Steele was only asleep for a while before he felt something poke his cheek. He opened his eyes and was instantly met with the sight of Fayac. He smiled warmly.

"Hello there," Steele whispered. Fayac wagged her tail from side to side and offered a small smile for Steele.

"You did well today, my friend," Fayac whispered. Steele started to grin, but then lowered his ears lightly when he saw Fayac sigh softly. He tilted his head to one side questioningly.

"What's wrong, Fayac?" Steele asked softly. Fayac let her green eyes meet Steele's blue ones. Her eyes revealed a hint of sadness that contradicted the soft smile she offered.

"This is goodbye," Fayac said sadly. Steele grunted lightly in disbelief.

"Why?" Steele asked softly. He hadn't known Fayac long, but she helped him and became his companion when he was alone and needed someone the most. Fayac smiled once again.

"That's the way things are. You have a pack now. Plus, wolves and foxes aren't meant to be friends," Fayac said quietly. Steele leaned forward and touched Fayac's fur gently with his nose.

"But you are my friend, Fayac," Steele said with a soft whine. Fayac chuckled lightly and pressed her nose under Steele's chin.

"Don't be such a pup, Steele. I simply can't stay around here. It's not safe," Fayac said. Steele opened his mouth to reply, but it was interrupted by the snap of a twig. Fayac gasped and quickly dashed off. Steele instantly stood up and looked for her, but couldn't see which direction she had gone. He sighed softly and lay back down then closed his eyes. Moments later, he heard a yelp piece the air. He quickly sat up and the other members of the pack also rose from their sleep and looked around. Altair dashed into the middle of the clearing, fur bristled slightly.

"Is everyone alright?" Altair asked quickly as he shifted his gaze to each of the pack members. He relaxed as he looked around and saw his pack members present and unharmed, but his eyes widened when he noticed there was one missing.

"Beku's missing! Everyone, start looking for him," Altair ordered. The others were just as surprised at Beku's absence and readied themselves to search. Before anyone could even leave the clearing, Beku returned with a limp bloody body in his jaws. Everyone stared in silence as he walked up to Altair and plopped the body down.

"Fox. I scented it earlier and knew it was in our territory. I realized it was rather close to the clearing and went after it to chase it out of the territory. It tried to put up a fight, so I had no choice but to kill it when it didn't back down," Beku reported. Altair nodded lightly and sniffed at the dead fox. He grunted then returned his gaze to Beku.

"Next time you leave the clearing make sure someone knows about it first. Now then… Steele, would you take this out of our territory and bury it please?" Altair asked. Steele was quiet for a moment, but regained his composure and nodded then walked over. He gently picked up the fox by the scruff of its neck and ran to the nearest border. Once he was out of sight and earshot, he placed the fox down and took in its scent. Instantly, his fear was confirmed. The fox Beku had killed was Fayac. Steele whined sadly then nudged the body with his nose and silently wished that his friend wasn't really gone.

"Fayac, I'm so sorry," Steele whispered. He sat quietly by the body for a few moments before he remembered that he had to take care of the body and get back to the territory. He sighed gently then picked up Fayac's body once again before he began to look for a place to bury her. He soon came to a short pine tree and placed her down then began to dig a hole beside the tree. Once he was done, he laid her down in the hole.

"Goodbye, my friend," Steele said softly before he covered the hole. After he was done, he glanced around a found a small boulder. He rolled it over the top Fayac's grave as a marker then headed back into the territory.

Steele returned into the clearing as the others were beginning to settle back down for the night. Beku was the first to spot him and walked over with a grin.

"How was taking your little friend to her grave?" Beku asked in a harassing tone. Steele bared his teeth and was tempted to lash out at him, but he knew that would only prove Beku right and get him nowhere.

"I don't make friends with little foxes," Steele grumbled. He hated saying it, but it was his only option at this point. Beku scoffed and brought his muzzle right beside Steele's. His breath still smelled of Fayac's blood and it was all Steele could take to not back away from him.

"Oh really? How strange considering how close I saw it standing to you earlier. If it wasn't your friend then it must have been a very stupid fox to wander so close to wolves," Beku stated. Steele grunted and was about to speak against him, but Tuulikki walked over and gently prodded the two of them with her nose.

"We have had a long day. It's time to get some sleep, you two," Tuulikki said softly. Beku faced her with a smile and nodded.

"Ah yes, I agree completely Tuulikki. I was just making sure that everything went smoothly for Steele. Goodnight," Beku said with a glance over at Steele as if daring him to say otherwise. Steele eyed him boldly, but remained quiet as he walked off to the other side of the clearing. Steele grunted then turned and walked toward his sleeping spot. Tuulikki walked to his side and gently touched his cheek with her nose.

"He wasn't giving you a hard time about something, was he?" Tuulikki asked with concern. Steele forced a smile and shook his head.

"No, not at all. I can see past that tough guy act he was putting up," Steele said with a light chuckle. Tuulikki smiled softly and nipped gently at Steele's shoulder.

"Alright, get some sleep. Goodnight," Tuulikki said with a light giggle before she walked over to her sleeping spot and lay down. Steele nodded lightly then lay down in his sleeping spot as well. He glanced up at the stars and sighed softly.

"I'll never forget you Fayac," Steele whispered quietly before he drifted off to sleep.