Bearclaw

Bearclaw was trained from puppyhood to be an herbalist, her cleverness and with apparent even as a tumbling, big-footed pup. Wen she reached adulthood, her mentor insisted he have her, prophesying to any who would listen of the brilliant healers a match between them would make. Bearclaw was devestated when the single pup came far too soon and even her mentor's knowledge could not save it. Season after season, her pups were lost. After three such losses, her heart could not take it. When Mouseskull demanded they try again, Bearclaw fled the pack. She wandered awhile, eventually meeting the young mite-ridden Adder. An agile hunter, he promised her choice of catch in exchange for a remedy. Her heart opened to his gentle ways and she took the youth under her wing. Bearclaw was hesitant to join a new pack, but trusting Adder's nose for good wolves, agreed to give it a try.

Bearclaw never forgot the eight tiny cubs she laid beneath the golden larch. And yet, when Maski dashingly trotted into her life, her battered heart begged her to try once more. She found herself carrying three little cubs, and anxious though she was, her belly grew bigger than it had managed before. She whittled away the final weeks gathering as many helpful herbs as she could find while chasing away the prickling fear at the back of her mind, afraid to hope that this might finally be her time.

Something healed inside Bearclaw as she nosed the three sturdy brown pups in her den, the smells of damp earth and wild mint all around them. They were built with the lean muscles of their father, and she was certain they had been born with his strength. All her fears were allayed; these pups would thrive and grow where her others had withered away. She breathed a contented sigh. This was where Bearclaw was meant to be.