the simulation just went bad

Fern is out patrolling the border around the pack lands, reinforcing scent markers and rubbing her gray coat against bushes to leave bits of fur behind. Puff, the gray girl’s stoat companion, sits between the wolf’s shoulder blades, small paws wrapped loosely around the fur on Fern’s neck. The sun is setting, painting the sky with brilliant swaths of oranges and purples, drawing the girl’s attention and causing her to pause. Puff speaks up, saying, “The sky sure is pretty tonight. Think we can find a good spot to watch it?” Casting her ocean-hued gaze around, Fern spies the overgrown stone foundations that mark the beginnings of the area known as the God’s Garden. Quickly, the girl says, “We can go sit for a bit but Rudy will be expecting us for dinner soon.”

Even though she cannot see the stoat’s face, Fern can feel the eyeroll that Puff is giving her. A soft chuckle filters out as the gray wolf angles toward the flowers of the garden. The scent of unknown wolf reaches the girl’s nose and she stops a moment to scent the air. Hmm. Seems they are part of a band or pack that Fern has not met. Well, time to change that. Puff knocks a small paw on the back of the girl’s skull, saying, “Hello? Can we get goin’ already? I don’t want to miss the show!” Fern rolls her eyes even as she starts to move once more, setting course to intercept the unknown wolf’s scent. When a soft champagne colored wolf comes into view, Fern calls out softly, alerting the wolf to her presence as Fern moves closer. When she is within ear shot, she says, “Hello there. Do you need any help?” Light paws come to a stop a respectable distance away and she offers the wolf a warm smile.


"Fern" | "Puff"