Jokvethar squirmed uncomfortably in his mother's jaws as the pack marched across the windswept glacier. Lunaxa-Gio said that in order to keep predators from following the pup's scent, they should be carried. Even Gryphe was being carried by the scruff of the neck, to the dismay of Uqaq-Fah. "Hohw stiw! Yo wingth isk hitting my pathe!" protested the beta, with the young Eagle-Wolf in his mouth. "I'm sorry! It'd fold them back, but then I'd hit your legs!" cried Gryphe. Suddenly, a multicolored streak ripped through the cold night sky. "Eek! The sky is on fire!" screamed Giomax, thrashing in his father's jaws.
"It's okay, my son," said Kaejmari, running over to comfort her pup. "That's the Rainbow of Stars. When you are very, very old, and have had many pups and grand-pups, you will wake up one day in that rainbow. Your grandfather, Thorikea-Gio is up there, too," she explained. She said this with sadness in her eyes. Thorikea-Gio had adopted her, and since her parents had died when she was young, they were really close.
Suddenly, the pack stopped. The lights in the sky turned bright red. Hekla, thought Jokvethar. Kaejmari sniffed the air, and then her ears flattened. "Run!" she yelled. The pack began to run in the direction that Kaejmari had pointed out. Jokvethar looked around madly, causing his mother to make an annoyed roof sound.
All of a sudden, Euwresno and Sapphiralun screamed. The other wolves whipped around to see a tom Snow Lion dragging Euwresno by her leg! Sapphiralun was chasing after them, crying for her mother. Jokvethar plopped to the ground as K'Linjiza lunged to the rescue!
She landed on the hulking cat's back and bit down hard. It let go of Euwresno, who promptly picked up her pup and ran to safety. The Snow Lion tried to shake her off him, which caused her to go flying across the ice with a clump of white fur in her mouth. He pounced on her, but she rolled out in the nick of time! She jumped onto his hindquarters, and latched onto his tail, which caused him to spin around. Suddenly, Kaejmari hurled her body at the Lion!
"No! Don't! It's too dangerous!" screeched Lunaxa-Gio, dropping his son on the ice, causing him to yelp from the cold. The Lion looked at the other Wolf clinging to his side, and swatted her off. She slid across the ice, towards a crevasse! K'Linjiza let go of the Snow Lion and ran to assist her friend. She hoisted Kaejmari out of the cliff, with the help of Lunaxa-Gio, but then felt a sharp pain in her left hind leg. Then she went sliding off the crevasse! The Snow Lion had caught her, and they were both plummeting down!
"Mom!" yelled Jokvethar. He ran towards the edge and looked down. All he could see was darkness. She was gone!
"Mother," Tears rolled down his nose, and down into the abyss. "Jokvethar…" said Lunaxa-Gio, but he was cut off by Jokvethar burying his face into his fur and sobbing. He felt awful. He was going to tell him when they got to the valley, but then Jokvethar would just be crushed with grief.
"Jockey?" Gryphe had come over to comfort his friend. "No, Gryphe. Let him cry." Lunaxa-Gio gently pushed the Eagle-Wolf away with his paw.
The wolves held a vigil that night in honor of K'Linjiza.
The next morning the wolves dragged themselves across the glacier. They didn't carry the pups this time. Nobody talked, except for Lunaxa-Gio and Uqaq-Fah, but only to give orders. They arrived in the Mosslands with little fanfare, and then they all went to sleep.