Lynn shook her head in annoyance as another stab of pain came from her left ear, or rather, what remained of it. It had been mostly ripped off by another wolf from the Clan days prior. The wound was slowly healing, but it itched and ached from time to time.

She looked at the old gray wolf walking next to her. One-eye, her adopted father, who had a dark past with the Clan. She knew that there was more to his past than she knew, but she'd refused to let him talk to her about it. The past should be left in the past. It clearly hurts him to dig up these memories, so I should leave him at peace.

The two wolves were marching through the tall grass on the meadows of the mountain, avoiding humans and roaming cattle as they went along. For four days now, the duo had been looking for a new location to live, having left behind the mountain both of them grew up on.

It felt weird to Lynn, to leave it all behind. Her past should stay in the past, too, she realized, but it still hurt to think about the painful memories. Her mother's death, her father's death not much later, and now, after finally having made a friend after a year with only One-eye, Abbie, too, had been killed. I know it's not my fault, but... Lynn couldn't help but feel a little bit guilty for Abbie's death. She had been frozen with fear and pain as her feline friend had been killed by a brown wolf. It's not your fault, it's not your fault. She had to repeat the thought in her mind every so often to make sure the guilt didn't become unbearable.

"Are you okay?" the raspy yet rather high-pitched voice of One-eye said beside her.

Lynn shook her head to become clear, which caused another jolt of pain in her ear. "Oh, um, yeah. Just thinking. A lot has happened."

One-eye sighed. "You're right. It has. Lynn, I'm so sorry for dragging you into this. I never intended for—"

"Stop it! I don't want you blaming yourself for any of this! The Clan is bad, especially the cougar leading them!"

"I know," One-eye grunted. "Yet she still let us go..."

Lynn knew that One-eye and the cougar seemed to have shared a past, but she decided not to question it. Right now, what mattered was fleeing from the Clan and finding a new safe place to call home.

"Do you think the Clan will ever expand their territory this far?" Lynn asked her father.

One-eye stopped in his tracks and moved himself so he could look back. His deformed spine caused him to be unable to turn his head properly. "Let's hope not."

Lynn stared back, too. Home, or at least, the place that had been home, seemed so far away now. Her legs hurt from wandering for so long, and both of them were hungry.

"I suppose I'll have to learn how to hunt," she said out loud, more or less to herself.

"I'll teach you, I promise," One-eye replied. "Just... not now."

They kept moving for quite a while longer until they finally arrived at the edge of another pine forest. One-eye stopped and sniffed the air. Lynn copied his actions, though she quickly felt overwhelmed by all the new scents blowing her way.

"Do you think it's occupied?" she asked.

One-eye inhaled the air deeply. "There's the scent of one wolf. Lone One, probably. But we could chase them out and claim the territory for ourselves. Two of us, after all."

"That doesn't feel right to me," the young she-wolf responded. "I know that we need a place to stay and shelter, but..."

One-eye clearly forged a smile on his face. "Hey, come on, this is the first place that might be decent to inhabit and is a safe distance from the Clan we've come across. We can at the very least explore it!"

"What about the Lone One?"

"Nothing we can't handle."

Reluctantly, Lynn followed her father into the woods. She felt anxiety itch inside of her. It just didn't sit right with her, infiltrating another's territory possibly with the intent to chase out its inhabitant.

The woods were different from the ones Lynn and One-eye had inhabited back home. The trees were similar, but further apart, and with less deciduous trees mixed in. A small stream trickled past the wolf-made path they were walking upon. Lynn stopped to lap up some of the fresh water, then quickly bolted to catch up with One-eye, who was surprisingly quick for his old age.

"Looks like a decent place to make a home," One-eye said once she was at his side again. "Plenty of shelter, fresh water, and it smells like there's plenty of prey, too. Now we just need to take care of that—"

"You talking about me?" A masculine voice had come from the underbrush, and a moment later, a dark brown wolf leaped out and crashed into One-eye, pinning the old wolf to the ground.

Lynn felt herself freeze. What would she do, attack the stranger? Yet it felt so wrong!

One-eye had meanwhile rolled out from under the stranger's legs and got back on all fours, the mane on his hump rising as he snarled with anger.

"What do you think that you're doing? Just infiltrating my territory like that! Judging by what you were saying, you weren't exactly passing through peacefully!" the stranger snarled, revealing long white teeth. Lynn noticed he had a scar on his muzzle, and his eyes were a shade of forest-green.

One-eye was about to speak, but Lynn quickly stepped in front of him. "We don't mean to chase you away! We're just hungry and tired! Please, understand, we've come a long way from home!"

The stranger frowned. "That's no excuse to make plans for chasing out another wolf from his home."

One-eye gently pushed Lynn aside, his lips still peeled back. "There's two of us." If you think you can win this, you're mistaken."

Lynn shook her head, looking at the both of them. "We don't have to fight! Please! We're just looking for a home."

The stranger wolf made a scoffing noise. "That's probably just a lie."

"It's true!" Lynn bayed. "I won't fight you, I promise! Dad, neither should you. We can settle this peacefully." I've seen more than enough bloodshed the past week.

