He had hoped to surprise Elk Charm with a fresh carcass, but their muted-brown coats and long limbs blended in well with the forest. With a wolf’s eyes, it was all too easy to see them as trees that moved, antlers blending with the canopy above. And though he was strong, Samo did not think he could fell one of the great beasts alone. Perhaps a calf, or an injured cow—but he saw none yet.
What drew his attention more were the ruined columns he saw. Stone and brick, of human make, but more weathered and ancient than any he had ever seen. Ivy climbed up through an empty window frame, and he was suddenly struck by a frightening notion: that this was some place he had known, now passed by many lifetimes.
Samo tore his gaze away. He forced himself to look away from the ruins, to the herd instead, and continued to follow from a quiet distance.
When the beasts spilled into the clearing, however, he saw that another was waiting for them. A white she-wolf at the edge of the meadow, her head tilted up to the sky. Was she here to hunt? Could she be another of the caribou hunters?
Samo was uncertain, but he felt he owed it to Elk Charm to find out. He approached her slowly, head down and tail low, so as not to spook either her or the herd.
You’re here to hunt?Samo asked.
Are you—Sharadoii?