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Senka slowed from her brisk pace, assured that she was not being followed. The shadow-colored wolf had escaped unharmed, of course – her prodigious luck would not allow otherwise – but a hungry, angry, territorial mob of coyotes was a bit beyond even her abilities to manage. So, she had used her silver tongue to smooth the way and escaped before the coyotes could think better of it and attack her. The she-wolf did not consider it to be cowardice. It was a tactical retreat. Certainly, she could have stayed and fought them, but they severely outnumbered her and she would not have come away from the encounter unscathed, if she had come away at all.

Senka shook herself out thoroughly, dispelling such thoughts. It was not her way to dwell on what could have been. What was the point, when the past could not be changed?

About an hour later, when she was certain that she had put enough distance between herself and the coyotes, Senka came upon a pleasant little clearing that held a large, smooth slab of stone within its boundaries. Deciding that there was no harm in a midday nap, she stretched out her long, lean body and then curled up on the stone, letting its heat sink into her muscles from below even as the sun warmed her fur from above.

An ear twitched, as though shooing away a persistent insect. When the noise continued, Senka cracked open one ruby eye to see a small face hovering before her. She blinked and opened both eyes. A pup? Out here? She had not noticed the scents of any other wolves before she had fallen asleep and she had not been so tired that she would have missed something like that. Even now, there were only the pup and herself in the clearing. Where had it come from?

The pup was still staring at her, however, and Senka realized that it must have been speaking to her. But what do you do with one? She had always been too busy back home to have had much to do with them, though she was barely out of adolescence herself.

Well, no time like the present.

“What are you doing here, all alone?” Perhaps she could get rid of it quickly. Or better yet, perhaps it had a story for her. Or perhaps its parents did, if they were nearby?

Senka cocked her head at the pup, wondering at her energy and odd questions. Surely not all pups were like that. She could certainly not recall ever having such wild theories.

The shadow-colored wolf uncurled into a comfortable lounge, which had the added benefit of putting a little distance between herself and the little bundle of curiosity. She had no problems with physical proximity, but she preferred to be able to see more than the face of the one she was speaking to.

“Of course I was born this way,” she replied. “Though if you want to compare appearances, your coat is much more interesting than mine.” Senka paused at that. Surely she could do better than to get pulled into this strange pup’s way of thinking. After all, was she not an intelligent, enterprising adult? Time to get back to more pressing matters.

“Is your family nearby?”

Though she was not worried about trouble, it would be useful to know whether there were other wolves nearby. Senka hoped that the pup had someone close by who was responsible for her because she certainly did not want to end up with the job on any long-term basis, and she was not at all certain that she could just leave the pup to look after herself.

Of course, Senka was glad to hear that the pup’s family was near, but…‘fam-fam’? Just what was it with this pup? She talked so much about the strangest things. Who planted seeds, anyway? And so many questions!

“I have no family,” she replied, somewhat bemused, “and my pack is far from here.” She had never known her parents, but had instead been raised by the pack, though she never thought she had been missing out on anything. It’s not like she was the only one that the omegas had cared for and some of the others had even had parents of their own, yet those parents had been unmated, so they were not allowed to take care of their own pups. Senka figured she had been better off without any. At least she had not been forced to pine after a mother or father who had no use for her, like some of the pups had been. But that was in the past.

Senka turned her attention back to the pup.

“Is this your territory? Do you have a pack?” Because she could not help it, she added, “And why does your mother plant seeds?” Such a strange practice.

This pup did not even know what a pack was? Once again, Sekna found herself bemused. Apparently, she would have to take it upon herself to educate the little fluff ball about a few things. Might as well begin at the beginning.

“My family is dead,” she explained. “I never even knew them. Therefore, I have no family.” Ah, to be ignorant of the realities of life. Had Senka ever been so young that she was not aware of the implications of death? Somehow, she doubted it. Not given her childhood.

“As for a pack, it can be like a family, but it is a group of many wolves who live together, many of which are not related. A pack usually controls a territory.” Really, that much, at least, should be basic knowledge. Did this pup’s mother teach her about anything other than flowers? But back to the multitude of questions.

“I am far away from my pack because I am on a journey to complete my training as the pack’s storyteller.”

Senka chose to ignore the first question, having no real desire to delve into her past, despite the fact that the pup could clearly use a dose of reality. So, she focused instead in the pup’s questions about her present life, which certainly seemed to spark the pup’s interest.

