The bone in Saluki's mouth was from the leg of an elk; her mother had brought it down earlier in the dusk. The elk had been old, Saluki decided as her black nose twitched intensely around the marrow, but tasty. Her small stomach, now round and warm, felt like it would be full for days.
"How did you get it?" Loki, the smaller of the two sisters, was gazing admirably at the white body of their mother, who was sprawled at the mouth of their cave.
"I smelled it, I went for it, and we needed it," was her simple answer. "I'll teach you how to bring down an elk once you reach one year of age." She turned and scanned her two daughters, the larger one, with white fur resembling her own, and the little grey one, who was looking at her in awe.
"I want to learn how now, I know I can do it," Saluki pleaded, looking up from her careful examination of the bone in between her paws. She wanted to be just like her mother, brave, wise, and strong, able to hunt animals much bigger than herself.
"You're only a few Moons, Saluki, your time will come."
"Will my time come too?" Loki asked, just to be sure.
"Yes, Loki," their mother chuckled.
Saluki got to her enormous paws and dropped the bone, where it thudded in the soft leaves. Outside of the small den, the moon shone brightly overhead. Stars sprinkled the horizon, but it wasn't nightfall yet. Saluki sighed in frustration. Why couldn't it be morning already, when she and Loki could frolic in the woods?
Her mother stood gracefully and walked to where Saluki was pacing.
"If you sleep, the morning will come faster, little one."
Saluki was gently nipped on the back of her neck, her mother herding her to where Loki was curled up.
"Can you tell us a story?" Saluki pleaded, flopping beside her sister.
"Yes! The one about Lupus!" Loki added eagerly.
"Why, you've heard that one a thousand times!"
"Please?" Saluki begged.
"Oh, alright, now settle down," their mother said. Her voice was stern but Saluki saw the twinkle in her blue eyes. Saluki knew that her mother loved telling stories. From how the herds of elk got to the forests, to why the river runs, she always had an explanation.
"Once upon a moon there was a wolf named Lupus. As it turns out, he was in love with the moon. Every night he climbed a mountain and looked at the moon and wished there was some way to tell her he loved her."
Saluki looked at Loki, who was staring wide eyed into the distance. No one could tell stories like their mother, and no matter how many times she heard this one, it never got old.
"One night Lupus was feeling especially lonely. He went to the river and gazed at his reflection. Behind his shoulder, the beautiful face of the moon seemed to ripple and move in the water.
"'Oh River, how can I get the moon to love me?' Lupus cried. Then, to his surprise, the river answered. It said "Tomorrow evening when the first star appears, sing the moon up over the forest. Then the moon will love you.'
"'Oh thank you River, thank you from the bottom of my heart!' Lupus barked and he ran home. The next evening when the first star appeared Lupus was on the mountain and began to howl the most beautiful song to the moon. She rose higher and higher, getting more stunning as she lit up the sky. Lupus saw her smile.
"'Lupus, I have seen your dedication every day.' The moon said. "I do love you, I just couldn't tell you. You can join me up in the sky if you are willing to leave the Earth behind.'
"'I am!' Lupus said, and he was lifted up to join the moon. They were so happy together that the moon made a special constellation for Lupus. And that is also why wolves howl at the moon on special occasions."
Her mother sighed and turned to Saluki.
"Goodnight, little ones, remember, I love you always."
Saluki's eyelids were heavy, and beside her Loki was already snoring. She drifted off into a peaceful sleep.