape chuckled.

"You're right." Amytis spotted the double loincloth laying by a deer pelt. "She's running out there naked without even realizing it. Have you needed to wear your double loincloth?"

"No. Um, only for two days." She had to think about it.

"Nursing?" Amytis presumed.

"Yeah." Lenape nodded. Nursing, especially after the first newborn, usually lessened a female's yearly cycle. Lenape discreetly brought her hand over her son's ear so he wouldn't hear her clearly. "I notice that Azande and John get along well. I'm glad that she's his age."

"You should thank her, not me." Amytis shrugged. As if on cue, a certain she wolf burst through the do flap.

"I got a squirrel!" Azande smiled and held up the dead small animal.

"Bring it over." Lenape waved.

"I'll have to skin that..." Amytis reached over and grabbed a knife.

"Oh, let me do that." Lenape offered. "I can do something while you two start the fire."

"You already are doing something." Amytis nodded towards John. "This is my hut, so I will be doing all the work. Thank you." Her lips rose into a toothy grin. A fire was soon crackling once again in the center of the tribal hut, and the older food from last night was cooked with the squirrel. The cooked animal and small amount of older meat were passed around to hungry mouths. John finished and sat up when they were eating, but breakfast was considered a short meal in the village.

"Aren't you weaned yet John?" Azande asked through a mouthful.

"My mom still nurses me some in the morning and before night."

"Asleep at the breast." Amytis hummed. "You'll probably be fully weaned by next spring at the latest. I know your mother won't want to before this autumn." She added. Lenape eyed her friend but didn't say anything.

"I'll catch a whole deer for you one day so you can run around and play more with me." Azande promised.

"You can catch a whole deer?" He was surprised.

"I wish." Amytis kept a hushed laugh to herself.

"Well... Not yet." Azande admitted. "But I will!"

"Let's get dressed and collect firewood." Amytis suddenly announced as she tied on her double loincloth. Azande and John scrambled to clothe themselves as their parents exited the hut.

"Wait for me John." She grabbed her quiver full of arrows with her bow and quickly slung it over a shoulder. The projectiles clacked inside from the sudden movement. John followed her outside where their moms were waiting.

"We're ready!" Azande jumped to her paws.

"I thought you were helping me carry wood?" Her mother noticed the bow and quiver.

"Well..." The young she wolf's paw brushed over the dirt. "I wanted to show John how I hunt." Lenape grinned behind Amytis, who exhaled noisily through her nose.

"Alright, that's fine." She allowed.

"Yay!" Azande wagged her tail, causing it to thwack against John.

"Hey. Your tail is hitting me." He stepped aside, but the young she wolf seemed to enjoy it.

"Which way are we going?"

"Just to this forest." Amytis pointed ahead with an outstretched arm. All four walked across the field to the nearby woods.

'It looks like we are going four different ways.' John remarked how different they appeared to himself. 'One human, one hunter, one topless mother, and a covered mother.' They entered the woods, alive with the chattering of cawing crows and rustling squirrels. Azande held her bow with a firm hand and practically hopped and skipped onto the forest path.

"What?" She noticed his glancing eye.

"I'm scared when you're this excited." He kept his distance.

"Come on. We are going hunting!" Azande called out and grabbed John's wrist before leading him off the little trail. They ducked by the trees and low hanging branches.

"Where are we going?" John lost sight of his mother and Amytis.

"Through this part of the woods. Our moms will be on a trail nearby."

"So... Are we hunting?" He guessed. The young she wolf eagerly nodded with a wide grin.

"Hunting is best done in pairs or a small pack!" She exclaimed only to snap her jaws shut. Her wild eyes darted around before settling back on John. "You have to be quiet, especially in the forests." The wolf whispered and placed a hand on his shoulder. "One loud sound can tell everything where you are. You do not want to startle birds. They're very loud."

"Wait." John grabbed his loincloth.

"Wait?" Her head tilted in question.

"I need to rain."

"Then go rain." Azande placed a hand on her hip. John stepped behind a tree while she waited. He could still her tail from his side, but managed to relax. "Don't rain so loud!" Azande's bark scolded him.

"I can't help it." He quickly finished and dropped his loincloth. "Where are we going to hunt?" The human reemerged from around the tree.

"Hm..." The she wolf thought for a second. "Let's stop by the spot where the earth always rains." Azande suggested.

"There's a place where the earth always rains?" He didn't understand.

"Yeah." She eagerly nodded and led him down the pathway.

"But it's only a little cloudy today." He followed.

"It doesn't matter how cloudy it is." She told him. "This is a spot where it always rains." Azande quickly led him through the woods to a section of a few dozen, tightly packed young trees. The trunks resembled pillars on the green slope, but the trees themselves appeared younger than the rest of the forest, and close together. It was as if trees had never grown there before. They weaved through the narrow spaces and climbed the grassy slope. John's ears picked up the sound of rushing water.

"It's here." Azande padded over and showed him a small clearing with an amorphous pale grey rock that rose a few inches from the ground. From the center, water burbled out a few inches into the air before trickling down a section of concrete with plenty of rich grasses growing within the cracks. The other side of the ground yielded nothing lush in comparison, completely void of the water's touch.

"Ah." She dipped her paws into the cooler, bubbly water. "Nice and cool." John refrained from doing the same. It was a little warm for the morning, but his skin would easily chill when wet.

"This is a hard rock." He stepped on the dry side of concrete where water oozed from numerous cracks. The whole thing puzzled the human.

"Yeah, it's weird and hard." The wolf agreed.

"But it's... How did it get here? And where does the water come from?"

"It's just a rock John." She wiggled her nose. "But there could be an underground creek or well of water."

"Where does all of the water go?"

"Down there." She pointed. The concrete was broken in several places as it went downhill into a small field where it spanned out a small distance like a marsh before emptying into a pond. A few small birds and a group of ducks were bathing and skimming the shallow spillway for food. The canine's nose lifted into the air and sniffed eagerly. "Ducks." She crouched down and hid among the marshy grasses.

"Ducks?" John questioned only for claws to sink into his skin.

"Crouch down!" Azande whispered and yanked him by his arm.

"Ow! Okay." He knelt down beside her. They could hear a soft quack or two from their position. There were more than a dozen of the waterfowl gliding lazily across the water.

"Have you ever eaten duck before?" Azande whispered.

"I don't think so."

"It's really good." She licked her chops. "I want to catch one." Azande drew an arrow and notched it to her bow. John leaned back and watched the oblivious ducks as she aimed. With a whispering twang, she released the bowstring. The arrow flew true to its aim but narrowly missed, producing a noisy splash among the tall grasses. In unison the ducks flapped their wings and flew away. John's eyes widened as Azande broke into a sprint downhill, but the waterfowl flew away to a safe distance.

