up slowly.  She looked around the room.  "Where are my pups?" She whimpered.  She was dizzy.  Suddenly, she heard the rush of paw steps.
    Aleu ran in the direction he had come from, before the examination. Then, the fact that he rarely ate kicked in. His stomach roared like an earthquake, and his legs gave out. He skidded across the floor, barely conscious.

    Quintin's heart was bolted again.
    Sapphire scrambled to her brother's side, and screamed, "HELP!  QUINTIN'S DIEING!"
    Another human walked into the room, and looked at Quintin. "Um, guys? What's wrong with that guy?"
    We don't know. We only know he wasn't breathing too good, and his heart started to fail."
    "Did you ever consider he was CHOKING?!"
    He was choking!
    Quintin realized with a jolt his throat ached.
    The jerky, he thought, and let out a silent wail.
    The dog climbed up onto the table. "Lay on your back, kid." Then, the dog pressed on Quintin's stomach to make him gag up the jerky.
    Quintin heaved out the jerky and it hit the dog's face.

    Aleu lay sprawled on the floor. He could see Clara, but he was so hungry, he couldn't move. He would have to lay here until the humans found him.
    Clara shook her head and got up.  She jumped off the cool table, but slumped to the floor.  She wobbled her legs as she got up.  She was weak, but she could do it.  She rammed herself against the door.  She stopped, for she had seen a familiar shape on the floor.
    "Aleu...."
    Aleu heard a slamming noise, and Clara came to the side of the cage. "Clara... Get the humans... hurry...." Aleu whispered, the loudest noise he could manage. He could feel what was left of his strength fading.
    "Aleu, don't leave me!" Clara wailed.  She wailed, and wailed, and wailed.  She regained herself.  She shook her tears away, and licked Aleu's cheek.
With all of her strength, she let out the Mournful Howl.
    The humans came running almost immediately. "Are you sure you heard a howl?"
    "Yes. One of the population check sample was howling like mad down here." The humans came around the corner. "Oh, my. Isn't that the underweight?"
    "Yeah, I think it is. He ran out while we were trying to save that choking pup. I think that female is his mate."
    Clara howled and howled.
    "Help..."
    "He's slipping into a coma! Get him hooked into an IV!"
    "We can't let him sleep! Keep him awake!"
    "Heart rate, failing!"
    "Breathing is slowing!"
    The humans rushed around Aleu, back in the examination room. They were hooking him into all kinds of machines, and doing their best to not let him sleep.
    If Aleu fell asleep, there was a slim chance he would ever wake up.
    The world started to fade. "Clara, help..."
    "Aleu, listen." Clara growled.  "Stay awake."
    "Clara. So... tired..."Aleu moaned.
    "Aleu..." Clara choked.  "Hang on.  You'll be okay."
    In the cage behind Clara, Aleu saw dark fur on a tall, bulky frame. There were eyes in the face, and they were genuinely sad.
    "Clara...father....behind...you..."
    "Shh.  Don't talk." Clara didn't understand what he said.
    By now, the humans had finished hooking all their machines into Aleu. He felt a surge of energy as the liquid nutrients from the IV hit his bloodstream. It wasn't much, but he wasn't in as much danger of dying.
    "You're okay." Clara whispered.  "Believe in yourself.  You can do it..."
    "You know," coughed Aleu," What I hate more than being near other wolves? Inspirational speeches."
    Clara tilted her head to one side.  "What do you mean?"
    But Aleu had already drifted into sleep. He slept deeply, calmly, and safely, to awake the next morning, when birds would sing, the sun would shine, and the air would be clear, and grudges would be forgotten, if only for a while.
    "Aleu!" Clara screamed.  "Wake up!  Don't go!"
    The humans were watching the small screens intently. "Heart rate is stabilized."
    "Breathing is normal."
    "He should be safe now. We just have to get him to eat something."
    "He's asleep. Is that okay?"
    "There's little to no chance of a coma now. He'll be fine."
    Clara nuzzled Aleu on the cheek.  "Come back when you're ready, okay?"
    She padded out of the room.
    In his sleep, Aleu smiled.
    He was dreaming about Tess.

    Quintin lay on the table, fighting for his life.
    He had broken his rib cage.
    The dog looked at Quintin. "I bet that hurts, huh? My name is Max. Wanna know why I'm allowed to help?" Max was trying to keep Quintin's mind off the pain.
    Quintin moaned.
    "Max, why are you allowed to help?" He winced but stayed strong.
    "I'm actually part wolf. The humans know they can trust me when I'm dealing with wolves, because I know their customs. I'm one of them." The human doctor snuck up behind Quintin and carefully pricked him with a needle, so he wouldn't feel anything.
    Quintin cried quietly.  "Will I live?"
    Max thought for a second. "I can't tell him that they're going to do surgery. That would only scare him,"thought Max.
    Out loud, he said,"I think you will be. But to get better, you'll have to rest."
    Quintin yawned.  "Okay."
    He fell right to sleep.
    Hours and hours ticked by...

    The first thing Aleu noticed was somebody breathing on his fur in the back of his neck.
    The second thing he noticed was how HUNGRY he was. He was so hungry, he felt like he would puke if he didn't eat.
    The humans were talking. "I put him on something to make him want to eat. It should help get him the way he's supposed to be, but don't keep him on it for long, or he may get addicted. We better keep him in RC for a few weeks, until he starts gaining weight and eating properly."
    Quintin woke with a start.
    Max heard a noise and looked over at Quintin. Bandages covered most of the pup's back, and an IV led into his paw.
    "How convenient,"thought Max," They're both waking up at the same time."
    Quintin shifted and sprawled out on the table.
    "I feel... Better." He said, quietly.
    "That's good." Max said. However, he knew that Quintin would be singing a different tune when the anesthesia wore off.
    Max turned to Aleu. "And how are we feeling this morning?"
    "Hungry." Aleu complained. "Just hungry."
    Quintin realized he was hungry too, for had he felt the yowling of his belly.
    "Me too!" He chirped.
    Max grinned. "I'll tell the humans right away." Humming some tune or the other, Max padded over to the humans.
    "What's wrong, Max?"
    "Hey, look! We have some wakers!"
    "I'll get some chow for them."
    Quntin stifled a giggle.  "Humans are so funny!" He chirped.
    Aleu looked at Quintin. "So, why are you all wrapped up?"
    "I broke my rib cage." Quintin said, sighing.
    Aleu winced. "And I thought not eating for weeks on end was bad."
    Quintin coughed.  "We're both lucky to have survived," He said.  "If you haven't of eaten sooner, you would've starved.  Wolves can only go 3 weeks TOPS."
    Aleu frowned as his stomach growled so loud the table shook. "I guess you might call me a picky eater. I rarely come across something I'd be willing to eat. But you can't tell your mother! Promise me!"
    "Tell Mommy what?" Quintin asked.
    "Quintin, you can't tell your mother why I got sick. Promise me."
    "Okay," Quintin promised.  "With all of my..." He winced. "Sore heart..."
    Max trotted back over. "Yeah, that would be the pain killers wearing off. Here comes the human with some food for you."
    The human set a slab of meat in front of Aleu, and a much smaller one in front of Quintin. Aleu just sat there, staring at what he was given.
    Quintin devoured the