Avonaco awoke pressed against the matted fur of a sleek black and tan dog. The dog twitched in his sleep, and Avonaco lazily remembered making friends with him, and two other strays, the night before. The two others lay not too far away, having already been aroused by the frosty morning chill. 

Avonaco rose to his feet stretching, his dull white claws shining brightly in the shafts of sunlight that leaked from the sky. He left his black and tan friend, only to alert the two others of his departure. As he informed them, the white spotted dog flicked his ear in acknowledgement, and the smaller off white she-dog gave him a friendly lick on the mouth. A sign of submission, he thought, satisfied.

Many of the dogs in the man village prostrated themselves before Avonaco, when they saw him. They weren't too keen on having their necks torn open by a big bad wolf. Only the enormous, bear likes beasts, who guarded the sheep in the pastures ignored him. Avonaco wasn't really sure you could call them dogs; they were tall, taller than a wolf, and they had serrated molars of which Avonaco was sure they would have been happy to attack with. Especially if a wolf, one of the pasture sheep's many predators, roamed into their territory. 

With once last flick of his ear, Avonaco rose to his feet and left the man village. His stomach was round and heavy with food, a procurement of the night before when he groveled at the feet of a pink faced two-leg. 

Bounding out into the forest, Avonaco set out at once to find other wolves. He had been searching for months since he had left the man village. His efforts had not been fruitless. He had found the signs of wolves living together, and, inevitably, had nearly come face to face with some. But Avonaco was alone, and could not fight a large pack.

He would either have to worm his way into a smaller one, or, he thought frustratedly, find a mate a search that had already proved to be difficult. Still, feeling energetic and determine, he vaulted into the forest without a second backwards glance at the lazy village behind him.