All the places we've been

The black sand beneath his paws was starting to feel so familiar.If he closed his eyes, he could almost believe he was home. That if he took a deep enough breath, he would taste the crispness of the lake that had lain close to their sea port. That if he tilted his head just right, he would hear the chiming-tree. The place his people hooked the windchimes that spoke in the voices of those that had left him. That his little nieces might be somewhere ahead of him, waiting for his paw steps to take him closer.

But when he opened his eyes, he was alone on the barren beach of the Armada. The air that ruffled through his coat had the sting of a brisk chill to it and the faint taste of sulphur from the geyser over yonder.

The homesickness hit him like a wrecking ball, and no matter how much coil he put into his legs, he couldn’t outrun the pain of it. What he needed was a distraction, and he knew just the wolf to call upon. Raising his head, he howled out for Keahi. So that the summer wolf might spare a moment to hunt with him. Surely two warriors would find a predator on the brisk spring day?


"Speech"