'She just ran after them...' He blinked at the wolf dashing ahead. Her paws splashed through the reeds and shallow water only to slow to a stop.

"Darn birds..." She mumbled and lowered her head dejectedly for a moment. John walked down to her through the tall reeds, sedge, and grass on dry land.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah." Her head turned and looked at him. "I just really wanted to catch a duck to eat... Did you see where my arrow went?" Azande scanned the shallow water.

"I already found it." He held up the projectile.

"Thanks." She sloshed out of the shallows and put the wet arrow back into her quiver. They walked back uphill into the woods where Azande paused to wipe off her paws. "I should've sang a chant. Do you know any for hunting?"

"Ummm... I have to think of one." The sound of a squirrel skittering up a tree caught their ears. John looked up and spotted the fast bushy tailed prey pausing along a branch.

"Can you hit a squirrel?" He asked.

"Not a chance." She frowned. "I might lose an arrow up in the tree. My mom would be angry at me."

"Oh..." They briefly walked around the trees, wondering what else to do.

"Wanna see if I can hit that big oak tree?" Azande smiled and pointed at a tree trunk above a dozen or so infant saplings.

"What if you lose your arrow?" John asked as she nimbly pulled one from her quiver.

"Don't worry... It will have to hit another tree if I miss." The wolf insisted as she notched it. John watched her steady arms pull back. The wolf carefully aimed before letting the arrow loose. A brief twang was heard as the arrow disappeared. "Darn-"

"Ow!" They froze hearing a yowl nearby. Azande covered her muzzle in shock.

"Did we hit someone?" John worriedly looked around the still trees. Azande's eyes darted from him back to where they heard the yell.

"Come on!" She darted through the trees. John followed her amber and cream furred back, but bumped into the wolf when she unexpectedly halted in her paw steps.

"You stop-" John peeked around and saw his mother and Amytis standing before them. Both female wolves were carrying an armload of sticks and small branches apiece. Amytis and Lenape noticed their shocked expressions.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh uh... I threw a stick with my... hand." Azande opened her palm to convince herself.

"You threw a stick?" Amytis cocked her head curiously.

"We thought it hit you." John spoke up, but left his words vague.

"No, I just stepped on a rock." Lenape brushed the menacing object aside with a paw.

"Are you two finished hunting?" Amytis inquired. "We are heading back to the village."

"Mmhm." Azande quietly nodded and all four began walking back along the trail together. "The spirits are not looking down on me kindly." Azande mumbled to John.

"We didn't hurt anyone or get into trouble though." John was satisfied about that. The crunching of leaves and the snap of a stick reminded the two youngsters that their mothers were walking close behind them.

"John. Stop." The human froze hearing his mother's voice.

"Yes?" He feared that they found out what they had done.

"See these tracks John?" His mother pointed at the ground with her nose.

"Huh? Tracks?" The boy looked between his feet. It took a moment of focus to see the imprint of a deer's hoof in the dark soil.

"Yes. A deer must have followed the path before crossing."

"Why don't you teach him to hunt and track, Lenape?" Amytis asked. "I think you would be his best teacher."

"I don't want him to become too dependent on me for everything." The solid grey she wolf ruffled her neck fur.

"That's silly." Her friend snorted. "You're the best teacher for him. You're his mother after all."

"Can you teach me mom?" John's hopeful eyes gazed up at the female grey wolf.

"Well..." Lenape thought a moment. "If you want me to..." Her voice cut off as her nose flared. Both adults stopped and turned their heads in unison. "Do you smell-?"

"I do." Amytis nodded.

"What?" John looked around but only saw the still trees around them.

"A deer is nearby." Lenape whispered.

"I can smell it now." Azande raised her nose and detected the animal's odor.

"You did not notice Azande." The she wolf's mother spoke. "Because you were chattering like a bird to John." Her daughter's ears fell back embarrassed, but a hand reassuringly rested on the younger one's shoulder.

"Let's follow and see if we can find it." Lenape suggested. John and Azande eagerly nodded in agreement. They trekked off the trail in single file, making their steps as silent as they could.

'This is like a real hunt!' John excitedly thought as he walked behind Azande. Every other moment, they paused as Lenape and Amytis surveyed the forest ahead of them. Suddenly everyone crouched down. Up ahead, his mother waved for them to join her behind a small bush. Lenape, Amytis, and then Azande peered through a gap in the foliage.

"It's right there." Lenape pointed for John to look next. He spied through the bush and easily spotted a lone doe scrounging around the sparse grass and old leaves. John smelled the air, but he could only detect hints of the woody aromas of the forest. Yet, they were able to find the deer in the woods with only the aid of their noses! Lenape turned her head.

"Can I borrow your chest cloth, Amytis?"

"You're not going to run after that deer are you?" Her friend questioned.

"Of course. I'll show him how to run after a deer like a runner would do." She carefully set her armful of sticks down.

"Just when I was starting to become accustomed to wearing one again." Amytis joked and gave up the garment.

"You've had nearly three season cycles to." Lenape put it on. The whole situation perplexed the observant human.

"Why are you putting a chest cloth on, mom?"

"When I run after the injured deer I need something to hold my breasts in place so they don't bounce around. No matter their size, they need to be held in place."

"Oh."

"How did you not know that?" Azande teased, but her mother shot a warning glare.

"Do not shoot your arrow." Amytis placed a hand over the younger one's quiver.

"I won't..." She whispered and lowered her bow. Everyone watched as Lenape crept around to the closest tree on her hands and paws, but the doe froze and looked up. The soft crunches of leaves gave away Lenape's surprise attack. The she wolf sprang from her crouching position and sprinted towards the deer, hair and tail flowing behind.

'Wow!' John's eyes widened at his mother's blinding speed. The doe fled with equally impressive speed and out of their sight. The thundering footsteps over the dead leaves sounded like crashing thunder, but Lenape only pursued a few more strides before slowing down.

"Arooo!" Amytis gave a short, happy howl. "You almost caught him without needing to wound her."

"The doe was too fast for me." Lenape trotted back to them wearing a happy smile.

"Mom, you were really fast!" John jumped to his feet.

"Thank you." The grey she wolf's smile only brightened at her son's admiration. "You can have this back." Lenape untied the chest cloth and handed it over to Amytis who promptly tied it back on. Azande stretched up on her toes, as if preparing for a chase of her own.

"I want to be that fast." She whispered to John.

"Ready to go back?" Lenape and Amytis gathered their pile of sticks for firewood.

"Yes." Azande and John resounded together. The group marched back onto the trail and emerged from the forest. The partly cloudy sky casted patchy shadows across the moorland. Still excited from the deer chase, Azande hopped in front of John.

