For a reason beyond Amaury's comprehension, everything froze as the two wolves approached. It was immediately obvious which one was Arina's Adam -- the male, striped and splotched with red and black, white and tan and cream. One side of his body sported the pink of old scars, and his eyes ...
But she had no time to devote to worrying about an empty-eyed creature wooing her daughter. Her mate emerged from the den to nuzzle her sleepily, yet he seemed to wake immediately as the bright red female came into view. The female said nothing, but stared at her family with... Amaury could only tell it was a level of distaste; about what, she did not know. But the female's presence was putting Lite-Brite into another one of his spells, and she had no desire for that to happen, ever again.
Only the young male seemed to be fully present in the moment, though all he did was natter. He had been the focus of Amaury's concerns only a minute ago, but all that had changed.
She moved to place herself between her family and the red female. They had always defied the gender convention of the male as the protector; since they had met, Amaury had felt it was her duty to protect Lite-Brite, the kind and gentle wolf whose wounded mind made him somewhat useless in typical roles. And as a mother, protecting her daughter was second nature.
"Why do you know Lite-Brite?" she barked. "And why did you come to find him?"
