fun,” the pup replied.

“Really?” asked Star. “That's my favorite too! Not it! You're it!” and she took off, Eska chasing after her and yelling that he wasn't ready.

Luna looked after them. “I thought Hide-and-sniff was her favorite,” she murmured. But, why split hairs? Star had made a friend, and aside from that one moment of disappointment, she seemed happy enough. So, tossing the question aside, Luna followed to keep an eye on the rambunctious youngsters.

There is an odd state sometimes encountered, particularly by the very young, when something that drains or ought to drain one to the point of exhaustion instead leaves one feeling more energetic than they felt at the start. Some call it being “tired hyper.” Whatever you calls it, it was Star's condition when she got home. Where her mother was all but dead on her paws just from following the playmates, the pup was bubbling with energy.

“I can't wait to go out again!” she enthused.

Luna forced a smile through her yawn. “Yeah, it was fun.” The truth was, she was only speaking half her mind. As glad as she was that Star had had such a good time, she needed some rest. 'I'm too young to feel this tired,' she thought, not without humor.

“Well,” said a voice nearby, “Sounds like someone had a good day.”

It was Arrow, her black-rimmed eyes relaxed and her lips drawn back in a smile.

“You can say that again!” agreed Star. “I made a new friend today!”

This pleased Arrow, and her tail began to wag just a little – though not as much as Star's. 'She'd better be careful with that thing,' she thought humorously. 'She could flatten a house with one whack.' “Sounds great,” she said. Then she looked up at Luna and a smirk found its way into her features. “Did you play Caribou Hunt? Mom looks like you chased her to Juneau and back.”

Luna smiled and assumed an exaggerated droopy posture as if she were barely staying on her paws. “Oh, nonsense,” she replied, “I feel great.”

Arrow was quick to pick up on the cue. “So, tell me what happened, Star. Who's this new friend you met?”

“His name's Eska. Mom helped me find him, and we spent all day playing. He's lots of fun.”

“What kind of games?”

By now, Luna was listening with only what energy she could spare. She had been there through all of it, Star was in good paws, and she was officially ready for a good, long nap. In short order she was asleep, soothed by the sound of her daughters talking and laughing.

Star continued talking, basking in the delight of Arrow's attention and input on the whole matter. She did not yet realize it, but for one her age she was quite the storyteller, making up several times over for any lack of skill with her sheer enthusiasm. Angel helped the former with periodic inquiries until a “Hey sis” interrupted them as Star was taking a breath.

Star looked around. “Angel!” she barked, not loudly but with plenty of energy from her excitement. “I was just telling Arrow about the friend I met today. His name is Eska.”

Angel rolled he eyes. “Whoop-ee,” she uttered.

Arrow made a face. To any decent dog, Angel's attitude would have seemed inconsiderate at best. But Arrow recognized the tone all too well; among other things, it sounded a lot like she herself had before Luna rescued her from the stray life.

“Angel,” she offered, trying to mimic the trademark “warning tone,” Luna often used in the face of inappropriate behavior, “Why don't you have a seat and listen?”

Angel obeyed reluctantly, but although Star was too gleeful to notice or care about this, Arrow could tell Angel was unwilling to pay any attention. Especially when she threw out an excuse at the first opportunity.

“Look,” she said, “It sounds fun, but this is hard to pick up in the middle.”

Star looked slightly disconcerted at this.. “Do you want me to start over?” she asked.

Angel shook her head. “Nah, forget it. You keep going; I'll hear it some other time.”

Arrow narrowed her eyes. 'Oh, no,' she thought. 'She's not disappearing this easy.' “It's fine, Angel. Go ahead and start over, Star. I don't mind.”

Luna groaned and opened one eye. “Kids, no fighting,” she scolded in a half-awake voice, and went back to sleep.