"I'll race you to our hut!" She playfully challenged before taking off.

"Hey! Wait!" He ran after the quick wolf, but his shorter legs were no match for her longer digitigrade strides. Hair flowed behind and her loincloth flapped between her legs as if to tease the human. They thundered into the village, startling a villager or two. Azande reached the hut a few steps before John could. Out of breath, the human slowed to a stop.

"You're really fast!" John hunched over, trying to catch his breath. Azande simply shrugged and placed her hands on her hips. The young she wolf lightly panted with an open mouth, sensing victory.

"You kept up close to me." She mentioned, but it was easy for John to guess that she hadn't tried very hard. Their mothers were slower to reach the hut.

"You two ran ahead like a gust of wind." Lenape smiled. Both mothers unloaded their firewood into one pile with a loud clack.

"I hope you two had fun running away from helping us." Amytis spoke up. "Because I need you two to break up some of this wood and bring it inside. No complaints?" The amber red and cream furred wolfess revealed an arrow between her fingers.

'She knows...' John grimaced and Azande's ears folded back guiltily.

"Ok!" They leapt to the task and started picking through the stack of sticks. Amytis crawled into her hut while Lenape supervised.

"I had fun, John. Did you?" Azande grinned.

"Yeah. It was fun." He grinned in return. Running and playing with her for the day had been a lot of fun, not to mention spending the night at her hut. He never had fun like that while training as a shaman.

"Good." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "I think we can practice hunting almost every day... Maybe I can pretend to hunt you if my arm is sore from using my bow." A little predatory grin emerged along her muzzle.

'Oh...' The human secretly hoped that he hadn't bargained for too much.

"You'll have to wait to hunt with him, Azande." John's mother placed a hand on both of their shoulders. "He's going to learn hunting from me." The grey she wolf smiled.

John peered at the neighboring huts, trying to see the edge of the moor before checking himself over. A glancing canine eye couldn't help but notice. Lenape finished tying her hair into a loose tail fashion.

"Do you have your knife?" She asked. Her son's eyes snapped up to hers.

"Yes." John happily nodded and touched the sheathed blade hanging by his hip. It was a small stone chipped weapon with an antler handle, perfect for the smaller boy's size. The human could hardly sit still, unable to contain his excitement. His mother was going to take him hunting for an entire day. They were going to camp out in the moor or forest for the night, and John was very excited about it.

"Are you bringing food?" He asked.

"Yes." She nodded and held up a small pouch alongside her waist. "I have enough for us both, but I have plenty for you here." The wolfess tapped her chest once. "Do you want to carry it?"

"Yep." John nodded and slung the small pouch over his shoulder. Lenape knelt down to his level and looked her son over. The wolf couldn't help herself from grinning.

'He looks just like a little hunter.' A sense of pride filled her bosom.

"Am I ready?" He impatiently asked.

"Ah, your hair should be tied into a tail." She softly spoke and brought a gentle hand to his cheek to help organize the loose strands. His eye squinted shut as her palm brushed against his skin. Despite the bulky nature of his mother's fingers, they worked fluidly to smooth out his longer locks of hair. "There." She lowered her hands and gave a satisfied smile. John looked at the grey she wolf kneeling in front of him. She held a sturdy bow in hand. A buckskin sheath carried a stone knife, larger than his own, along her hip. The loincloth she wore had tassels, and so did the small armband along her upper arm. A quiver of only four arrows was partially visible above one shoulder. The quiver's strap neatly ran from her shoulder to opposing hip, passing between her breasts. Her long solid grey hair was left to freely blow in the breeze. The she wolf exhibited the appearance of an experienced hunter in every detail, but one feature caught the human's eye.

"You look different mom."

"I do?" She tilted her head. "How?"

"Your fur isn't very fluffy anymore." Due to the boy's prolonged absence from her side during the spring, he never fully noticed her somewhat lighter grey, summer coat come in. His mother appeared sleeker, almost gaunt compared to her full darker grey winter coat.

"Wolves and other villagers have a summer coat of fur when their winter one completely sheds." She told him. "You helped me groom mine, remember?"

"Yes." John easily recalled.

"You collected my old fur into a pile, and kept it by the deer pelts." Lenape smiled at the fond memory. John grinned partially from embarrassment, but his mother only smiled brightly. "If you have any questions, ask me." She stood up and helped him to his feet.

"Okay." He agreed. Lenape motioned for him to follow, but to the boy's surprise his mother walked towards the village's center. "Aren't we going to leave the village?" John walked alongside his mother. The sheathed knife tapped his leg with each step he took.

"Before going on a hunt, members of the pack check with the chieftain to see where others are hunting during the day. If the hunt is very important then the pack may consult with the shamans for good luck."

"Oh."

"Then we will go hunt." She promised. Lenape led her son to the chieftain's hut in the center of the village, briefly greeting others along the way who were outside. The hut was a little larger than most others, but otherwise very similar to the one he lived in. His mother led the way and crouched down to crawl through the entrance's door flap. John found himself in a very decorated dwelling. Various weapons like tomahawks, a dream catcher, pelts, and other miscellaneous items were along the hut's round walls. He heard different voices talking.

"Just send a small pack to the boundary. They can mark our territory to reinforce that."

"That might provoke something. What if their village has a pack in the area too?" A aged voice rumbled.

"We'll..." A third voice tapered off. John's eyes adjusted to the slightly darker atmosphere. Mankato the white, tan, and black furred male was seated at the fire, but so were three others. A female coyote with light brown hair and fur coloration. John could tell she was a coyote because of her narrower snout, smaller nose, and larger ears compared to a wolf. The elder male wolf that John had seen bathing with the elder females not too long ago was also present. Lastly, was an older white and black female canine that he did not recognize. Her fur pattern was different than most wolves: completely white with black fur on her back and head with facial markings.

'Is she not a wolf?' John wondered. The human had a difficult time telling canine species apart, and simply assumed they were wolves like his mother. The imposing seated figures turned their heads to the small boy.

"You're that naked human who played in the creek." The elder male wolf smelled the air.

"Hello Lenape!" Mankato greeted the visitors with a booming voice and smile.

"Oh? Are you busy Mankato?" Lenape assumed and hesitated joining the others by the bright fire.

"Not at all. I always have time to see my sister." He grinned.

"Even though you never come to my hut to visit us?" Lenape sat down and arched a brow at her older brother.

"Heh. Well... I have been busy..." His eyes and ears turned away. "I see you have grown so much since we last met." He kindly smiled at John. "Your mother is taking good care of you." The human nodded happily.

"We're going into the moor for a whole day." He eagerly said.

"The moor for a whole day?" Mankato's ears wiggled.

