Zuma was trotting through the forest, observing the sounds of birds singing, the wind blowing, and the crickets chirping. It was a beautiful sunrise, he was heading for the beach. To see if he could find that weird carving in the rocks on the shore again. Zuma stopped and sniffed that air, he sighed, “its smells beautiful in the morning.” Zuma turned around a large boulder and saw the waves crashing onto the shore, he smiled. He loved the sight of waves crashing on the shore, and the foam spraying up into the air. Zuma sighed again and headed to the clump of rocks.

“Hmm, it should be somewhere around here…” Zuma searched left and right, finally he found it. “There it is,” Zuma walked over to the carvings. He put a paw on the carvings and ran it across the stone, lines criss-crossed, and zigg-zagged. Zuma sat down and sighed, “I don’t understand this,” he looked up at the last fading stars. “Yuna, please help me figure this out…I’m thinking its something to do with how I can find Rian, I miss her…” Zuma’s head dropped, he whimpered. Rian was Zuma’s mate before their pack broke apart. Rian couldn’t stay with Zuma because their leader, Furma, wouldn’t let any mates, or family’s stay together. Yuna is Zuma’s mother. She was very kind and wise. Yuna died saving them from a caribou, that got in the camp.

Zuma sighed and stood up, he walked to the forest and followed the scent trail that was almost gone. He finally came to a thorn barrier, “this is where the camp was…” Zuma walked through the barrier and looked around the deserted camp. Zuma headed over to the left, passing the healer’s den, the apprentice den, and the leader’s den. On the right he kept walking along the bushes, he passed the elders den, the den where all the fully trained wolves slept, finally he got to the nursery, he walked inside and went over to where Rian’s nest was. He layed down in it and took a deep breath taking a deep whiff of her scent. Zuma sighed, “I wish I could be with her…” Zuma put his head down and fell asleep.

He dreamed of being back in the fully occupied camp. He was just returning with prey when Furma called a meeting, the meeting before everything went wrong. Zuma was seeing the past, but he didn’t want to be in the past again, he tried to wake up, just when he saw a glimpse of Rian he finally woke up. Zuma lifted his head, and yawned. His eyes felt wet from sadness, and he stood up and walked back to the thorn barrier. He walked out into the forest and headed to his new home.

Zuma was lost in his thoughts, he wasn’t heading home, he was heading somewhere else, like his paws were his mind. He followed his paws and came to a small clearing, he noticed a nest over in a corner, surrounded by bushes. He walked over and sniffed it, he stopped, eyes wide and his ears pricked, it was a scent he knew very well. He put his head all the way up and walked back the way he came, and hid behind a bush, waiting for the wolf to return. By sunhigh the wolf appeared in the clearing. It had a couple of rabbits in her jaw. Zuma waited for the right time to come out of hiding. The wolf dropped her prey and started eating one of the rabbits. Zuma took a nervous swallow and walked out of the bush into the clearing.

He came up behind the brown wolf, and looked over her shoulder. “Do you need any help with that?” Zuma almost always said that when Rian returned with a lot of prey. The brown wolf stopped and slowly turned around, “Zu-Zuma? Is-is that really you?” The brown wolf was fully turned around now, looking him in the eyes, Zuma smiled, “yes its me, and are you really Rian?” Zuma’s eyes turned soft, Rian shook her head, not taking her eyes off him. Rian smiled, she pushed herself into Zuma, “I missed you so much Zuma…” Zuma sighed, “I missed you too.” Zuma closed his eyes, but only for a swift second, “what about the pups? When will you be due?” Zuma was looking at Rian with worried eyes.

Rian blushed, “well, I’m lucky that you came to me now, because there almost due…” Rian stood up and turned around, “want any?” Rian pushed one of the rabbits to Zuma, she watched him and smiled. Zuma shook his head, he hasn’t had anything to eat since yesterday morning. He was too shocked about Furma’s announcement to eat anything that day. Zuma leaned down and gulped the rabbit down, he sighed, “that was good, I haven’t had anything to eat since yesterday morning before Furma’s announce….” Zuma’s voice trailed off, he didn’t want to have Rian remember that horrible moment.

Rian must of known what he was going to say because her ears were drooped, “I know…me neither…” Rian stood up and walked over to Zuma, she leaned on him, “at least were together again, and Furma can’t tell us what to do anymore.” They stayed like that for a while, then Rian jumped, she looked at Zuma with wide eyes, “the pups,” they seemed to say, Rian layed down and gasping for breath, and wincing from the pain, three beautiful pups finally moved around, trying to find their mother’s stomach. Rian sighed, watching them, “their so beautiful.” Zuma came over and sat down next to her, “yes they are, and what are their names?” Zuma layed down beside her. “Hmm…they can be, Rivan, Shark, and Keini.” Rivan was silver/blue with dark green eyes. Shark was gray with black ears, paws, and a stripe down his whole spine, with dirt brown eyes. Keini, she is black with white paws, and chest, with ice blue eyes. “Those are beautiful names, Rivan, Shark, and Keini…” Zuma licked them all once in turn. Then he licked Rian’s ear.

Zuma stood up and curled himself around Rian’s body, he put his head next to hers and fell asleep, the sun was now setting, and he was tired from all the excitement. Rian shifted around until she was comfy, and that Rivan, Shark, and Keini would be safe, then she fell into a deep sleep.