Laika slipped from the leather flap door of the hut, groggily staring at Afore from behind. Her eyes were half-closed, her footing a little loose.

"Hey, Wanderer, you're tugging on the leash while I'm trying to sleep," she grumbled, frustrated.

Immediately, her voice, although quiet, seemed to echo throughout the camp, and the shadow up ahead whipped around, the footsteps making heavy noise once again as the large, shadowed dog was put into motion. The dog was headed straight for Afore and Laika.

"Damnit, Laika," Afore growled, flipping around, "We have to get out of here!" Panic lifted his hair, and his eyes became narrowed with anger and planning. He needed to quickly get out of the mess, quickly escape. An itch at his paws said loudly to run.

The dog bounding not too far quickly came into view, a shabby pelt highlighted by moonlight in a flash.

Laika was a little shocked, but her heavy eyelids opened and she suddenly became wide awake, eyes opened fully now. "But my bed!" She protested, a little stunned.

"Grab it and run," Afore said deeply. His voice was hurried, his breath quickened, fear pulsing through him like running water. The heavy paw-steps were thudding rhythmically and quickly now; the large dog was headed their way and making good time, too, pushing through huts in a flash of reflective light and shadow. Laika quickly slipped into her hut, rolled up the partial bear hide with her nose, and then gripped it tightly in her jaws. It hung a little low on both sides like paper or fabric, its own thick weight holding the edges low. Laika heaved a little, but with new, sharp adrenaline coursing through her, her heartbeat steady but quick, she was able to lift its weight with her muzzle, holding her snout up. She appeared from the den once again into the cool night air, and then, with one glance between one another, the two took off.

Behind them chased a huge tan-coated dog with a half-tail and short ears. He was nearly as big as Afore himself, and just as shaggy in coat, too. Another livestock guardian dog.

The dog howled out as his thunderous paws rattled the homes, "The wolf! The wolf is back and he is getting away!" On command, dogs of all colours and sizes appeared from their hides, heads peeking out of flaps in doorways with groggy, curious looks. A few howled out once again in a loud, awakening chorus, and other shook themselves to their senses and gave quick chase to Laika and the wolf.

Voices behind them, loudly and aggressively, "There goes the wolf!"

"Somebody catch him!"

"Those vagabonds!"

"Theives, more like it!"

Ears flicking in one direction and then the next, Afore glanced at Laika as they sprinted side-by-side through a maze of pelt huts. They listened intently, and then made a shaking, blurry eye contact as they ran, leaping up and over dirt path and vining through hides. Nervous energy spun between them, making them both seem hot and breathless.

With a bit of shock, Laika laughed a bit, her voice muffled by the bear coat in her jaws, which seemed to bounce on either rolled side with her feathered coat as she bounded like a gazelle. Afore laughed, too, a little nervously, but also excitedly, and with immense amusement to the chorus of dogs shouting and yelping and thudding behind them.

"Vagabonds?" Afore asked through a pant and a laugh. His paws felt nearly on fire with energy and force as he sprinted along the dirt. The dirt and gravel floor seemed to rub his paw pads bare. Laika's felt about the same. She fell a little behind as they ran, but the rope grew taught between them and Afore sprinted ahead, pulling her with him and helping her along.

She shouted through the bear hide, "I suppose we are vagabonds now! Travellers and thieves!"

"Travellers and thieves!" Afore responded with a fit, "What a title for a wolf and a saluki!" His tongue was out as he ran, dribbles of spit running from it.

"Partners in crime, wolf!"

"Partners in crime, saluki!" They both had a new pep to their step, galloping in playful, bounding leaps.

And as they neared the wall in a full sprint, they lifted their noses howled in unison. Afore's howl was heartier and heavier than the saluki's; the saluki's seemed more like a whine than a true howl. Still, they did so with good fun.

The wolf followed his sniffing nose and raced along the tall wooden wall for only a moment before catching his and Laika's fresh, wooded scents. The hole was still here as they'd left it, to no one's surprise.

"Laika," Afore hissed, "Go, go."

First, she slid the hide under and through the hole, pushing with her nose, and with swiftness, she followed, climbing through on her belly, the leash following her in the dirt. The rope between them, once bright and tan, was now blackened with mud and dirt and grime. As was their coats and paws.

Then, Afore pushed through the small gap. The stiff wood posts above him dug into his back with a stinging pain, surely brushing, and his lungs suddenly couldn't seem to find air. He could see ahead of him the beautiful dark forest, and feel behind him the packed dirt of Veal Tribe. Cramped, he wriggled, struggling to force himself through the small gap. Laika left the bear's hide on the forest floor and gripped the rope in her jaws, pulling back like a dog in tug-of-war. The leash grew tight around Afore's neck, and he choked a bit, coughing, neck itching, pushing through as best as he could with claws digging into dirt, his muscles burning and lungs heaving. He could almost feel the breath of a dozen angry dogs on his tail. Then, with Laika's pulling help, he popped through. She picked up the rolled-up bear hide once again with her teeth, and then the two raced into the woods, bounding over shrubs and through limbs to their burrow.

From behind the wall, the dogs had gathered, swearing and growling with frustration; a small black dog wriggled through the hole and then gave chase, cracking limbs and crunching leaves in his wake. None of the other dogs in the chase seemed to be able to fit through the gap, although that didn't stop them from trying.

The black dog raced after Laika and the wolf, close on their heels, driving them to run faster with fear and panic and exhilaration. The little dog blended in to the darkness with ease and moved quick like a shadow. Although, he was not silent, and clearly unused to the maze and obstacles of the forest, especially at night, for he kept getting caught in dry brambles and hung up on short roots, tripping or skidding every which way, and so Laika and Afore quickly outpaced him, laughing with delight and triumph as they did so.

They quickly raced around, zig-zag style, cracking branches, and then darted into their burrow more quietly, slipping through the damp winter dirt.

Once inside, Laika dropped the pelt and laughed exasperatedly, taking a long moment of heaving breathing to regain her breath.

Heaving, Afore panted, "Vagabonds!"

"To vagabonds!" Laika said, laughing again. Afore practically dropped to the ground, laying on his side as it heaved for air. Laika did the same, plopping down beside him in the cool dirt nearly nose-to-nose.

"To success!" Afore said breathlessly.

And Laika breathed in, "To success!"

"Happy to be sleeping in your own bed tonight?"

"Oh, absolutely." It took a while for them both to regain their breathing and to control their energy and excitement; and then, the day's events caught up to them, and exhaustion overtook. Laika slowly stood, stretching gently, and unrolling the hide, covering the floor with it.

Afore's voice had slowed and dropped, much more evenly and quieter now, "Better than dirt?"

"Better than dirt," Laika replied. Her own voice had shallowed out, slow and loose as her energy depleted her and she became aware of the soreness in her legs and back. Achingly, Afore scooted away for Laika to lay down the pelt, and then, he laid down on it with heavy, weighted exhaustion.

"Much better," he mumbled. The pelt curved to his shape, and the black fluff lined his silhouette like foam as he laid in it. He seemed to sink into it like grass or sand or clouds.

"Oh, much," Laika whispered, laying down on the pelt with a comfortable and relieving sigh. It bounced a little as she laid on it. At long last, they could both be relaxed and relieved, albeit with bruises and aching limbs. The heaviness of exhaustion, the release of energy outweighed them both, and eyes closed quickly, breathing slowing to a dull rhythm.