"Oh, Tess. It's an expression. It means...yell really loud and really long at someone you know."
    "When are you gonna go?"
    "Right now." Aleu's stomach rumbled like an angry bull, but he ignored it.
    Tess reached up to nuzzle Aleu's nose.
    "Goodbye..."
    Aleu tapped his snout to the top of Tess's head. "I'll be back. With your mother."
    Tess watched Aleu pad out of the den and through the clearing.
    
    Meanwhile...
    Clara watched Aleu's father pacing back and fourth.  She growled in her chest.
    Father glared at her, then said,"Oh, be quiet. Unless I'm mistaken, this is outside your land, so when he comes to save you, I can kill him without penalty."
    "Shut up, you moron." Clara snarled.
    Aleu could hear the voices, but not loudly enough to hear what was said. He started to put his plan in action.
    Clara's eyes blazed with fire as she looked up at Father, as she was held hostage...
    Aleu jumped on his Father's back and rode him until he was thrown off. "Run, Clara!"
    "Aleu!" Clara called.  "I'm staying with you!"
    "Then you wanna help me before he kills me?!"
    "I'll go for his throat..."
    "Hurry, He's coming for me!"
    Clara ran toward Aleu's father, yet enemy's, throat.
    She took a swift bite to the neck, and blood oozed out...
    Seeing the blood, Aleu shied away. "I...I can't!" He said.
    Clara growled.  "You can't what?"
    Aleu gestured to Father's blood. "You know how I feel," he muttered.
    Unfortunately, Father got the gist of it, too. "So I raised a vegetarian wolf, huh? I must fix this!"
    Clara growled and launched herself to father.
    "Don't you dare touch him!" She yowled.  "What did he ever do to you?!"
    Aleu shied back some more. This was not part of the plan.
    He watched the battle between Clara and Father.
    Clara growled and shook her head.
    What is my problem?  She thought sadly.
    Clara pulled Aleu by the scruff, and out of the cave.
    Aleu was shaken out of his "phobia trance" when Clara dragged him out of the cave. Popping to his feet, he ran. "Come on, Tess is waiting for us."
    "What about your father?!" Clara yelled.  "He'll hunt us down!"
    Aleu was silent for a moment. "He won't bother with you; he learns from his mistakes. You have nothing to worry about, you'll never see him again."
    Clara looked deep into Aleu's eyes.  "I was talking about you..."
    Aleu shifted his gaze to the ground in front of him, and kept running. "Tess is just ahead. I can see her."
    Clara growled.  "Shut up, Aleu.  I don't want you to get hurt or even worse... Killed!"
    Aleu swished his tail. He sat down. Stared at the ground. Felt Clara's glare burning into his skull. Remembered why he didn't like being among others of his own kind.
    "You're just like the others,"Aleu mumbled,"Acting like I can't take care of myself. Just leave me alone."
    Clara's eyes teared up.
    "I'm sorry you feel that way..." She whimpered.
    She walked away sadly, a tear slipping down her cheek.

    Aleu turned and slipped into the greenery, not making a sound. He was sad about losing his only friend, sure. But he was sadder that, in the end, she had turned out like all the others: too caring to realize he didn't want sympathy.

    Clara hid under a dead tree.
    She tried her hardest not to, but she started wailing.

    Aleu went to his old cave. He didn't care if his father found him now. Clara was safe; that's all that mattered.
    With a start, Aleu realized that he was crying.
    He let the tears come. For the second time in his life, he was all alone.
    And his mother couldn't help this time.

    Clara wailed.
    "Why did I have to lose my only best friend?!" She screamed to the sky.

    Aleu rolled over. How long have I been asleep?
    Then, memories from the day before hit him like a train.
    Fresh tears rolled to his eyes. Through them, he could see a shape in the entrance to his cave...

    Clara's tears reappeared to her eyes.  She looked over and saw a shape through the tree.
    Who the heck...?

    Aleu blinked rapidly to remove the tears from his eyes. "Who's there?"

    Clara squeezed her eyes shut to remove the tears.
    "Wh-who's th-the-there?" She stammered.

    Aleu's vision cleared to show a pup. Her name was...Aleu concentrated and tried to remember. "Sapphire?"
    Sapphire padded into the den.
    "What are you doing?" Sapphire asked politely.
    "You made Mummy cry." Another voice came: Quintin.
    Aleu sighed. "Your mom and I had a fight. We're...not talking anymore."
    Aleu curled up to ignore the pups and wallow in self-pity.
    Sapphire growled.  "From what I've heard, it was your fault..."
    Her eyes blazed into Aleu's pelt.
    Aleu uncurled. "Look, there's a reason I like to be alone. Your mother became the reason, I told her so, there was a fight, we went our separate ways."
    "You were the one who let go of your friendship," Sapphire growled.
    She looked at Quintin.  "Come on, let's go."
    Aleu watched them go. "Wait." He sat up. "Weren't there four of you?"
    Sapphire sighed and started to cry.  "Tess and Lilly tried to bring you guys back together, but got attacked.  They're at the Nurse now..."
    Aleu jumped to his feet. Not Tess...
    Sapphire and Quintin padded away.
    A breeze drifted into the cave. A scent carried on it... "Wait!" Aleu said. "Not that way. " He walked to the back of the cave, and slammed his shoulder into the convincingly rock wall, feeling it crumble. "This way. Hurry."
    Sapphire growled.  "Why should we trust you?"
    "I saved your mother, didn't I?"
    Sapphire's face turned red.  "You did, but only from your sick father!  YOU, leaving her, is causing a lot of damage!" She screamed.
    "So you only trust me if I'm saving you from my dad? Go to the entrance, and take a smell. I'm sure what you find will be much worse."
    "No!" Sapphire spat.
    Aleu sniffed again. "Hunters, with dogs. And guns. They're hunting for wolves, for our fur and for sport. You can stay if you wish, but I'm leaving." Aleu dashed into the tunnel that had been hidden. He went around one corner, and waited for the pups to get scared.
    "MOMMY!" Quintin screamed.
    Aleu felt a tiny impact, and looked down. Sapphira had run into his leg, and was still trying to run.
    Sapphire looked up.  "HELP!"
    Aleu put his paw on Sapphire's back. "Have a seat, we will hide some more." Aleu looked up. Quintin came around the corner.
    "I want Mommy!" Quintin whined.
    "Yes, we'll go get your mother. I know exactly where she goes when she's upset." Aleu started walking down the tunnel. "In fact, this comes out right under it."

    Meanwhile...
    Clara's head smashed against the stone wall of the cave.  She slid down, blood oozing into her eyes.  She could just see the faint shape of Father.
    "What..." Clara coughed on blood.  "Are you trying to do to me?"
    Father pounced on Clara with a growl. "Nobody makes me bleed! You will pay for that!" The ground underneath Clara started to crack.
    "What-" Father began, then Clara vanished into the dark below.
    Clara yowled in fear.  She vanished into the dark hole.
    Aleu was trying to remember whether the exit was up, down, or straight ahead when the ceiling admitted a lupine form. Glancing through the hole, Aleu started to run the other way. "Sapphire, Quintin, we have to go back this way now. There's bad news through this exit."
    Clara was still falling.
    This is the end...
    Aleu reached out and snatched Clara out of the air. He deposited her gently on the ground. "C'mon! We have to get out of here before Father gets