the skin i can't wait to shed.

[Rue]

Rue had been traveling for days it seemed. Since she had left her dear sister, Astrid, at the St. Lawrence River Rue had traveled south for narrower crossings. The trek was tiring and she had almost given up. She had been chased away by other packs, attacked by a lone wolf hunting, and lost too many prey to count. She was starving, her usually lean body now nearing the point of skeletal. For the past mile she wasn’t paying attention to where she was headed. Her paws were heavy as she walked up steep inclines. Finally, at the top, she focused. Below her was the soft waves and sand of the coast. Had she really come this far? It seemed an impossible feat for such a wolf like her. True, she was born an Alpha, but she was of a small pack in only a small territory in Ontario. She slumped, collapsing onto the ground, giving her sore pads a break. She was playing with the idea of changing human and making a small trap to see if she could catch some fish but she was just too tired.

The wind shifted and she caught the scent of an unfamiliar wolf down the shore line. Her heart skipped a beat in fear. She had encountered a lone wolf before and she had barely escaped with her life. Still, it wasn’t in her blood to turn and run. She was a born warrior. Rue stood, her tail lifting slightly and spotted the wolf a little ways down. As she padded towards the stranger she studied it. The wolf was a she, coal black with her head lifted up. Rue stepped out of the brush along the sand and gave an inquiring whine.

“Hello?” Rue paused, unsure of whether this new wolf was friend or foe.