Cloud let me settle in the right-most spot before heading to the other side. She sat down beside the pups, and the four of us formed a sort of crescent shape as we waited in the moonlit clearing. The alpha stood across from us, and in the middle lay a pile of small prey.

The four had gone hunting under the twilight skies while I stayed in the den. I knew it took more time and energy to pursue the frivolous chase of squirrels, but plenty of their limp forms lay among the rest of the rodents and morsel-sized creatures. From hares to chipmunks, it wasn't a lot for five wolves, and there'd be hardly anything, if anything, by the time it was my turn to eat.

I couldn't join them on a normal hunt like the average wolf. I would never contribute anything to the chase of deer or elk––a normal pack's prey. That sort of hunt would take all night, would feed a group of this size for days, but not a single bite would've made it to me. I was stranded here, and they had to change their ways to accommodate. A heavy stone sank in my stomach, and I reminded myself it would all be over soon. I'd take my few free meals and be done with them, a problem only to myself.

Silently, I trained my eyes on the alpha as their meal-customs began. My only instruction from Cloud had been to watch and wait.

First, Mist stepped up to the mass of prey and selected a small portion. A hare and a measly rat hung from her muzzle, and she backed to her place. She didn't eat first or as much as she pleased. The alpha had only taken a perfect fifth of the prey, and set it down in front of her, nodding toward Cloud.

The short-bodied wolf did as instructed, coming forward and closing her jaws around the same amount of food as her leader. The alpha's children went next, first Spruce and then Pine, each choosing an equal share with everyone else before sitting back down. Both of their gazes traveled to me.

It was my turn now.

Spruce's narrowed glare darted to me, a look of defiance flashing in his pupils before he tore them away, focusing on his paws with a blank expression. He wouldn't let his mother see it or have her sharp yip reprimand him. It was a clear message for me. You don't deserve anything.

My ears sank in agreement. What had I done to earn any food? Nothing. But it lit a small spark in my belly, my own blaze of defiance burning softly. If he wanted me to prove something, I would.

The remaining prey was several steps from where I sat. Not far, but more than I'd taken on my own––still none. I caught a glimpse of Cloud in the corner of my eye, striding toward me. I turned my muzzle to her, shaking it softly. She stopped and cocked her head. I had to do this on my own. I could at least walk for a meal.

I slowly raised my hindquarters into the air. My back legs felt steady, but my foreleg was sore and strained from the trek here. Its shattered counterpart ached gently from its useless place hovering in front of me. If I wanted my body to grow stronger, it meant feeding myself and being able to. Walking was the first step.

Sucking in a breath of air, I positioned my back legs like every time before. Anxiety trembled through them, as if I'd never used my feet at all, and I kept my eyes from meeting the audience. Judging gazes wouldn't help my confidence. Closing my jaws tightly together, I bent my foreleg very slightly in the elbow, giving my muscles a little slack to spring my paw forward. When it hit the ground, my leg held strong. The joint didn't buckle, and my body only swayed slightly before coming to rest on my center. I grinned to myself. One step on my own.

But now came another.

With a sigh of relief, the next step went smoothly as well, and I kept going until I'd taken four or five limping strides and reached the prey that remained. There were three bushy-tailed rodents with reddish-gray fur. I reached forward with an apprehensive glance at Mist. No snarl curled her lip, only a patient and approving gaze. The food was mine. I tenderly slipped my teeth around the slim and prickly-haired corpses before tackling the tricky backward steps.

When I sat, my legs ached from the extra strain to stay balanced during my short walk. I couldn't help but glance impatiently at the alpha, ready to eat.

She stood, casting her eyes over her pack, then me. The dark-furred wolf turned her muzzle to the horizon. "We thank the stars for our meal tonight." Her calm and quiet tone filled the air. It wrapped around me like a warm, heavy tail and pulled me closer. "For without the gaze of Sol, we wouldn't have the earth and the food he provides." The she-wolf paused for a moment, training her eyes on the brightest spot in the sky. The dark clouds had parted for a moment, and I could see the nearly-full moon. "For without our Luna's glow, we couldn't hunt her shadowed lands."

The words were spoken with wonder and awe, while a deep rumble of reverence emerged from her chest. It intrigued me. The sun and moon, she gave them names. I was sure I'd never heard them, but all the same, they rang with a certain sense of familiarity inside my brain, a whisper of a voice.

One called Sol, and the other, Luna.

Mist regained my attention when she lowered her snout. "And we thank each life that was lost on this night. For one must end for ours to continue." She stretched a paw outward, and placed it firmly against the soil beside her prey. "And when we die, we will feed the earth. Sol will grow flowers from our bodies, and your families will feast on us as well." Her oration of passion grew quiet, and the dark-furred wolf dipped her muzzle to the ground. "For the stars connect us all."

I listened to the odd utterance of a speech with silent patience, though the hunger gnawing at my stomach couldn't say the same. Why be thankful to the earth when it did nothing but take things from us? It was our right to return the favor, to do what we had to survive.

Mist gave a subtle nod to her pack, to which they returned. I did the same, tilting my head toward my prey as a show of respect to creatures dead and gone who wouldn't know otherwise. Finally, it was time to eat.

I lowered myself to the chilly earth, finding it easier to pick apart my food from the ground instead of balancing precariously over it. I watched the others from the corner of my eyes, imitating their calm and civil way of eating. Despite the pangs of hunger and the urge to wolf it down, I used my teeth to slowly pull away the thin-furred hide of a rodent and swallowed.

The blood of a rodent was less bitter than a carnivore's, fed by nuts, berries and sweet, spring grass rather than a diet of crimson flesh. It retained the sharp and sour smell that all life-fluid did, but it didn't burn in my nose like the blood of a wolf would. My stomach didn't churn at the taste, rather, was filled by its warmth.

