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Dew didn't drop down like Autumn, but instead continued to the water through the branches. She was far from tired, and she wanted to get moving again. She found a branch that hung low over the pool they had found, low enough for her to reach the water from her new perch. If only she had a cup from Llune, or could remember how to make one using leaves. But having neither, she resigned herself to leaping down near Autumn. *Did you play in the forest too? Back at your old holt. I mean, every elf plays. But like this? Or with a brother, or father. Or did you have someone?* Dew was ranting again, rambling off question after question between drinks. She had been moving, and now forced to stop, she had to do something. Talking seemed to work. She she shot queston after question, as wired as always.

Dew stopped mid-drink and the water in her hands slipped between her fingers as she looked up at autumn. *Hold onto your wolf?* She was confused, not quite knowing what Autumn meant. *You didn't have a wolf bond? You still have your wolf blood. I smell it.* She figured that had to be it, no bond. What other "wolf" was there to let go of. She shifted to lean again a tree and get a better look at Autumn, *And what does letting go of your wolf have to do with your someone. My father lost his wolf, but he didn't leave my mother because of it.* Her send held less eagerness and cheer and more confusion, although she was eager to learn. This wolfirder seemed different from her.

Dewpaw couldn't help but giggle when she heard Autumn's send, of course, she didn't quite undertand the meaning. *You weren't raised as a wolfrider? What were you raised as, a striped-tail? A spiral-horn?* She stood up, jumping and pulling herself back into the treetops. She moved so she was nearly above Autumn before she swung down, holding onto the branch with her legs, bent at the knees. She stared at Autumn un-side-down, waiting for an explaination. Autumn was really beginning to confuse the young cub.

Dew dropped from the tree branch, grasping her head as the brunt of the growl hit her. She yelped, both from the send and hitting the ground. She shifted to her knees, but stayed where she was, trying to clear her head and steady herself. *That hurt* she sent, more of as a passing thought than an accusation. She stood up, steadying herself by placing a hand on the tree next to her. *That's terrible. Making a wolfrider deny the wolf. Thats like taking a wavedancer from the sea forever. Or a Glider from the sky. Or worse, a dreamberry bush without dreamberries.* While her experience with either of those was limited, she was sure that they almost fit the horror of the idea of suppressing her wolf-side. She stepped behind Autumn and placed a hand on her shoulder, *If you didn't like it, you don't have to do it anymore. I can show you how to be a wolfrider again. It'll be fun.* She was completely serious.

Dew blinked, head tilted to the side, confused as Autumn ran off. It did seem cruel to her to have to force a part of yourself away, to lock it into a box and bury it, when it should be as free as the rest of you. *Wait!* Dew sent, rushing after the other wolfrider. *If you want it gone. Remove it. A healer right? Dancer can remove it, maybe. If thats what you REALLY want.* She grabbed a low-hanging branch as she ran and swung onto another branch. She aways thought that she moved faster in the trees. She could see Autumn ahead of her, but she wasn't able to close the distance. *But you respect the High Ones. And Timmorn was a High One. She granted us this. So why is it an abomination? Our wolf blood was given to us by a High One. As a gift. And it saved our kind. Our wolf blood saved the elves from death. Is that an abomination? Tell me! Tell me!* Dew was rambling on, repeating the stories she had heard, her anger rising. She didn't like people rejecting what they were.

Dew lost her balance in the trees and fell once more to the ground, and frankly, she was getting tired of it. And being the stubborn cub, she hadn't quite learned to submit yet, except to the alphas of her tribe, Autumn not being one of them, Dew didn't back down. *Then wait til she's stronger. But for one with such respect for the High Ones, you are quick to question them. True, others survived. But how many others would have died without the wolf-blood. How many others would have been killed by the five-fingers. Timmorn shaped herself to the animals of this land and found the wolf to be the strongest, the most loyal. And I'm proud of it. Not because I am some stupid cub who knows nothing. But I am part of this land. I know the forests better than Savith knows the skies or Peyote the desert. I have embraced no fault, but following you.* Who said Dew couldn't bite. She crouched, subconciously rubbing her head with her hands, but still glaring at Autumn with teeth bared. She wasn't going to back down and admi that her wolf-blood made you someone less then an elf or filthy in some way.

Dew refused to back off. She pushed herself up on the balls of her feet and glared daggers at Autumn. The send hurt causing Dew to sway on her feet, but she kept her footing and straightened up. Her send did not pierce like a dagger or even cause pressure, it was just loud, like a cub yelling. *If they are better dead, then why are you alive? Why live with what you hate? Because the wolf won't die!* Dew took a step closer, teeth bared and a growl forming in her throat. *I don't hate that you reject my ways. I hate that you reject yourself! What you are! If you hate it so much, it is not the wolf the doesn't deserve you. YOU DON'T DESERVE THE WOLF!* Dew pushed the other wolfrider and released a growl. *Why do you even howl.* It was rhetoric, because Dew didn't care about the answer. Honestly, she didn't mean half of what she said, at least, not when she thought about it. But she couldn't help it, at the time it was sent, she meant it. The idea of hating the wolf inside her was disgusting, and she too acted with anger when comfronted with such a concept.

Dewpaw reeled back at the send, clutching her head once more, and despite herself, letting out a yelp. She fell back, taking a few steps, but then loosing her footing, stuck on the pain. She shook her head, trying to clear it, but she did not stand again. Her head hurt to much, and she wanted more to lay down and sleep then anything else. Tht thought seemed so ironic, maybe she could get back to her usual sleeping patterns and once more live in the night. She shook her head again, trying to return her thoughts to this moment, this fight, although she found she was having trouble. Her brother kept returning to her mind, calling her to follow him in the trees and try to keep up. But she didn't move, because he couldn't be real. She was talking to Autumn... no fighting. Her brother was gone. And soon, the image faded, and her mind cleared enough for her to send. *I obey the alpha wolf. And you are no wolf.* she pushed hersef up to her knees, then struggled the rest of the way to her feet, once more relying on a tree to keep you up. *Don't you see, the more you wound a wolf, the more it fights.* Dew sent, not sure herself if she was refering to herself or the wolf in Autumn, but that didnt matter. She wasn't even sure that she sent the message. Her mind was clouded again and she couldn't quite think straight. Her brother was there again, but this time he just watch. She wanted to reach for him and slowlly, she did, pushing away from the tree. But she didn't make it one step, her head pounding like a bunch of trolls were using it to make their brightmetal. She fell, or thought she did. She wasnt sure anymore. She heard her brother call her name, then everything was black.