Laika grumbled, "How are we going to get over this wall? It's not like we can just call someone to let us in." Before her was a huge wooden wall protecting Veal Tribe from trespasser such as herself. Although, she did not admit that she was a trespasser. She was still a part of veal tribe, after all. It was still her home, wasn't it?

"You mean, you don't know?" Afore said quietly, feigning shock. "You've never heard of digging?"

"Oh, give it a rest already!" But Afore could not help but hear Laika's small chuckle at his words, and he smiled in response.

The two quickly and quietly got to work with their claws and paws, scraping at the frozen forest floor until a small incline had been made. They dug, and dug, and dug, lining their forelegs with mud and dirt and bits of tree and leaf and grass. The dirt flew behind them in small pebbles and landed in piles. By the time some moonlight peaked from beneath the wooden posts of the wall, the two were heavily exhausted, panting heavily, shoulders burning from strong movement. Still, there was a ways to go, and they continued with their repetitive work. Dig, dig, dig.

Soon enough, a large mount of damp dirt had piled behind the two, and there was gap large enough beneath the wide rustic wall that they could squeeze beneath it and break into Veal Tribe. Laika found crawling through the hole they'd made to be an easy task, barely getting her stomach on the dirt; the wolf, however, who was much larger than she, had a very difficult time, and it ended up so that Laika had to use the rope to her advantage and tug on his neck to help him out.

"You need to loose some weight," Laika had remarked after Afore had finally escaped from the shallow tunnel. His pelt was smeared with brown dirt, especially along his stomach, and he shook it out in an attempt to stay a little cleaner. It didn't work very well. Nonetheless, his paws were still filthy from digging, dirt crusted between the pads of his toes and under his nails. Laika's were the same.

"You need to gain some weight," Afore said back with a scowl, "Then maybe you wouldn't be so cold in the winters."

"I'd be too slow, then. Like you. And much less agile, much less sneaky."

Afore protested, "I'm agile and sneaky!"

Laika eyed him, eyebrow raised and one ear cocked, "Oh, really? You're agile? And sneaky?"

He lifted his snout a little, "Why, yes. I'm very sneaky, and agile, too."

"Okay. So prove it."

Afore tilted his head, "Prove it how?"

"Be the first to sneak in to my hut, and do it successfully."

He smirked, "Deal. I'll prove it to you, easy-peasy."

Laika chuckled a little, "We'll see. Don't get too ahead of yourself." They still spoke quietly and with caution, but somehow, in one another's presence, they had grown a bit more comfortable and a bit less afraid. For once, Afore was confident that someone else had his back. He relied on Laika, whether he meant to or not, and it gave him an odd sense of comfort. He had never felt that way before. He had never relied on another before. Suddenly, he felt a lot more like a pack wolf than a lone wolf. He felt a lot more right.

Laika was experiencing something similar, although she had relied on others plenty of times during hunts and chases and patrols. But with Afore, she didn't simply rely on him; she actually trusted him, and that was a new feeling for her, as well.

Every step was stiff and quiet, every movement slowed and delayed with precision and delicacy. Here in the tribe, there were no leaves littering the ground to make loud crunching sounds; instead, every single light pawstep was well muffled by powdery dirt. The dirt here had been walked on over a thousand times, preventing any grass from growing along the mainly used paths of the tribe. Any weeds that sprouted in the spring along the dirt and gravel paths were pulled up by the dogs that lived there.

"Which hut is yours?" Afore whispered towards the Black and Tan saluki beside him. They both were crouched, heads low, bodies stiff, eyes and ears forward.

"You can smell it. It's straight across."

They crept through the dusty streets, past rows upon rows of leather huts built from deer and moose hides. Afore slowly lifted his nose, inhaling deeply, taking in a thousand different scents through his mouth. They all seemed to become mud and washed together. He couldn't pick apart one scent from another; it was all stench and musk from domestic dogs. His nose crinkled at it, and Laika stifled a laugh.