"We are here to ask where others are hunting today and tomorrow." Lenape said. The female husky's gaze lowered to John.

"You are bringing the human with you?" Her tone was flat and almost biting like a tooth. John felt nervous and looked away from her.

"Yes, I am taking my son with me to teach him." Lenape held back a biting retort in her throat.

"I heard from many people that you wanted to become a shaman John." Mankato looked at the boy with intrigue.

"He has had a change of mind and heart." Lenape placed a comforting hand on her son's shoulder.

"Ah. I see." He humbly nodded. "There will not be many hunting packs today or tomorrow. You can go wherever you two want."

'That's good!' John thought.

"There is one hunting pack that should be returning today." The female coyote spoke up. "But you two should be fine." She nodded. The female husky didn't say anything, but her gaze never lifted from the mother and son.

"Thank you. We will come by another day to visit you Mankato." Lenape promised before turning to leave. John quickly exited the chieftain's hut, right behind his mother's tail and paws.

'I don't like the way she looked at me.' John kept his thoughts about the older husky to himself.

"It looks like we won't have trouble hunting." His mother pulled him to his feet.

"What were they talking about?" John asked.

"Affairs concerning our village or neighboring tribes. My brother, our chieftain must look out for the village with the help of advisers." Lenape explained the best she could. The two set off from the village and walked through to the larger moor. The weather was warmer, but still cool during the night and early morning. Thick overcast blocked the sun, but nothing promised of rain for the day. The wind swept across the landscape, bending the grasses of the rolling hills like endless waves in the ocean. Stone dotted a few spots, adding different colors of grey to the green mix. A strong gust of wind whipped from behind them causing fur and hair to ruffle in the breeze like reeds and grass. They paused to survey the landscape.

"Which way are we going?" John eagerly scanned the moor. Hills in the backdrop and tree lines excited him.

"Let's ask them before we set out." Lenape looked over at two figures not too far away, returning from the moor. "Arooo-ohh!" She called out to them.

"Aroooo!" One responded before trotting towards them.

"Come on!" Lenape hurried towards the pair. John ran after her.

"Hey." The pairs approached each other. John recognized Tizoc, the tall marble furred male wolf, who traveled with them to the Nanu village. He was dressed much like his mother but carried a spear in hand along with a sheathed knife on his hip. Some of his white hair was braided, and the rest left to freely drape down his back. The average sized chocolate brown male wolf beside him wasn't weak by comparison. Only white markings along his hands, chest and throat added to his solid coloration. He carried a bow in hand, quiver over his shoulder, and a stone knife on his hip. His lengthy hair was kept in a loose tail fashion.

"Hello Tizoc, Sitka." Lenape warmly greeted the two male wolves.

"Hey. He isn't trying to run away again, is he?" The wolf mused.

"Thankfully, no." Lenape placed a hand on her son's shoulder. "We're here so I can teach him to track and hunt."

"That's great!" Tizoc flashed a smile and looked directly at the smaller human. "You know, your mother is a very talented hunter."

"Yes, she is." John nodded. Tizoc warmly smiled and looked at Lenape who was obviously proud of her son's words.

"I asked Mankato if there were a lot of groups hunting today or tomorrow."

"Are you going further away from the village?"

"We will go as far as we need to." Lenape grinned. "Where are other packs hunting today and tomorrow?"

"If you are looking for a quiet place then stay along the moor and the upper forests." The other wolf pointed ahead of them. "I know a small group will be tracking down stray sheep from Nanu pastures to our south. Of course, those who are fishing will be along the river with their vessels and nets."

"Thank you." Lenape waved for John to follow.

"May the spirits grant you good weather!" Tizoc called back. John trotted with his mother towards a lone dead tree. He paused beside his mother as her paws slowed to a halt. Her gaze seemed to reach the horizon, deep in thought. John glanced over his shoulder noticing that Tizoc and the other hunter had already disappeared.

"Mom?" He touched her furry hand. Her ears moved first from his voice. Her grey face turned and looked over at him with a cheerful grin. "What are you looking at?"

"I'm just thinking about what I should teach you first." She said. "There's no exact way... But the first thing you should remember is that: You must use all of your senses to hunt." His mother told him. "You must see, hear, and smell." She pointed to each part on her head. "Since you do not have the nose of a wolf, it will be more difficult."

"Mmhm." John nodded.

"But that doesn't mean you can't become a hunter." She grinned. "You will rely on others in your hunting pack to smell. You can see and hear very well, like a wolf."

"Okay." He felt capable.

"I'll try to pick up on some scents, but the wind should help." She lifted her nose in the air first. John intently waited as she smelled the air of scent traces that his nose could never detect.

"What do you smell, mom?" He asked as soon as she lowered her head.

"Hmm..." She flared her snout after a quick exhale. "Nothing fresh."

"Fresh?"

"New." She looked at him and grinned. "I do not smell any new scents, but there are fainter ones at least a day or two old. I can smell deer and a few wolves from our village." John listened to her sniff the air for confirmation. The power of a canine's nose was always mystifying to the boy.

"Where should we go?" He looked around the open moor, at every direction .

"Let's find some tracks to make sure." She led him down the grassy hill.

"Tracks. Where will we find those?" He quickly followed.

"Wherever the ground is soft. Prints in the mud are the easiest to see." The search for barren ground among the sea of grass led the pair zigzagging across the plain until they nearly walked into it.

"We're on moss!" John looked up from the fuzzy green.

"You can see the tracks here." His mother pointed at a section of barren ground. The mud revealed plenty of hoof prints in various sizes facing many directions.

"I see a paw print too mom." John stared at the large imprint. His eyes easily noticed individual pads and claw marks.

"It looks like someone else was hunting here a day or two ago." She peered down and studied the marks. "These tracks might be old then." Lenape extended a leg and pressed her paw into the soft ground, leaving a fresh print behind.

"Why did you do that, mom?"

"See how a new one looks, compared to an older print?" She knelt down and showed him. "The ground is wearing away and appearing softer." A claw pointed out the differences. "Mine is more clear."

"I see."

"What else to teach you..." Lenape's gaze shifted towards the empty moor. Everything that she knew about hunting and catching food for the village was second nature, but the wolf knew that the young human didn't have those fine tuned instincts. Where to find a fresh scent, what seasons were best to hunt, which trails to use, and what weapons to use were only the first thoughts. "I should tell you different signals and how to communicate in a pack." She decided.

"What do you mean?"

"When a pack hunts together, they may choose to stay in one group like us. This means one will be walking ahead of the others, and they will follow. When you are behind someone, you must be aware of what they are doing. They are looking ahead, and you will look to the sides. If I flick my tail," she demonstrated by swishing her appendage to her side, "then that means to come to me. If I wave my hand over like this," Lenape demonstrated next, "that also means to come to me."