“I am, quite simply, on a journey,” Senka explained. “I have no real destination and no particular time limit, though I think they might begin to worry if I were gone for more than a year. My purpose is to explore the world, to see new things and meet new people. But most importantly, my duty is to collect new stories and to spread some of my pack’s lore throughout Telk.” Well, she was not strictly required to do the former, but Senka figured that it would be a terrible waste to travel the world without collecting its stories. Besides, Bryanni would have wanted her to.

“I have met many interesting wolves,” she added, then thought of Kamiya and grinned. “Some of them were most amusing.” Though perhaps not in quite the way that the pup meant.

“Would you like to hear a story?” she asked suddenly. Surely that would keep the pup occupied and perhaps she would learn something from it… and it had been quite a while since Senka had shared any of her own stories. If all she kept doing was collecting stories, her storytelling skills might get rusty and that simply would not do. “What kind of story would you like to hear?” Which one to share? There were so many.

“I have tales of heart-breaking romance and inspiring courage. I have tales of dangerous adventures and fierce battles. I have tragedies that will surely make you weep.” Her voice became softer and a bit chilling. “I have stories so dark that you will learn fear the night…”

“Tell me, child. What do you wish to hear?”

Senka’s brows shot up in amusement at the pup’s excitement. Apparently, offering to tell a story was the right move, after all. Well, which one to choose?

“Many,” Senka replied. A happy ending, hmm? Well, something that a flower-tending pup would consider a happy ending. Perhaps a romance? Perhaps the tale of Fina and Merek? Or perhaps Cinaed and Nessa? Ah. Yes. Cinaed and Nessa. Though she loved all stories, Senka had a terrible soft spot for Cinaed. He was the first wolf any of her pack learned about. In fact, he was the first wolf. The first alpha of their pack. Yes. That story would do.

The shadow-colored wolf settled herself more comfortably on her rock and relaxed into a storyteller’s repose.

“Long ago, when the world was young there lived a fiery little wolf named Nessa,” she began. “Ever since she was a little pup, Nessa had always managed to get into trouble. It was no fault of hers, of course. She was simply prone to finding herself in dangerous situations. Now, this had never been too big of a problem, because she was also clever and strong and could usually find a way out of danger. But even she had her limits. One day, Nessa found herself in over her head.

“She had been trailing a rabbit when, quite unfortunately, she stumbled upon a moose calf. Now, such a treat might be tempting, as it was all alone, however, where there is a calf, its parents are never far away. Nessa knew this and was just beginning to back away and find other prey when a twig snapped behind her. She froze, and then dared a glance over her shoulder. What should she see but the mother moose scant feet away from her, staring her down and pawing at the ground. But her misfortune did not stop there.

“No. Before she could decide what to do about the mother, a furious bellow had her whipping her head around to see the bull moose charging at her, full speed…”

“A moose? A moose is a very large beast, perhaps the size of a bear,” Senka explained, supposing that she ought to get used to interruptions in her narratives. “They are built similar to deer, but their antlers are even bigger and thicker and their legs are longer. They tend to be dark brown in color and have foul tempers when riled. A bull moose is an adult male and a calf is a baby.” Good enough? Probably. Now, back to the story…

“At any rate, Nessa was trapped between the bull moose and the mother and had nowhere to go, but suddenly a wolf shot out of the bushes, aiming for the bull. He was moving so fast that he seemed to be little more than a blur. He struck the bull full on, breaking its leg and tripping it all in one go. Of course, the mother was still not happy and the bull was only wounded, so the strange wolf told Nessa to flee and as soon as she had reached safety, he took off after her. His name, she soon learned, was Cinaed. And he had just saved her life.

“Perhaps most femmes would have fallen at his feet and thanked him profusely for saving them, but Nessa, as we know, was not an average wolf. She looked up at the great, big, handsome male and informed him under no uncertain terms that she was perfectly capable of looking after herself and she would thank him to mind his own business.

“Well, Cinaed stood there for a moment, not quite certain what to make of the fiery little femme. And then, he simply shook his head and laughed, assuring her that he was certain she could look after herself, but that a true gentleman could not simply sit by and do nothing while a lady was in such a predicament as she had been in.

“This mollified Nessa somewhat, and she allowed Cinaed to accompany her for a while…”