A Drizzle of Home

24 | A Drizzle of Amazement

Mist glanced us up and down, a curious gleam in her eyes while we each took our seats in the meal circle. "It's about time you two made your way back." A teasing smile lit up her muzzle.

"Yeah." Spruce's groan erupted from beside her, garnering a glare from Cloud. "We've been waiting forever."

Our setback had made the trip a little longer than we'd intended, as I'd insisted Cloud take it extra slow and steady all the way home. We'd been gone since mid-morning and only arrived back as the sun sank below the horizon and a streak of orange separated the earth from the sky. A long day, indeed, and neither of us had any more patience to spare the pup.

"Don't look at me." He snorted, turning his head back to the prey pile that sat untouched in the middle. "You two are the ones having secret cuddle-sessions in the woods." His snout shriveled in disgust.

I leaned forward on my haunches in anticipation of the show to come. Usually, Cloud would leap onto Spruce, demanding he take it back––or maybe she would clamp her teeth around his nose, drawing tears from his eyes and an apology from his stubborn muzzle. Instead, she merely let his comment roll over her shoulders with a slight shrug. She was likely too tired and hurting to care. Spruce was enough to exhaust anyone on his own.

"Behave yourself, pup," Mist reprimanded, but her brows furrowed slightly, just as shocked by Cloud's lack of retaliation. She shook it from her face with a small back and forth, focusing on the meal that lay before us. She tread to the other side of the circle to find her central position, and the rest of us filled in the gap.

As Spruce plodded to his new spot, his scoff punctuated the air. "Since when is telling the truth misbehaving?"

Cloud remained silent, not even flinching at his comment. Was it a new strategy? She'd show Spruce it didn't irritate her anymore, and he'd stop his attempts to get under her skin. He certainly didn't let it show that he was bothered by his loss of power. The glint of mischief that shone in his eyes only gloated that, without her rebuttal, his words were right. At least he held his tongue from saying anything else.

Dusk chuckled to herself, and I turned to the four surprisingly quiet pups to my right. They sat around their mother, muzzles sunken and tails completely still.

"What about you guys?" I nudged Toad's little nose, and tried to bring a smile with a lick to her ears. "Aren't you excited to be joining the pack?" There was another reason for the early hunt, for the two of us returning home before nightfall––to witness five new wolves joining our pack. They'd had the week to settle into their new routine, to let Dusk decide that being here was what she truly wanted, for her and the pups.

But Toad wouldn't meet my gaze. A haze of sadness clouded her small, dark eyes. All of the pups held a similar, solemn disposition, and they stared at the ground in silence.

"What's up with them?" I drew back, leaving them to sulk in peace, while Dusk skirted around my question with her eyes.

She opened her muzzle to speak, then closed it. She needed a deep breath first. "They miss... him." Her eyes fluttered closed, muscles growing tense at the mention of her mate. "I think they've finally realized he isn't coming back."

I nodded, letting their sadness wash over me. They were so young to have to go through something like that. They couldn't even understand it. The thought brought upon a wave of my own emotions. Losing my father, just the same. At least they still had one loving parent, a mother that cared for them and would lay down her life to make sure they were safe. Like mine.

"I'm sorry," I muttered, finding the courage to nuzzle her. "It's okay to miss him."

Tears welled in Dusk's eyes as she returned the affection. "Rye would be happy that we found such an amazing home."