I ground the meat between my jaws, savoring the gamey flavor. After each morsel had been painstakingly nibbled, I was still hungry, and crunched each small, savory, marrow-filled bone between my teeth. All that was left were the bushy tails, and though I didn't want to waste any of the meager meal, I couldn't handle the feeling of prickly fur crawling down my throat.

The rest of the pack had finished as well, not a single scrap between them––minus a few tails. Their eyes all met the alpha as her tail gave a contented wag. "Dismissed."

First to head toward their dens were the littermates, while Cloud walked to my side. I caught their mother's sage eyes as she tailed her pups, a sly glimmer in her grinning muzzle as she watched Cloud refuse to take no for an answer while helping me up. I shrugged it off, blinking and finding the alpha's smile gone. She merely trotted ahead and into the shadowed entrance of the cave.

Leaning on Cloud, I pivoted on my hind, turning in the direction her pack had gone. "What now?" I asked.

Cloud hummed. "Well, we could go to sleep..." She let her droning, exaggerated voice trail as an edge of excitement trickled in. A giggle punctuated the thought. "Or, I could show you something cool."

Honestly, sleep didn't sound like a bad idea. There was no telling where Cloud would lead me, or how long it'd be before I could close my eyes. But against my better judgment, I accepted. It was better to get along with the only help I had. "Cool, I guess." I raised a brow and growled to myself for not being able to say no.

Her smile beamed in the moonlight before she urged me forward in the direction of the cave. Our curved path was set for the wall to the right of its mouth, and only as we drew closer did I see the small trail worn into the stone. It was even more narrow than the path up the hillside, sloping upward along a narrow stone ridge.

Lifting my head and narrowing my eyes into the darkness, I couldn't quite see where it led. Cloud pushed me ahead anyway, keeping her muzzle close to my neck as she guided me forward. We started up the small trail, longer than I'd thought it'd be––just like everything Cloud had led me on so far––but we eventually ducked into another, much smaller cave in the mountainside. I felt much safer with stone walls blocking my sides, and they widened into a short corridor where Cloud and I could walk together.

We followed its short curve to the arched opening on the other side, and she stepped out ahead of me into the night's brilliance on a small, rocky ledge. Cloud walked to the edge, and I crept after her, meekly ducking my head from the shadows. We stuck out from the earth's steep face, and I peered over the ledge to receive a flash of dizziness. A spine-breaking fall lay below us, now several deer-bounds from the wide and soft-sloped plateau. The cave lingered in the corner of my sight, a distance below us.

My breath caught in my throat, and I stumbled backward into the safety of the stone-walled enclosure. Why had she brought me here? I couldn't rely on my own balance to walk––much less ensure my safety on a literal cliff. Surely, I'd topple over the edge. Cloud probably planned on doing it herself.

Her sharp laugh cut through my thoughts, the she-wolf standing nonchalantly before the drop-off. "Afraid of heights?"

It took a moment to force the lump of bile down my gullet. "No––" I snapped. I wasn't scared. More... wary. My gaze was stuck on the ground, finding it nauseating to look outward, otherwise I would've glared. "I just don't want to fall."

A huff of amusement left her muzzle. She backed a few steps to rejoin my side. "I understand." The teasing tone had fallen from her tongue. "You know what helps me?" Compassion took its place.

I shook my head, my jaws too clenched to speak. In response, she placed her cold, damp nose beneath my chin. Then she lifted.

"Keeping my eyes up."

My eyes traveled starward. Not once had I looked at the actual sky. The black expanse stretched before me, reaching for eternity in every direction. We were above even the tops of the pines. I could see every inch of the horizon, spattered with twinkling lights.

Cloud pulled her nose away as my gaze traversed the night sky on its own. In the corner of my sight, I could see her watching my awestruck eyes. The silver in her irises sparkled, holding their own, infinite field of stars. Her white fur rippled in the gentle breeze, and against the dark horizon, the light bounced off her silky pelt. She glowed like the moon.

I drew my eyes back to the enchanting void, sketching shapes between the countless fireflies trapped forever in the night. A light streaked across the sky, like a wolf with a long, burning tail trailing behind him. It disappeared in a tiny flash, fizzling out into the abyss of darkness.

"Now look ahead."

Cloud's voice startled me, but more so the fact that I'd unconsciously grown closer to the edge than her. Catching my sight sinking once more, I snapped my eyes shut, and lowered my body to the ground. Once I felt safe and settled, my full weight against the unmoving stone, I opened them again.

She lay down beside me, stretching out with her paws mere pebbles from the edge. I followed her gaze outward and let her calming words fill my mind.

The trees' dark and shadowy points framed the bottom of my view, and from this tilted angle, I could better see the ridge that rose up in the distance. A huge, sparkling mass was centered between the two of us, emerging from a face of stone on the other side of the vast and stretching valley. It looked like water, but in the moonlight it was more like a cascade of stars, barreling over the top of the stone wall to form a mighty waterfall.

It was at least a several-day trek through the evergreen woods, and probably the biggest source of water in the valley. I was sure it led to the river where I woke. When I finally left, I knew where I'd go. They had to be somewhere between here and the ridge.

My home was somewhere along the river.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Soft words grazed the wispy silence. Cloud was curled tightly on my right, her long and thick-furred tail wrapping around her short body. The tip was tucked beneath her chin. Her eyes drooped with exhaustion, and her muzzle opened with a toothy yawn, tongue lolling inside. When she closed it, so did her eyes.

I was stuck here, but honestly, I didn't mind. "It really is beautiful."