Arrow looked back to the two of them, but Angel was already strolling away with her tail held arrogantly high and a look on her face so smug you could even see it from dead behind her. At first the former stray was tempted to go and bring her younger kin back by force if need be, but she knew such measures would serve only to make matters worse and spoil Star's good spirits. So she had no choice but to stay put and pretend everything was hunky-dory. She made a vow to herself, however, that this would not be the end of the matter.

Star tried to resume telling her story, but for some reason Arrow wasn't responding the same way she had before. Wasn't smiling quite as much, raising her ears so high at interesting parts, or wagging her tail the way she had at first.

“Is something wrong?” she asked, puzzled.

Arrow blinked. “What?” she asked.

Star tilted her head. “You don't seem happy like before.”

Arrow shrugged, trying to make light of it. “Nah, it's nothing.” But her slanted ears and lowered eyes exposed the lie.

Star would never have considered herself a mind reader, but it didn't take much insight to figure out what was going on. “Are you sad about Angel?” she asked.

Arrow nodded, and Star sympathized. “Yeah, I feel that way too. But I guess it's not such a big deal. She just didn't feel like hearing the story.”

Arrow shook her head. “Nah, there's more to it than that,” she admitted. Her ears slid back further. “It's like... I dunno. You ever get that weird feeling, like something bad's gonna happen, or like you're re-living an experience over again?”

Star scrunched her face for a moment, thinking. “Well,” she admitted, “I felt like I was going to cry when Angel wouldn't stop asking me about that makeup stuff.”

Arrow shook her head again. “No, not like that. It's more like... like something really bad is going to happen, like someone getting hurt or something, and you can't really do anything about it.”

Star was starting to get the idea. “Like the way Mommy says she felt the time Daddy went and joined a sled team?”

Arrow nodded. “Yeah, just like that. Well when Angel was here before, I got that kind of feeling. And I noticed she was being rude, like she really didn't want to be around us.”

Star frowned. “I see what you mean,” she agreed. “She has been pretty grumpy lately.”

Arrow nodded. “That's what worries me. She used to be so much fun to be around, but now she's acting like I did before Mom and Dad adopted me.”

At this, Star grew anxious. “You think she's a spy?”

Arrow almost laughed and started to say no, then stopped. Was Angel up to something, she wondered? 'She was hanging out with my brother,' she thought. Despite her optimistic outlook earlier that day, she had her doubts about Angel being around Sam with his sordid history. Then again, he did seem different. And she ought to know better than anyone how wrong it was to not give someone a second chance. Her heart wanted to believe he had changed, her gut said he was up to something, and her head wouldn't make up its mind.

She was pulled from her reflections by a paw on her nose. “Are you alright?” asked Star. “You looked like Connie's dad that time he went sleepwalking.”

Arrow shook her head. “Nah, I wasn't asleep, just thinking.”

“Oh. So do you think Angel's a spy like you were?”

Arrow again frowned. Suspicions or no suspicions, one thing her heart, mind, and gut all agreed on was that it couldn't be right to encourage Star's suspicions without a fair cause. “I doubt it,” she replied. “But I'm still worried. It's as if she doesn't like being around us now.”

Star nodded. “Maybe something's bothering her and we should find out what's wrong,” she offered.

Arrow shook her head. “Better not just now,” she replied. “Maybe later.”

Outwardly Star agreed. But although she was not given to be rebellious, neither did she want to see both of her sisters, and her parents as well, upset over some strange thing. It seemed plain to her that one way or the other, something was wrong with Angel. So after excusing herself for a drink of water, and after she had taken said drink, she checked to make sure Arrow's attention was no longer on her and slipped into the kitchen. Sure enough, there was Angel, laying on the floor by the stove, wrapped in solitary gloom.

Star walked to within about three feet of her. “Hey,” she greeted quietly.

Angel did not look her way. “What do you want?” she asked anemically.

Star smiled, hoping some of her cheer would rub off on her sister. “You seem bothered, and I just want to cheer you up.”

“Knock yourself out,” Angel grumbled, not sounding the least bit appreciative of the offered