"Ok." He nodded.

"If I fold my ears flatly against my head," the triangular features lied flat against her skull, "then do not move or say anything."

"I can't do that." John touched his human ears.

"That is true. But you can hold you arm out and low to the ground instead. If someone is behind you, they may not be able to whisper or tell you something. Be aware if they touch you. That means to stop." She told him. John nodded understandingly as the wind blew past them. His mother's long grey hair blew freely in the strong breeze. She wiggled her black nose and smelled the air. "Let's go further ahead. It's only sun high." Lenape trotted across the flat section of land. John didn't have time to ask his mother how she knew with all the clouds, and jogged after her through the grass.

***

The sun was drawing low towards the horizon. The sound of soft steps through the grass were heard above the occasional insect or wind. John had followed his mother a great distance. He was starting to realize why he wasn't able to go on a hunt with a pack yet. Endurance was a key requirement to hunt, and John's body was completely unprepared. But the lessons learned were very much worthwhile. Lenape showed and practiced with him how to track, what distances to cover, and how a pack hunts together as a unit. Lenape stopped to rest much to John's relief.

"Tired?" She easily guessed. The boy merely nodded. "It is sun fall already." Lenape mentioned. "It will be dark soon." John looked around the vast wilderness, unsure of what direction the village truly was.

"We're sleeping out here, right?"

"Mmhm." His mother hummed. "Right here atop this hill will be fine. There are general rules to follow when hunting for more than one day. If you are far away from the village you will have to regroup with your hunting pack and seek shelter. If everyone is far away, someone will howl to tell everyone to gather where they are." The last thing the boy wanted to hear in the darkness of the night was a pack of howling wolves.

"Ok."

"Do you know what kind of howl I am talking about?"

"There are different howls?"

"Yes, there are." She smiled and dropped her bow. "A low howl signals everyone to gather wherever one wolf is howling." Lenape then raised her head until her snout pointed towards the sky. "Arooooooo." A chill ran up the boy's back as the low howl travelled across the moor. Lenape lowered her head back down.

"What if it is a different howl?"

"A sharp, quicker howl means for everyone to catch a deer."

"Is that confusing?"

"It can be." She nodded. "When this happens, all members of a hunting pack will run to a deer herd from different directions to scatter them. Then they single one out and try to kill it." Lenape began descending the slope, heading towards the edge of a forest.

"Wait. Where are you going?"

"Let's gather dry sticks." She waved for her son to follow. "It doesn't look like it will rain during the night." John trotted over with his mother to the woods. "Just gather dry sticks. A handful or two." The grey wolf bent over and began gathering. The small task took little of their time. With two small armfuls, the pair returned to the top of the grassy hill with barren patches of rocky soil. They dropped their small pile together, and Lenape began arranging the sticks together.

"We're making a fire?" He stayed close to her side.

"Like we would at home." She nodded.

"I already know how to make a fire."

"It's not quite the same as inside our hut." The grey she wolf drew her knife and began shaving a stick. John curiously watched her work.

"Why did you choose to build a fire here and sleep?"

"The wind isn't strong, and the clouds are not very thick, so it won't rain. If the wind is too strong, or there is a chance of rain then you should hide in the forest or behind a hill." His mother told him. "I can teach you another day how to build a quick shelter." She revealed a small pile of fine wood shavings in her cupped hands. Adroit hands spun a stick to create a spark that would catch the tinder aflame. Smoke grew into thick grey trails. Lenape carefully blew into the smoldering bits of wood. John watched as the flames came to life. His mother sat up with a satisfied smile. "There. Now we have a fire if it's cold."

"What will I do when winter comes? Will I be able to hunt?"

"You can roll up and carry a blanket over your back." She suggested. "You'll have to sleep close to someone with a fur coat."

'What if it's Azande?' John briefly wondered how awkward it would be, although something told him that the she wolf would be humorous about it. He picked a blade of grass and glanced at the open moor around them.

"Are you comfortable hunting?" Lenape asked.

"Yes." He nodded only to hesitate.

"Yes?" The wolf's ears faced him.

"I am learning a lot from you, mom." He felt proud.

"I see." The she wolf grinned. "Is hunting something you would like to do?"

"I think so. I can hunt with you, right?"

"Mmhm." She nodded.

"I didn't like watching you leave for a hunt, because I couldn't go with you."

"Aww." She softly grinned. "I didn't want to leave you in the village, but thankfully Asawa was able to be with you."

"Why couldn't I go with you? I never understood that."

"Your question is not easy to answer..." She exhaled through her nose. "I had asked several about taking you with me, but a few didn't want you to. You are small and had not hunted before. You do not have the strength to keep up a fast pace over great distances. And I would need to stop to nurse you if you became hungry... Some had heads full of rocks." She frowned.

"Heads full of rocks?" John chuckled at the funny phrase.

"They wouldn't allow you no matter what I told them." She lightly shook her head.

"Oh." He quietly looked at the grass.

"Don't worry. I will teach you all that I know." Lenape smiled and removed her quiver. A hopeful grin returned to the human's face.

"What else did you bring?" John curiously peered at the items she had spread out on the ground.

"My chest cloth in case I need to chase after prey." She held up the plain item. "I have my quiver and knife too." She slipped the sheathed weapon and strap off her waist. "We have our food, correct?"

"Yes." He took off the small pouch and handed it over.

"Do you not want any?" Lenape opened it, revealing multiple small pieces of dried meat. However, they were tougher than typical pieces of meat.

"No thanks." John shook his head.

"I'll nurse you if you want." She offered.

"Mmhm." He nodded and scooted to his mother who eagerly provided for him.

***

Darkness settled across the moor like a soft blanket. Without the visible stars or moon, everything was completely black. Lenape and John were sitting across the small crackling fire, ready to sleep when they wished. The normal preening sounds of crickets and other hidden insects were softer and harder to hear from the periodic wind. The low flames panicked and dimmed as a calm wind swept through the darkness.

'Huh?' A soft noise nearby made John turn his head from the fire. He scanned the unyielding darkness, but only the breeze had rustled the grass. Chill bumps briefly formed on his skin. A primal fear of the darkness was natural for a human, but the howls and screams from the attack on Wexford were very much alive in his memory.

"Are you afraid of the dark?" A little grin curled onto the corner of her lips. It was a common fear for pups to have. John hesitated to say anything. His unwavering stare into the night began to concern her. The wolf's ears didn't detect anything other than the wind, and not a scent passed through her nose. The boy gradually turned to her and the fire.

"This reminds me of... that night." He folded his arms. Lenape's ears wiggled in thought.

