Sarah is sitting on the ledge of an ocean side cliff. One leg is hanging over while the other is bent, her foot on the ledge and her arms wrapped around her shin. The sun is setting behind her as she looks towards the night’s horizon. There is a fireside chat going on nearby, but with focus, she can hear the lapping waves as they strike the cliff several stories below her.

  The moon is a bright waning gibbous---no longer full but still radiant enough to cause a glow on all the white capping waves. It makes them look like disjointed lines of text, while the moon is watching them scroll up like a movie’s closing credits.

  ‘That’s not a full moon, you silly duck.’

  Sarah smiles at the memory. “It’s not?” she asks in a whisper towards the horizon. “Well, what is it then?”

  ‘It’s a waning gibbous, but it *was* full a couple days ago.’

  She smiles again and tilts her head, then uses her knuckle to wipe at a tear as it leaves the side of her eye.

  “Hey, Sarah?” Wolf asks from behind her. “Everything alright?”

  Sarah glances down towards her shoulder, then reaches over beside her and pats the ground.

  Wolf walks over to the ledge and grows uneasy as he stops a few feet away. “What is it with you and heights?”

  Sarah chuckles and turns back to the horizon, then lowers her chin to rest on her knee.

  Wolf continues to look at the back of her, but no further response follows. He shakes his head, then unfastens his blade and lays it aside. “You know,” he says as he lowers to his butt and scoots towards the ledge. “Wolves do things on their own terms.” His feet extend over the edge, and he lowers them, his unsteady hands moving to grip the ledge as he slides into place.

  Sarah turns her head to look at him, setting her cheek down on the knee.

  Wolf fixates on the distant white caps and grips the ledge harder as the wind moves under his chest fur, lifting it and causing him to feel unsteady even as it blows into his face. He looks over to Sarah, then double takes as he notices her stare. It eases some of his tension when he sees her nonchalant posture.

  Wolf nods, feeling a little more assured. “If you want something of a wolf,” he says, looking out towards the horizon, “you come to us. It’s on our terms; it’s our way or no way.” He turns back to her as she continues looking at him, then shakes his head. “But you’re more wolf than I ever was.”

  The wind blows again, causing his grip to tighten and his shoulders to tense.

  “Hey,” Sarah says, grabbing his attention. “If you fall, I’ll catch you. You know that, right?”

  Wolf exhales. “Yeah, I know. It’s just... can we not talk about falling scenarios right now?”

  Sarah smiles. “Sure.”

  Wolf nods. “I wanted to thank you for what you did back there. Not the arrow thing. Before that. You really saved my hide, and I’d be dead if not for you. But I guess that makes twice now, right?”

  “Don’t do that, Wolf.”

  “What?”

  “*Count*. Just know that I’ve got your back. If anyone tries to get to you, they’ve gotta go through me first. But what about you? Are you dependable? Wolves usually turn out to be bad guys or traitors.”

  “What?” Wolf asks, genuinely shocked. “Why?” He looks away and grows distant as he wrestles with his thoughts. “Sure, we do our own thing, but we’d never sell out our own kind.”

  Sarah chuckles as Wolf continues to mutter, but he looks back around with his ears lowered on hearing her laugh. “I know you’ve got my back too,” she says, lifting her head and nodding. “It’s the more important reason for us needing that fight back there. It’s struggle that tells us whether we’re going to depend on one another or if we’re only going to depend on ourselves. Struggle isn’t biased. It doesn’t have favorites---it’s a tide.”

  Sarah looks back down to the ocean, and Wolf follows her gaze. “Some of us turn our backs on it,” she continues. “Sure, it’s easier that way, but you’re cowing and turning over control. Others plateau, moving sideways as they can’t endure more, but want to avoid losing progress. The smart ones huddle together. But then there’s me, staring at the storm beyond the waves, clinching my fists and screaming as I charge at it.”

  Wolf nods. “I get it now... why Jack does it, I mean.”

  Sarah looks back over at him and arches an eyebrow.

  Wolf glances but looks away from her. “Originally, I just followed, because frankly, you scared the shit out of me.” He chuckles and Sarah smiles towards him. “Eh, I know you’ve got stuff going on. That’s easy to see. But you were like drinking from a fire hose at first---it was all too much.”

  Sarah nods. “I’m definitely an acquired taste.”

  Wolf nods along, glances over, and looks away again. “Jack trusts you completely, and I didn’t understand it at first. It was driving me nuts. And then when you froze up...” Wolf exhales and looks up. “I followed your lead, but I didn’t know how to deal with it when you feel apart, and it caused me to do the same.”

  Wolf closes his eyes and shakes his head. “You had no reason to trust me, and you were right to not do so in the beginning. I probably would have eaten you if given the chance, then thought nothing else about it. But despite that, you still brought me in, looked out for me, and even saved my life.” He turns back to her, meeting and holding her gaze as his feelings reach up to touch his eyes. “Whatever happens, I’m with you, Sarah. And for no other reason than it’s where I want to be.”

  “As a friend or as a follower?”

  “Neither,” Wolf replies automatically. “Packs are many things, but above all else, they’re family.”

  “So a brother, then?”

  “Yeah,” Wolf says with a nod. “If you’ll have me.”

  Sarah shakes her head. “You’ve got that part wrong, Wolf. You don’t pick family. If you’re my brother, you were never anything less.”

  Wolf nods and slides back from the ledge before climbing back to his feet. “Like Jack, I’m here when you need me. Just don’t go picking any solo fights when it’s something we should tackle together.”

  Wolf walks back to the campfire and Sarah closes her eyes, smiling as she lays her cheek back against her knee and hugs her leg a bit tighter.