You Feel Like Home

It was the day after his father had joined his mother in death, and he was bearing it as well as he could. He needed to be as much of a pillar as he could be for his family and his pack. But in private, he allowed himself to grieve. His parents would never see their grandchildren. Gods, had Faite birthed her litter safely? He knew one thing, however, even if it was hard to act on that knowledge, just yet; his mother and father would not want him to hide away forever.

He was stepping from the cave when the howl reached his ears, turning his head as his eyes stared into the wall of the ravine. He was already moving before his mind caught up. He was tired, heartsore, but he suddenly felt oddly light and warm. So, by the time he reached the end of the ravine, he was running flat out, his limp hardly noticeable. He’d pay for it later, when he woke up stiff the next day.

He pushed himself hard until he was nearly in sight of the little healer before he slowed to a quick trot, wanting to maintain some dignity at least until he reached her. The limp was more pronounced in the trot, but it hardly mattered to him as he closed the last few feet, tail wagging for the first time in ages.

“Solveiga!” It was so uplifting to see her. He didn’t hesitate to wrap the much smaller wolf in a fluffy crimson hug, his right front leg lifting to drape a paw lightly over her back to draw her into the embrace before he released her and stepped away, haunches dropping to the ground.

“You have no idea how good it is to see you.” It was doing wonders for his outlook. He wondered at that ability. Perhaps he was just in deep need of a friend. But it felt like more than a friendship. There would be time to examine these thoughts. For now, he smiled, though the weariness was clear in his slight drooping of the shoulders, and studied the sky blue eyes. “Are you ready to come home?”