"What do you mean?" His mother asked, but John held his tongue. He had never told anyone about that horrible night when the human settlement was attacked. But he trusted her completely.

"That night when Wexford was attacked."

"Wexford?" Her tongue nearly missed the X sound entirely. "The human village near the river's end?"

"Mhm." He solemnly nodded. "It happened at night. I heard a lot of screams and howls as the town was burned. It happened very fast."

"Is that where you are from?" Lenape asked. The boy shook his head to the wolf's surprise.

"Far away." He motioned with a hand. "Across the Great Water."

"Across that?" Lenape questioned. "That is where humans are from?"

"Humans call it the ocean."

"Oh-shun?" Lenape's triangular ears swiveled at the sound that her tongue made.

"Across the great water the land where I am from is hot and dry. There is little grass, but there are some meadows."

"Are all humans from this hot and dry land?" Lenape asked her son. The wolfess had always been curious about the human's origins and where he had come from.

"I don't know." He shrugged. "I came to Wexford with my dad at spring's end. But one day I was... kept in a building."

"You were kept?" Lenape knew that he meant something more.

"Kept forcefully." He answered. "Metal bars are in place of a door flap. It's a place where you are trapped."

"Why were you kept there?" Her voice softly whined.

"He stole food... so I could eat." John had a tough time keeping himself composed while telling the raw memory. It was the last time he saw his dad.

"He?"

"My dad." His words made the she wolf's ears perk up. Lenape wondered if the boy had a father, since she knew he had no mother before. "I could leave when he paid for the stolen food, but that night wolves attacked. A wolf tried to break in, but wasn't able to. I couldn't see the wolf's face very well." He motioned over his own face. "I was terrified." John swallowed nervously. "A fire engulfed the building and I had to break through weakened wood to escape. I ran away as fast as I could into the fields. I don't know how long... maybe a day or two, but I was hungry and fell asleep in the grass one morning. And then I woke up inside a hut..." Lenape knew the rest of the tale.

"Oh John..." In a moment she was sitting beside him, her arms wrapped protectively around her son. She nestled her head atop of his and even crossed a leg over his own; anything to make him feel warm and protected. John held his mother and stared at the low fire's orange flames. Like the burning fire, a question burned at his mind.

"Whose village attacked Wexford?" He asked. "It wasn't ours."

"No!" A low growl escaped mother's throat as her hackles raised at the thought. "Our village would never attack a peaceful human village. It was destroyed by the Yonekohtan from the Northeast."

"Are they a tribe?"

"Yes." She solemnly nodded. "They are a different tribe from the Nanu and Sanada. They are ferocious and at war with their neighbors frequently."

"They killed my dad." The boy quietly sobbed. He never wanted to say it, but deep down he knew it was true. A warm leathery padded hand began rubbing his back soothingly. The last thing on his mind was that her hand wielded impressive claws. John drew in a big breath and sighed. She smelled nice to him, and her scent comforted him. When her hand stopped rubbing him, John looked up. The canine face smiling proudly at him was anything but foreign or scary to him. Her eyes alone reminded him of bright moonlight in the darkest of nights.

"I cannot be your dad, but I can be the best mother to you." She licked his forehead. A grin emerged on the boy's face at the sensation of her smooth, yet wet tongue. He wished that she could've been there to help him. Maybe his dad would've survived, but all of those events were in the past now. He had been adopted into a native village by his canine mother, and was in the middle of the moorland to learn about hunting. His future had never been more wildly changed, but he was eager to face it now.

"Thanks mom." John nestled his cheek into her warm front. He liked that her fur was soft, just as she was gentle.

"I love you John." She whispered.

"I love you too mom." It felt wonderful to be loved. The female wolf wanted to spend the rest of the night as they were right now, but they had to be ready for the morning. Her head gradually lifted from his head.

"It has been dark for a while now." Lenape spoke up and loosened their hold. "We should sleep now so we can wake up early." She untied her loincloth. John did the same as she laid down with him. Arms still held him as he snuggled close into her warm, furry embrace. Lenape's tail tucked tucked between her legs to help keep her son's legs warm. She did everything that she could think of to make him feel safe.

"Sleep well." He could only feel her fur all around.

"Sleep well John." Lenape whispered. The wind softly howled and crickets were barely heard at a distance. John no longer worried about the darkness that surrounded them and easily found sleep with his mother.

John awoke from a well rested sleep in the grass. The morning sunlight was weakened from early cloud cover, but it was clearly daylight. Despite the cool night, the boy felt warm from the cozy fur touching most of his body. The grass lightly crunched as the body beside him shifted. The soft fur left his face, but something smooth and wet washed over his cheek and head.

"Nngh." He mumbled and wiped his face before opening his eyes. John was greeted with a wall of solid grey fur in front of his face. unseen, a muzzle lowered and brushed over his forehead. A pink tongue flicked over a black nose. He looked up and found a pair of smiling canine eyes that were watching him.

"It's morning." His mother whispered and nuzzled him.

"Mmhm." He brushed his cheek across her muzzle. The grey she wolf propped herself up with an elbow causing her breasts to naturally shift towards the ground. A padded hand reached over and brushed the boy's hair from his eyes.

"Did you sleep well?" She asked.

"Yes." John closed an eye feeling the sun break through the clouds.

"The sun is peeking out." She grinned as he rubbed his eyes. Lenape rose up and stretched to face the sun's morning rays. John watched his mother ruffle her fur before arching her back to fully receive the sunlight. For a moment she resembled a statue, albeit a very furry statue. He blinked at her, but had to hold up a hand from the strong sunlight. Her grey fur appeared to have a golden tint as well.

"Sit up with me." She nudged his shoulder encouragingly. John stretched and sat up. His eyes adjusted and he scanned at the field in front of them. It was vast, bordered by forests and hills. And somewhere out there prey was hiding from them.

"What are we doing, mom?"

"We're sunning ourselves." She spoke. "It's good to warm yourself in the sun before hunting if possible."

"It is warm." He could feel the heat against his skin, as if the sun was sharing its strength with him for the hunt. And then as suddenly as it had appeared, the sun was enclosed by encroaching thick cloud cover, typical across the Hibernian landscape. Lenape looked at her son.

"We should get ready." She smiled. The pair stirred and tied their loincloths and knives around their hips. Lenape reached for her quiver and grabbed her bow while John gathered his belongings.

"You can stand and nurse." Lenape slung the quiver's strap over her shoulder, and rose to her paws. "We will have to move anyway." John stood up with the pouch around his shoulder and knife on his hip. His legs gave a short tug of soreness from their travels yesterday. Thankfully their height difference allowed him to nurse from her while they were standing. The human stared at the female anatomy for a moment while his mother scanned the moor, but she noticed his inaction.

"Are you not hungry?" Her gaze settled on him.

