Never smile at a...

The anger with which Widow faced off with him with took him by surprise. Stolas, who still didn't know exactly what he'd done, saw the emotion flashing across Widow's face and in her eyes. Something had tweaked her, but for the life of him, he couldn't understand what or why. For a brief moment, the adolescent wolf tensed, preparing for her to attack him and to launch into another fight. Instead, what happened was so much worse. Widow snapped back a single remark and then took off running from him down the river. The boy followed her with his eyes, wide with surprise, and didn't know what to do. "Widow!" he called after her, but she was already gone. "Oh dammit..."

Stolas glanced down at the corpse of the caiman at his paws, then back up where Widow ran off, going back and forth a few times. He knew he shouldn't leave his kill and resources unguarded, but that was his best friend who had just run off all upset, dammit! He couldn't just let her be miserable if he had done something to cause it. With a frustrated groan, Stolas rolled his head and took off running for Widow, following her scent trail along the river's edge. "Widow, wait!" he shouted out into the summer woods, running as fast as his paws could carry him. He ran for a ways, following her scent until it suddenly vanished. The yearling skidded to a halt atop a rock overhanging the river's edge, sniffing about, but nope. Widow's scent just ended here. But where had she gone?!

"Widow!" shouted Stolas, more than a little worried now that he couldn't find her. What if something happened to her when she ran off? What if she hated him now and he never saw her again? The thought of that happening crushed his heart. He had to at least know what he'd done wrong so he could try to fix it. "Widow, I'm sorry! Whatever I did, I didn't mean it! Where are you?" Glancing to and fro, the young wolf strained his ears, hoping to hear her call back. If she didn't, he would proceed further on down the river.

"Stolas"