It didn't take long for the news of a new wolf child on the way to spread through the town. A small town as it was, most new arrivals on the way were known quickly, but ours was exceptional. The sheer number of people who came to wish us well, as well as express their excitement at seeing the Honshu wolf growing in number, was almost overwhelming. It was enough that Ame stayed by my side until things calmed down, as though expecting someone would be so excited, he might have to keep them away. Their excitement only grew at seeing him, though he wasn't excited to see them. He stayed peaceful, but if someone got too excited or too close, his bark was usually enough to shake them away. It took almost half a month before people finally calmed down enough that Mom could start work on the mural, and Ame could finally make his way to the forest. The three of us accompanied him to the edge of the town to see him off. "I think Shizuoka is lucky to have a mighty wolf watching over them," I said, hearing Ame snort in return.
"You watch over town too," he said, looking back into my eyes. "You are mighty." With that, he turned towards the forest, running off.

"If you ever need me, just howl!" I called out to him. "And I'll do the same if I need you!" We kept watching until we couldn't see him anymore, nor hear his paw steps. "It felt like he just got here, and already he's leaving again."
"It never gets any easier," Mom said. "Still, it's good to know he's in a place he belongs. A place people will watch out for him, and accept him. A place where he's near family. I know he didn't say much, but he still considers you part of his pack, Yuki. Otherwise, I know he wouldn't have come." She placed her hand on my shoulder. "Speaking of which, I think it's about time I buckle down and get some serious work into drawing the picture for that mural. I don't suppose you've met anyone around here that would be a good painter. I might have learned how to fix things, and how to sew, but I'm not the best painter when it's not a solid color."
"I'm sure if we put up a flier or two at the school, we'll get someone who can help us," Souhei said. "After all, Yuki told you how many people pitched in to repair it, right? Gotta be at least one person among them with some talent in painting, especially for a scene like you have in mind."
"I just hope whoever it is doesn't mind me getting rather particular about it."
"Oh, I can't imagine whoever it is will have any trouble with that," I said with a small chuckle. "Come on. Let's go home and get some tea."
"Hope you have room for another for a few months," Mom said. "I can't imagine it'll be quick to finish the mural, and even then, I want to stay and help my little girl get ready for her baby."
"And what about your home? Is someone watching it?"
"Yeah. Mrs. Fujibayashi is going to be staying there for now. I told her any crops are hers, and she seemed excited to help, even without any sort of payment." She sighed happily as she looked up at the stars starting to appear in the sky. "Even after all these years, it still amazes me how little they ask in return for their help, and how much they're willing to give."
"It's a lot like our home here," I said, taking her hand as we started back towards our home. "Once word gets out that someone needs help, it doesn't take long for people to pitch in, and they usually don't ask anything in return. Soon enough, they just start to lose track of who owes whom. I'm glad that's the sort of community my child will grow up in." I looked over and took Souhei's hand. "I mean, our child. Sorry. It's still just so shocking. I hadn't pictured myself as a mother."
"We have a lot to learn between now and then. Right now, though, my goal is to get home, get some dinner, and relax a bit before bed. It's restocking tomorrow. That's a pretty full day, you know."

I gave thanks that evening that we'd had the foresight to get a pull out couch. It proved a much better bed for Mom after we'd gotten some dinner and spent a few hours working on the drawing as a rough draft for the mural. Souhei had gone to bed before Mom and I, and was up before the sun to get a quick start at work. Mom and I had come up with a flier seeking a painter. Souhei had predicted we'd get a reply quickly, but I don't think even he predicted we'd get a reply in the same day, and only 2 hours after we'd put it up in the school. We had soon arranged a meeting time, and the meeting place was right there at the school. Where better to discuss the project than the artist's canvas? When we got there, we were met by a young man. He looked younger than Souhei, but he seemed confident as he looked to us. "So, you said you needed a painter for a rather specific painting. Mind going into some detail?" he asked.
Mom stepped forward, being the perfect one to answer that. "I can't say my rough draft captures all the details," she said, handing him the paper showing that day that Ame left. "A number of years ago, Yuki's brother Ame made the choice to live as a wolf. He brought me out of the forest and he was starting to leave when I called out to him. I asked what I had taught him, and in turn, he ran to the top of the mountain, letting out a howl to make any wolf proud. It was...it was his answer. To this day, I still...don't quite understand what he meant, but seeing him there, I knew he had found his place."
"I know what he meant, Mom." I couldn't help smile as I took her hand. "The same lesson you taught me. You taught him to be strong. To make his own choices, and not let the world choose his path for him. Think about it. All the trouble you went through raising us, you never once let yourself be a victim of the circumstances. You made the choice to love Dad, even seeing what he was. You made the choice to raise us on your own after Dad died instead of giving us up for adoption or something. You made the choice to move to the country, in order to allow us to make the choice of what we wanted to be. Through all those struggles, you showed your strength and made those choices on your own. Ame made that choice on his own."
"Mmm. I can see it," the young man said. "I'll ask you to stay with me when I'm working. I'm sure you can help me refine it and make it the best it can be. I want it to capture all the emotions of that day, and I'll need you for it, as the one who bore witness to it all."
"That's what I'm here for," Mom said with a smile. "When can we start?"
"Give me an hour to get the paints and we'll get to work." With that, they shook hands, and the project was underway.

I headed back home, knowing I needed to do some laundry and do some cleaning. Dinner wasn't going to make itself either. It was still a long process to adjust, knowing our family was growing, and I knew we had to start work on a room for the baby. So many things to do, and so little time. For now, I just focused one what needed to be done immediately. The house took most of the day to clean, especially after having Ame there. His fur took forever to clean up without a vacuum, and all the while, I had to deal with the laundry, think of what to make for dinner, and I couldn't stop trying to plan how we were going to rearrange things in the coming months. It took some time to quiet my mind, to finally just let those thought wash away for the time being, only to be brought out of it by feeling my little one kicking. I ran my hand over my belly, a bit surprised I was already showing. Perhaps my wolf half was responsible for that. Either way, that didn't stop me from making dinner for my family. I was glad we had a slow cooker to get a good stew going. That made it much easier to focus on chores. Finally, once the cleaning was done, I had time to sit down and grab a good book. I'd barely gotten 5 pages in when Mom came home. "That didn't take long," I said with a chuckle.
"Yuki, it's almost 6pm. We were working on that mural nearly 4 hours." My eyes went wide as I looked over at the clock.
"Wow. I lost track of time so fast. Well, at least I didn't burn dinner. That's hard to do in the slow cooker. Anyway, Souhei should be home soon, and we can all eat together. Why not grab a book for now?"
"Think I'll do just that," she said with a little laugh, getting one of the books from the shelf. It was only about a half hour before Souhei got home. I was happy to greet him with a kiss, though almost immediately, he was smelling the dinner. He and Mom took a seat at the table and I brought the slow cooker over, serving up the delicious slow-roasted pork. After that, my mind went a bit blurry, and when I was aware again, I had eaten all of my food in just a few moments. "Uh...What just happened?"
"Guess that wolf appetite is still pretty strong in you, little girl," Mom said with a chuckle. "Don't feel bad. It's not uncommon for expecting mothers to have big appetites, and with you being part wolf, I suppose this is to be expected."
"I just hope I don't bite someone's hand," I said with a chuckle.
"Oh, I'm sure nothing like that will happen again," Souhei said, rubbing my cheek gently.