"Mom, what does it feel like when I nurse from you?" He asked. His mother softly grinned.

"It's a gentle tug and it makes me happy, because I know you're right here with me." She placed a hand on his back as he started to nurse from her. The grey she wolf softly hummed and scanned the moor around them. The morning was young, and they had the entire day to hunt.

"I remember when you seemed so scared to nurse." She fondly recalled when he finished. John nodded and adjusted his knife strap.

"Humans don't nurse, so I was really nervous."

"What?" Lenape was baffled. "How do human pups eat?"

"I don't know... Normal food? No one is supposed to even see a female's chest. It's bad." John tried explaining. Lenape finally understood why her son was initially so reluctant to establish the first vital bond of mother and child with her.

"I hope you do not feel that way anymore." His mother chuckled quietly.

"No." He found it funny as well. The she wolf turned and presented a hand. John looked around and could see the great Hibernian landscape before him. Patches of trees dotted the rolling hills, and forests were not much further to reach.

"Ready to go? We have a long distance and many terrains to cover."

"Yes!" He excitedly smiled. They set off and started their trek down the hill's slope. Tall grass coated in fresh dew brushed against their legs with each step. John took in the extra sights of the early morning Hibernian landscape while he could. The dips and turns of the ground resembled gigantic ocean waves of grass, dotted with grass or trees. Misty clouds of fog snaked along the lowest points between the rolling hills like hiding giants. The boy had to restrain his urge to run to the fog to see what it was like being inside it.

"I need to rain." Lenape stopped in the tall grass.

"Okay." John continued ahead. He stalked down the remainder of the sloping hill towards the bottom. 'I wonder if I can find anything.' He looked around from his position in the knee high grass. Despite the moor's ominous sections of low fog, everything was quiet with little noise. John saw a few little colorful birds throughout the grassy area. They scrounged the ground for an early meal before flying back to their nests in the trees.

'Tracks! Look for tracks.' The boy told himself and meandered along the ground. Wherever the grass was tall, he had a difficult time even seeing the ground, but that changed when he found a long stretch of moss blanketing the ground. Looking around the soft ground, he spotted a deer's hoof print.

"I found some tracks." He turned and pointed. Lenape trotted to him and inspected.

"It looks like they lead that way." She pointed towards the forest.

"We're going into the woods?" He turned. Lenape deeply nodded and walked with him. A gentle breeze ruffled his hair. His nose wiggled, detecting a scent. John paused to take a deeper breath.

"You can smell it." Lenape grinned.

"Smell what?"

"The lilac tree." The she wolf pointed ahead. John blinked and spotted the purple flowers it bore. "Your nose isn't strong like mine, but it can still smell." Lenape acknowledged. They approached the forest but stopped at the edge of the sparser grass and first trees.

"A hunting pack in a forest will have to be very quiet, because even soft sounds can alert prey." She told him as they walked. He expected his mother to lead, but the grey wolf stood idly. "You lead us into the forest." She touched his back. John peered between the trees. The forest was darker than usual from the clouds. "Don't worry. I am with you." Lenape encouraged her son. With a firm nod the boy entered the shaded world of greenery. Tall ash, oak, and beech trees dominated the skylight and forest floor. Walls of green leaves and low branches obstructed his view. The ground beneath them was mostly covered in dead leaves, making every step softly crunch. Hunting in the woods was like walking through a maze, the exact opposite of the moor.

'Be quiet.' John reminded himself and stepped with caution. He could hear his mother's paw steps right behind him. The human's foot steps carefully avoided sticks or any debris that would loudly snap as he meandered in an odd direction. There was a quiet rustling nearby. John and Lenape froze in their tracks.

'What was that?' The boy scanned the area before finding a squirrel further away jumping through the leaves. Lenape smiled at his astute awareness.

"You could hear it clearly?"

"Mmhm."

"If the sound is light or scampers, then it may be a squirrel or bird. If the sound is heavy, like our steps, then it should be a deer." John knew how big a deer could become from what he had seen other hunters bringing back to the village. "I should point out that we are now on a trail." His mother drew a line towards the ground.

"We are?" John stared at the forest floor.

"Yes. A deer trail." It was difficult to make out, but the were fewer leaves along the dark soil. It winded down the gentle slope of the land before rising up and disappearing behind the trees. "Unlike the trails our paws make from walking, deer make narrower paths. They're harder to notice and resemble impressions in the land, like a very shallow creek bed."

"I can see the path. It goes this way." John started walking down the deer trail, but a hand seized his shoulder.

"Hold on." Lenape slowed down her eager son. "You don't want to completely follow along a deer trail."

"Why not? We will find a deer if we follow the trail."

"We might, but if wolves use a deer trail too much, then the deer will no longer use this trail."

"Then what do we do?"

"We follow alongside or at a distance. Crossing a path is fine too." She motioned to the right. With that said, John led the way through the woods. Everywhere his canine mother pointed out different things to look for, be aware of, or notice while hunting in a pack.

"There are also other signs to look for when hunting in the forest." Lenape reached over and touched a small, barren tree. "Kneel down." She showed him where the bark was worn away, revealing the hard inner wood of the small tree.

"What is that?"

"Bucks, or male deer, rub their antlers on small trees like this one." She mimicked with her hand.

"Why do they do that?" John asked.

"I think to mark territory..." Lenape wasn't sure. "But their antlers are covered in velvet while they grow. They might be shedding that too."

"Kazana has a staff with an antler on it."

"Mmhm. They are valuable." She nodded before standing back up, ready to continue. Small ferns began to dot the ground the further they went. Different types of ivy occasionally mingled with deep green mosses at the base of ingrained tree roots. Some trailing vines even reached up several meters along healthy bark. John's eyes caught sight of a rocky creek and wispy grasses growing along its banks. The loud chirping of little native birds gave the still forest an added sense of life. Although the sense of awe as a shaman was more distracting to a hunter. A hand rested on his shoulder, and he immediately stopped.

"What is it?" He whispered, eyes darting around the woods. "Mom?" No voice responded, but the padded hand held his shoulder. John could hear himself breathing from the quietness. Whiskers brushed against his ear before a soft voice spoke to him.

"Crouch slowly." She whispered. John knelt down with her. The wolf's front rested against his back reassuringly, and her head rested on his shoulder. He could see his mother's snout in the corner of his eye. Despite the cozy position he found himself in, the human's eyes scanned the wooded environment. A clawed finger carefully rose up close to his eyes and pointed. Just beyond the little creek where the hill began to rise, he finally caught sight of a deer that his mother had seen so easily. Hidden among the trees and tall creek grass in plain sight, the doe slowly walked a few steps before nibbling what was on the ground.