The dark brown wolf waited for a moment longer, then finally drooped his lips back over his teeth. "Let me check you out."

He approached Lynn until they were face to face, and she felt uncomfortable at him being so hear. He made eye contact, another thing she hated and was very bad at. "She-wolf, about one and a half years old," he muttered to no one in particular. He then circled One-eye, who still hadn't stopped growling. "Old male with a unique appearance. I'd say about fifteen years old."

"I'm only twelve, jackass!" One-eye grunted.

"Dad!" Lynn called quickly.

The stranger wolf stopped in front of them again. "Neither of you carry a scent I recall. Where are you from?"

Lynn stepped forward, looking at her paws. "We come from four days east from here. Over there, there's... a Clan. A great force composed of both canines and felines that's taking over more and more plots of land through violence. Me and my father were lucky to escape them. We couldn't stay at our home, they were too close to us and even launched an attack on us.

She looked over her shoulder to meet One-eye's eye. He looked at her with a disgruntled expression. Sorry, Dad, but the truth will get us further than a fight, she thought.

The dark brown wolf scrunched his nose. "The Clan? I've heard of them. They allegedly pose a real threat for Lone Ones like me."

"Like us. We're Lone Ones, too," Lynn pointed out. "Me and my father..." She then realized she hadn't introduced herself yet. "My name is Lynn, and this is my father, One-eye."

"Well, aren't we obvious," said the stranger with a snarky look at the old wolf.

"Not funny," One-eye commented from behind Lynn.

She forced herself to make eye contact with the stranger. "Please, we mean no harm, despite my father's indications. Let us at least rest here for a bit. We won't chase you out, that's a promise."

The Lone One blinked. "Like I'd let you chase me out." He cast another dark look at One-eye, but then looked back at the brown she-wolf, his gaze unreadable.

"Come with me."

Lynn's ear perked up. "Wait, really?"

"Don't make me regret this."

"Thank you so much!" Lynn felt relief take over. "What do we call you?"

The stranger, who had gone ahead, looked back over his shoulder. "I go by many names. But you can call me Sam."

***

Sam took them through the deepest part of the woods over to a small open space in the middle of it, near a field with a bunch of large boulders scattered in it. Here, there was a small dip inside the side of the mountain, causing a little safe haven between the trees. A pool about as wide as two wolves lay in the woods near the place.

"This is my home," Sam said as he indicated the peaceful space. "No humans, cattle doesn't come here, and prey sometimes walks right into it when trying to drink from the pool."

"That sounds perfect!" Lynn barked excitedly.

Sam licked his lips. "It's home," he said simply.

One-eye finally dropped himself on the soft grass of the small open space. "Ah, at last, rest!" he burst out.

Lynn smiled at her father. She felt like she could sleep and eat forever, too.

"I don't suppose you'll allow us to hunt inside your territory?" she asked the dark brown wolf.

Sam looked conflicted. "I..." He didn't finish his sentence.

"It's okay. Letting us rest here for a while is more than enough," Lynn said with a polite bow of her head before installing herself on the ground beside One-eye.

"Okay, some rules," Sam bayed as he approached them. "No territory marking, no hunting, no destroying my home, and stop looking at me so nastily!" He particularly looked at One-eye. The old wolf blew a raspberry.

"You can rest here, but tomorrow you'll have to move on, got it?"

Lynn nodded. "Thanks, Sam."

***

Lynn and One-eye slept throughout the rest of the day. By the time the former woke up, night had settled already, and she could see the many stars up in the sky. It felt weird, being able to see the stars while laying down. Back at her home with One-eye, she'd slept below the canopy of many trees, being unable to see them.

She noticed Sam sitting a bit away from them, watching them intently with his green gaze.

Lynn yawned and got up, carefully as not to stir One-eye awake. She walked over to the dark wolf and settled beside him.

"So, you've been staring at us all day?" she prompted.

"It's your father. I don't trust him. I know Lone Ones like him. Always intent on taking over other's territory."

Lynn forced a smile. "I know he may seem harsh or look different, but he's a real good guy deep down. He's just a bit quick to anger, that's all."

"I don't know..." Sam sounded uncertain.

"Don't you get lonely, all by yourself?" Lynn asked. She couldn't imagine being by herself all the time. She'd grown up with at first her real father, then her adopted father. Being all alone, especially for a wolf around her own age, seemed so lonesome.

"I'm a Lone One. It's what we do," Sam said shakily, clearly trying to mask some deeper pain.

Lynn wasn't sure whether to push further or not. She felt curious, but didn't want to upset her host. "I mean, it doesn't have to be. Me and One-eye are Lone Ones, too, yet we're together."

Sam clenched his teeth. "So was I."

"What?"

The male wolf blinked. "I was together with my brothers. We shared this territory."

Lynn waited for a moment before asking: "And your parents?"

"Died at a young age. We've had to take care of ourselves ever since."

"I see." Lynn didn't want to ask what had happened to his brothers. Sam also didn't seem to be in the mood to answer.

"Go back to sleep and get more rest. Tomorrow, you both leave." The dark brown wolf sounded sad.

Lynn nodded uncomfortably and went back to her spot at One-eye's flank.