Miracles. That's what the pack's name sounded like in the pup's mouth as he invited her to join. The thought lingered in the female's head for a while. The pup was obviously very enthusiastic about the idea of another member joining his pack. But that was a delicate subject for Luna. She was still unsure about whether she should join a pack already or not.

The pup abandoned his lively mood as soon as the howl left her throat. He mumbled a complaint as he tried to hid himself in the grass. It was senseless since his pelt was a bright red colour. "It seems like somebody was doing something that he shouldn't do." Luna's hands grabbed her skirt nervously. "Listen, I'm sorry kid, but it is not safe for a youngling to wander by itself away from its parents' territory." One of her hands stretched out to pet the pup's head. "Don't worry Jiva, i bet your daddy is already proud of you." The female smiled kindly at the pup, and then, another smell appeared.

Her head perked up a few seconds before another male appeared. By the way he looked at the pup she supposed that he was its father. Hi eyes were full of concern as he closed the distance between him and his child. Luna smiled and bent her neck a bit at the presence of the other wolf. He thanked her for finding the stray kid, and even joked about her eating it to teach him a lesson. This statement made her chuckle. "Perhaps i would. He looks yummy after all." Another chuckle got lost in the wind as the male turned towards his son and scolded him privately. The female looked away and grabbed the material of her skirt, playing with it nervously, waiting for the lecture to finish. Kali sounded a bit impatient in her head, so Luna muttered a low 'take it easy' to calm the ghost down.

The older male lifted his head some time later and thanked the female again, this time introducing himself properly. Luna finally smiled, looking at both the father and the son. "My name is Luna Sabino, and nice to meet you Niro. Although, i already knew this little creature's name" She said, motioning her head towards the pup. "The boy was indeed lucky to find me instead of any other wolf. I haven't met them personally, but bad tempered wolves never fail to appear." So far, the only display of aggression had taken place in her arrival, but she had provoqued it unintentionally, so she didn't count it as something serious. Her expression turned serious as she hesitated about Niro's statement. "I have been lucky enough not to encounter one, at least not during the past days, so i suppose that this area is clear of them at the moment."

She eyed the pup again. The feeling of his soft and young pelt under her fingers returned to her mind, and as maternal as she was, she stretched her arms forward. "May I?" She asked, looking at the pup. Her tail began to wag under her skirt, and another smile appeared in her lips, hoping that the male would allow her, a friendly stranger, to hold the pup.

Luna was aware of the dangers that being a loner implied. She was exposed to attacks from other wolves or coyotes. Her size protected her somehow, but she was still exposed to a multiple attack. That possibility entered her mind every now and then, but she didn't think about it a lot. She preferred to live peacefuly unless the situation required her to act deffensively.

Niro's advice didn't take her by surprise. She nodded as the white male spoke those words. "I am aware of that possibility, even though i don't think about it much." She shrugged. "I don't know, maybe i will be lucky enough not to get into trouble." An uninterested smile crept on her face.

Then she looked at the pup. He looked almost scared of her. She wondered why. So far, she had been friendly with him. She stared at him with motherly eyes and smiled again. "Of course i'm not going to eat you. I was just joking." She stretched her arms further, picking Jiva and placing him in her lap. She stroked the area behind his ear, feeling the softness. "You know." She said, turning her attention towards Niro. "I have never had puppies." Her face fell at this statement. Seeing her mother have pups and helping during the deliver had been a wonderful experience. Holding her small half-brothers in her hands...she wanted to experience the same. That was one reason why she loved pups. And the ghost beside her seemed to share the same fascination...until a certain point. The ghost raised a paw and brushed it very lightly against the tiny creature, earning a warning look from the chestnut-shaded female. The caress was very light, but she hoped that the ghost had passed unpercieved to the youngling.

The red pup forgot all his fears as soon as Luna took him in her arms. That was something that she had in common with younglings. Life was a game, something to enjoy as long as it lasted. And Luna tried to enjoy herself every minute of her life, playing, feeling the breeze on her fur, the soil under her paws, the sunlight in her face...everything was enjoyable. Puppies enjoyed these simple things too, and that was why she enjoyed their presence so much. The example was here: Jiva enjoyed his ear-scratch as if it was the best thing of the world.

