Richard asked, stumbling again behind me. “What’s wrong? Can I do anything?” I stopped and turned. “I’m being sought. By my family. One of their—one of the folks they sent to find me has been here.” “The gray fox?” he asked. I’d forgotten that he, too, had been scenting as a wolf. I nodded. “Let’s get down off this trail. Then… I’ll figure something out,” I said numbly. I sensed the people before I saw them, and because of the state I was in, I changed at once and turned to confront them. There were two figures standing on a ridge across the creek, watching us. I lifted my lip to them, even angrier at myself for having been caught out, for having changed without thinking, for having assumed they were foes. They were a couple of older women, and they were here a lot. There had been traces of them on the trail, in layers, going back a long time. And there were more traces of them here. I stared up at them. Harmless. Fine. Who cares what they thought they saw?