Among the whirlwind of scents, the wolf caught a small whiff of something familiar. Laika's scent, which wafted, albeit a bit faded, on the crisp night wind. It lured him in, and he took a small step forward in the direction of her home. Her hut was ahead, not very far and just across the dirt path. It sat between others that looked nearly identical; the only identifiable marker was her familiar scent wrapped around it. She smelled nothing like Afore did. Afore's musk was of woods and leaves and cool, winter nights, and sweat. Laika's scent was different, less feral, less rural, and more domestic; it was less identifiable and not as strong, mixed with the scents of a thousand others, and it lingered with the scents of sweat, of dust, and of dry hide and stone. Her scent was the type to make you sneeze; Afore's scent was the type to make you inhale deeply. Although, neither could say that either's scent was pleasant. Both, again, smelled heavily of sweat and mud.

Sniffing gently, Afore followed his nose and took a few more crouched paces forward. Laika followed closely behind, ensuring he was following the correct scent and finding the right hut. As the two canines approached one, Afore glanced at his companion, and Laika approved silently with a small nod, signalling to him that this was the correct hut.

Under his breath, the wolf whispered, "This is just crazy."

"No, it's not. Trust me. My bed is way more comfortable than a hole in the ground."

"Uh-huh."

The two crept forward at a snail-pace, aware and alert. Perhaps a little too cautious, a little too slow. Although, clearly, that caution did not pay off. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the pair of canines had crept and crawled and crouched to Laika's familiar and small hide hut.

Quietly but very excitedly, Laika walked into her hut with no hesitation and spun in a small circle upon her bed of fluffy hides. Afore followed closely behind, making his way through a leather flap that was in the doorway. It fell close behind him with a small swoosh, and suddenly, the two were in pitch darkness. Adore blinked a few times, allowing his eyes to adjust, and he scanned the dog in front of him, who was nearly as black as their surroundings. She was mostly just visible for her bright orange markings, which seemed brown in the dimness.

"Ah! Home!"Laika exclaimed in a half-whisper, tail wagging and eyes alight. With fascination and stifled amusement, Afore watched her curiously, holding back a small chuckle.

Sarcastically, he asked, "That good?"

"Oh, shut up. My bear hides are better than your dirt."

"Bear hides? That's fancy." He laughed quietly, taking a little step forward and into the hut. The hut was in a small oval shape, twines and branches holding it up. It grew inwards and smaller towards the roof, and wasn't too high; Afore's ears touched the ceiling, as they usually did. The walls and ceiling were constructed with heavy, flat hides, which Afore could smell as treated deer, moose, and caribou hides. The leather on them was strong and thick, the hair smooth and flat. They were various warm tones of brown, tan, and grey. Beneath Afore's paws was the bedding that Laika had spoken so adamantly and fondly of. It was truly a bear pelt, a thick, black blanket with strong, plush fur. The bed was very comfortable and held a certain buoyancy to it, allowing Afore's paws to sink into its fluffiness.

Laika turned and looked up at him, "Well?"

"Alright, alright. It's not too shabby."

The saluki rolled her eyes, "Not too shabby, are you kidding? It's amazing!"

And Afore chuckled, "It's amazing."

"I'm so excited to sleep here tonight, and not in that old cave, and not in a hole in the ground, that I'm not sure that I will even be able to fall asleep!" She turned in a few more excited circles, bouncing in her step, and then curled up on the bear hide. Afore watched her for a moment, admiring her joy and feeling some of his own, and then he pushed back outside through the entrance's flap, and scratched a bit with his front paws at the dirt outside of her hut, preparing a place to lay down in it. He did so with a strong smile, a little relieved, excited, and happy. Their plan had gone smoother than he had expected, and finally, he felt as though he could relax just a little. The fresh night air welcomed him and brushed against his fur. Laika had gotten what she wanted, and that relieved him. For her stubbornness, Afore now had nothing to worry about, and no responsibility weighing him down. And at last, her annoying him could finally be put to a halt.

Well, that was until he heard it: a few heavy paw-steps only a few metres away, thumping threateningly against hard-packed dirt. Immediately, Afore stood up, scanning the rows and rows of leather huts with narrowed eyes and his ears perked, his agouti hair on end. His hair on end in a ridge down his neck and spine gave him the appearance of having a scruffy mane like a hyena. Grey hackles raised, Afore took a few steps to the left towards the slow thump, thump, thump, of a dog's large paws. With every large step, the wolf's shoulder blades rippled beneath loose skin and thick pelt. He walked like a mighty Kangal.

Then, a flicker of shade behind a hut some ways down the path. The paw-steps slowed and then stopped. Afore was alert and on edge, not noticing the tug of the rope along his neck as he moved slowly forward.