"Are you going to chase it?" John wondered.

"No." He could feeling her facial fur brush against his skin as she shook her head. "Not this time." John was baffled but sat still as she requested. He watched the wild animal gradually meander and walk away, until it left his sight.

"Why didn't we chase it?" John tried looking over his shoulder, only to bump into his mother's muzzle.

"We were too far away."

"But you had your bow and arrows to shoot it."

"That is true." His mother nodded. "But it is difficult to aim through the trees at a great distance. Even if I could hit the deer, we would need a runner close by to pursue it. Sometimes a hunter must make a difficult decision whether to pursue prey or let it go." The situation that had seemed so simple before now had a changing dynamic to consider. Those too eager to catch any prey they see would risk not catching anything at all. John felt the muscles in his legs began to burn from crouching.

"Oof!" John fell back against his mother's front. A pair of arms quickly hugged him.

"Are you alright?" Her soft voice asked.

"My legs are sore." He huffed and stretched them out in the leaves. Lenape chuckled in a distinct canine laugh and nuzzled his head.

"We've covered a lot of ground." She acknowledged his efforts. John felt like a limp doll as she lifted him and easily stood up. "Do you need me to help stretch you?" Lenape set the boy on his feet.

"No." He felt better standing, but knew how sore his legs would be tomorrow. "Which way leads us out?" He looked around the endless trees.

"I will show you." Lenape took the lead once more. John managed to keep up with the wolf as she quickly and stealthily navigated through the woods. Eventually the brighter fields of grass came into view from between the trees. They emerged from the woods having successfully spotted a deer without themselves being spotted first.

"Do you want to return to the village?" Lenape turned and faced him. "We tracked a deer."

"Mmhm." John nodded. It had been a long day and a half for the boy, but the work was very much worthwhile.

"Let's go back home then." The grey wolf smiled at him. She held his hand as they began to walk through the vast moorland. The breeze ruffled their hair and garments alike.

***

The trek back to familiar territory seemed a lot faster than setting out the day before. Lenape paused at a creek near a lone oak tree. Her nose lifted in the air briefly before she looked across.

"We are close to the village. So this will be our last hunting lesson for today." Lenape smiled at him.

"What is it?" He wanted to know.

"Any water, a lake, river, creek, or even rain can make hunting more difficult." She knelt down and gestured towards the innocent shallow water.

"Why?" He picked up a small rock from the creek's bottom and inspected the dark coloration.

"Your nose cannot smell keenly like a wolf's. Water washes away the scent trail of prey, so it can be tricky for a hunting pack to follow. We bathe to wash away scents and clean ourselves." She added.

"Oh." He understood but dropped the rock as a tongue licked his cheek. "Ah! Hey!" The boy laughed and fell over. Lenape playfully ruffled his hair before standing.

"Jump across." She went ahead to a narrower spot. The grey wolf leapt over the creek but let one leg stay low. Her paw skimmed over the water, causing it to splash with two small waves. John cleared the tiny waterway with a running jump and scampered towards his mother. She feigned running away from him, but his hands managed to grasp her tail to keep up. It tried wagging free, but in vain. It was the only part of her body that couldn't overpower him. "Are you holding onto my tail?" She smiled back at him.

"Yes!" He chuckled. The she wolf turned around with a playful gleam in her eyes, claws pointing at him. Lenape seized the boy, but he laughed as she scooped him up into her arms. Her snout prodded his vulnerable shoulders and neck, but he tried shielding himself.

"I caught human prey!" Her jaws had the strength to chomp bones, but the human laughed loudly as she nibbled his forearm.

"Mom! Stop it!" He laughed. Lenape plopped down onto the grass and loosely held her son in her lap. Her biting teeth turned to softer licks for a moment. "You got me mom." He hummed and breathed and all was quiet between them. The gentlest of breezes lightly rustled the grass around them. An insect buzzed past, quickly fading away from their ears. John looked past the swell of her breasts, able to see the she wolf's grin along her muzzle. He felt happy and content laying there with her. John curled up closer and started nursing from a breast. Lenape rubbed his side and back soothingly.

"It's a beautiful day." She murmured with a satisfied sigh. There was a gentle breeze, the clouds were light but still a complete overcast, and there was no threat of rain. The peacefulness was irresistibly serene. The wolf looked down and watched her sprawled out human son nurse from her breast. "After a successful hunt, everyone in the pack helps tie the animal to a branch to carry. If there is no branch then a spear may be used, but if there is nothing then everyone helps hold a leg and walk back to the village." The she wolf softly grinned at all the fun memories from her successful hunts. John listened to her while he ate.

"My brother slipped in the mud once many summers ago. We laughed so much until we were out of breath... You will soon have memories like those." She whispered as he finished nursing. John sat up and held onto the furry arm lightly holding him.

'I wonder if her brother really did slip in the mud.' John couldn't imagine the tall wolf slipping comically. "Are we close to the village?" John asked.

"Just a short walk that way." His mother nodded. "We are near a very special place too." She told him.

"Where?" John looked around the moor but only saw the creek they had crossed. The grass rustled as Lenape rose to her paws. She waved for him to follow without a word. John followed his mother close to a lone oak at the bottom of a sloping hill.

"Oh! I know where we are." John looked around and spotted a tiny object ahead in the grass. It was a stick poking up from the ground. Several small rocks helped prop it up from the strong winds. They knelt down together before the grave marker.

"Who is buried here?" John asked as they approached. His mother didn't say anything at first. Her canine hand touched the ground solemnly before returning to her lap.

"Do you remember the day I brought you here?" Lenape placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Yes." John nodded. His mother softly grinned and looked at the stick again.

"My mate." She softly answered. "He is buried here."

"Y-your mate?" John's jaw opened in surprise. He had never thought of why no one else lived with them, like Azande and Amytis. 'She's lost family like me.' John realized. Sensing that she needed comfort, the same she had selflessly provided for him, John held his mother's hand. The canine hand strongly grasped him in return. For a moment nothing was said. Only the wind blew past them, rustling the grass.

"What were you saying to it that day?"

"How I missed him." She fondly remembered the love of her life. "But we always wanted to have a pup of our own, and now I have you." She smiled proudly and nuzzled him.

"Aroooooo-oh!" A close howl caught their attention. John looked around his mother and saw a visible figure standing in the moor.

"Who is that?"

"I don't know... Maybe someone going to hunt." Lenape answered before turning her head. John blinked as her damp nose touched his nose. "Let's go see and then go back to the village." Lenape grinned. The pair rose and walked to the canine figure.

"Mom." John held his mother's furry arm.

"Hmm?"

"I had fun hunting with you." He smiled at her.

"I did too John." She brought an arm around his shoulder as they walked up the grassy hill together.