The sun's bright rays permeated the cave from its opening, spreading through the shadows and illuminating the dark stone. Its reaching paws were fading as the daylight did, and darkness still lingered at the back of the main area that stretched a distance into the mountain.

Smooth but uneven, the floor formed different, rising levels as you traveled further inside. The roof towered high above us with sharp, pointed stones. They hung threateningly in the shadows, like huge, jagged fangs waiting to tear into unsuspecting flesh. Each was connected firmly to the ceiling with ancient rock, and the whole cavern looked as if it'd been inhabited for decades already.

To my right, water flowed softly from a small hollow in the wall. It snaked a few bounds in a shallow streambed, slowly weathered away from the runoff of snowmelt or stray rain higher up on the mountainside. The spring formed a pool against the far edge of the cave, smelling of the earth and what was once bitter ice.

"Could I get a drink?" I muttered the words, listening to the echo bounce softly around the cave. I'd been too preoccupied to drink at the river, and no matter how much saliva I swallowed, my throat still held a dry and scratchy coat of sand. Cloud and Pine nodded, still at my sides, and veered us streamside.

Too imbalanced to lean forward, I lowered myself to the ground. Laying at the water's edge, I looked down at the pale-furred wolf staring back. It was the first time I'd seen my face. In the rippling reflection, I studied my visage. An ebony nose topped my ashen muzzle, and a drab gray colored the fur around my eyes. A deep shade of charcoal rimmed my white inner-ears, while a few strands of raven-toned hair stood above my temples, matching the stripe of black along my spine.

My irises were a shade of tree bark. A faded brown in the middle, with dark lines running through them like the ridges on a branch. They were drooping and dull from exhaustion, even more so in the dim glower of the cave. It was more than tiredness, more than being scared and alone. It was an overwhelming sense of being lost.

I leveled my nose with the spring, washing away the image with a forceful plunge. The chilly water felt cleansing against my matted muzzle, and cooled my throat as I lapped mouthful after mouthful to replenish the dry riverbed along my tongue. I drank for a long moment, filling the rest of the empty space in my belly with the refreshing downpour. I hoped it would hold off the remaining hunger until I could eat again, and I pulled away when I could drink no more.

Slowly rising to my paws, Cloud turned to face a tunnel. Two more openings were etched into the back of the cave, leading to secluded spaces of their own, even though the main cavern held enough space for us all and ten more. They led me through the threshold on the far right, while my mind wandered to farther reaches.

Why did such a small pack occupy this vast territory? Surely they couldn't protect it if another group of wolves came and fought for it. And none of them seemed very prepared for a fight.

We ducked through the end of the short passageway and into a smaller den. It was much darker than the outside cavern, but small gaps in the roof let in some of the fading daylight. Tall enough for a wolf to jump straight upward––that is, if I could––the den itself was just big enough for their whole pack of now five, stretching a short sprint in both directions to form an empty, rounded area.

Cloud laid me down near the entrance before she stepped away, and Pine eagerly trotted off without her. She turned on her paws to follow, but something bubbling in my throat forced out her name.

"Cloud?"

She faced me. "Yes?"

Honestly, I wasn't sure what I wanted to say. Maybe I felt bad for getting her in trouble, or maybe I really wanted to tell her off for leading me on. But all that came out instead was, "Thank you."

"It was nothing, really." She smiled.

A wall in my chest came crumbling down now that I was here. Safe. Out of the uncertain wild. "It is, though," I said. "Even as big of a jerk I was, you helped me." It was more than that, really. I hadn't wanted her help from the beginning, yet somehow, here we were.

Cloud's gaze fluttered from my own, looking at the stone floor instead. Her smile faded. "You're welcome." Then it curled into disappointment. "It's the way Mist raised us, to help others. I'm not sure why––" She held the contradiction on her tongue, deciding if she should continue the thought. Her muzzle dipped instead. "I'm sorry that we couldn't do any more. Hopefully it will help you get back on your paws."

I nodded, watching her leave, and my stomach settled as I was left in darkness once more.

These few days really would help me. I'd use the time to regain some of my ability––slowly but surely––until I could leave this place behind me. I didn't belong here, burdening this pack. Nor was I sure that these wolves weren't a burden to myself. Spruce's sharp words nagged at my mind, and his sister's bugging curiosity tugged it the other way. Mist seemed kind enough, but still a little stone-like and cold. I wasn't sure if I could trust her.

And then there was Cloud.

I was desperate to know the real motive behind her kindness, forcing me here, pleading for her alpha to let me stay. Why was she so eager to help a frail, broken, mutt? There was nothing here worth saving. Yet, the hopeful sparkle in her silver eyes, the way they shone in the color of the sky––it was burned in my vision. I saw them every time I closed mine.

Then there was the "us" Cloud spoke of. The fact that Mist raised her was confusing enough. Where were her own parents? Was Cloud trapped in this group of strangers, just as much as I was? Maybe she only stayed because she had nowhere else to go.

I could only wonder what had become of them, the life and the wolves I'd left behind. More importantly, I had no future. What would become of me?