The silence is cold and heavy, as if the world were frozen in ice, and the white wolf's heart sinks a little when he realizes he's alone. But as his mind comes to full alertness, his senses sharpen, and he realizes that it's not totally quiet—birds singing outside, the gentle susuruss of the wind. That eases his anxiety, if only a little. He's still alone, though, and that is the worst part.
"They must be away," he says, just to fill the air with words. He lays his head back down on his paws and sighs. They have to come back sometime.
Eventually, his eyes close and he dozes for awhile, but a new noise outside wakes him, and his ears flick toward the opening of the den. It sounds like pawfalls approaching the den. Maybe they were back!
But the wolf who enters the den is not Maiko or Pure Magic or Niko. Ah, someone new! The white wolf iches forward on his belly, emerging from the darkness that gathers at the back of the den, and he whines an apology when he startles the other wolf.
"I'm sorry!" he says, his tail wagging and sweeping up dust from the floor of the den. Ah, he feels so much better now that he's not alone here! "I didn't mean to surprise you. Pure Magic brought me here. I'm...well, I don't actually have a name." He feels silly, saying that. He'll have to think of something for the others to call him. "Are you a member of the pack?"
He's so happy to meet someone new that he barely notices his sore muscles and aching injuries. At least all the wounds have closed, leaving his white fur matted with dried blood.