The female's head rose as the light-grey colored male's encouraging words turned into a sad memmory. Her lime-green eyes the male with concern. To have a child who suddenly grows up and leaves you must have been a hard blow for the father. She observed how Niro tensed up as a response to his thoughts, but she returned her attention to the puppy when he demanded it, taking out Luna's smile again and earning another scratch behind the ear. When Niro's voice rang again, the woman casted her head up again to see that he had already collected himself. "Thank you for your kind words Niro. And do not blame yourself for your kin's actions. They have minds of their own, and their decisions are their's. However, i think that there are other things that still need you." The caress on the back that she gave to Jiva emphasized her words. "Children are, indeed, a blessing..." The chestnut wolfess couldn't find words to complete the phrase, so she let out a soft sigh instead, returning to her old, serene mood afterwards.

Her hand stretched towards her statchel. She had almost forgotten about the bitter-sweet berries that she had been eating a while ago. She hoped that she didn't take the wrong berries, but she felt relieved when she lifted her hand and foung a stick charged of green leaves and round, bright purple fruits. "I don't know wether this will help or not, but i hope that you like them anyways. They are blueberries." She said, offering the berries to Niro. Then she looked to her right. Kali wasn't there anymore. She supposed that she had hidden, because she could sense her presence. So she returned her attention to the young pup standing in her lap. "Would you like some too?"

428 words

Children. Those small and helpless creatures were a bless for any parent. When a couple had children, all their world spun around their kin. They took care of them, protected them, and did everything for them. But, unfortunately, Luna couldn't do either of those things. To be a Loner implied risking herself to be attacked by others, to pass cold or even starve -both of which were endurable by herself, but not with someone dependent of her-. So, to put it on a few words, Luna was not ready to bear children.

However, the male's kind words touched her. She showed a big smile, gratefulness on her eyes. "Thank you Niro. However, only time will assure this." She shrugged, feeling better than before. As good as a friend and some kind words would make her feel.

The feeling still lingered on her chest when the blue-haired man accepted her small gift, a gift that had been difficult to find due to the season, just like he pointed out. In fact, the chestnut woman had had to search thoroughly through an enormous bush in order to find only a few twigs. She would have to wait a few months in order to find more and sweeter berries. However, the male seemed to enjoy the gift, and the pup was also eager to recieve his part, so Luna focused entirely on him. "Don't worry Jiva, there is also a part for you." She giggled at the young one's enthusiasm. The twisted herself to reach her statchel and looked into it. Between the pieces of barberry bark and the flowers she found another twig with some berries on it. "Here you go." She said, taking the fruit out and holding it close to Jiva's body.

The female cut the few berries thet hung from the stick and held them on her open palm, offering them to the excited pup, who wagged his tail so hard that it seemed as if it would fall off at any moment. "By how bad you want the berries i can tell that you haven't tasted them, have you?" This had to be the first time that he ever tasted them. This could be told because of his young age. He couldn't be older than three or four months old, and the season in which berries were collected started during the late summer. He wouldn't be able to taste the wide variety of berries that could be found around until those months. So far, he would have to put up with the berries that she offered.

The female observed how Niro ate her small gift. At the beginning she feared that the berries were too young and that their sweet taste had only been a product of he imagination. But it seemed like those thoughts were out of place since the grey male ate them without making faces.

Back to the puppy, he seemed eager to taste the new fruit now that he saw that his father liked it. Luna chuckled at his display of emotion and allowed him to take a berry. Just as she expected, as soon as the youngling popped one on his mouth, he made a gesture of disgust. Of course, the berries mustn't have been sweet enough for a pup. She worried that it could upset his father, so her reaction was to rise a hand to the level of her muzzle, nibbling her finger nervously. But a second later, his expression changed. Instead of spitting the chewed fruit, Jiva chewed it even more, this time enjoying it.

When the pup grinned, showing his blue tainted teeth, the wolfess could not restrain the chuckles that came next. "Jiva!" She said, lowering the hand with which she held the berries, putting it at the pup's level to eat as many as he pleased.

"I bet that you are a very lucky boy for being able to taste them before other pups do so." She said, stretching an arm to give him a scratch behind the ear. "I am glad that you like them." With her other hand she took a lost strand of ebony hair off her face absently, thinking about what Niro had mentioned about the dangers that being a loner brought. If he knew something about them, like their appearance or things of the sort, then it would be easier for her to keep herself out of trouble. In the meantime, her face had adopted a thoughtful expression, half-closing her eyes. "Niro? you mentioned that there are dangerous wolves roaming. Do you know how do they look like, or wether they belong to a pack or not." Her expression changed again, this time into a playful grin, opening her eyes completely and letting her tongue hang from her mouth a bit. "You know, just to know what to expect."