perceived very clearly. If the tribe continued as it had, they would have nothing to offer their cubs bht hardship and hunger and the changeable luck of the hunt. Something precious stood to be lost, perhaps without chance of recovery.

    Dreamsinger himself held the answer. He wandered the forest ir~ exile, hunting what he could forage, and driven relentlessly by gifts that had potential to l~ill him. Yet he had not died. His madness had harmed no others. Skyfire might bring him into the holt, and ensure the continuance of the dreams his songs inspired. But to do so defied pack law. For that the Wolfriders would challenge her, force her to fight and fight again until all had submitted to her will. Her chieftainship might be lost. She might be defeated by another, and earn death or even exile without hope of reprieve. The thought of sharing Two-Spear's cruel fate filled her with distress. Woodbiter sensed, and whined softly by her knee.

    Skyfire stroked the wolf's head, but not to offer reassurance. ':":'Find Dreamsinger,** she sent.

    The wolf hesitated. Sharply impatient, the chieftess drove him forward. She had learned a thing worth fighting for, wdrth even the risk of total loss. Elves might hunt with wolves, and share the hardships of survival. But Dreamsinger had showed her another way, neither elf nor wolf, but a glimpse of Timmain's wise vision. Skyfire chose change. She slipped through the thickets like the wild creature she was, her ears listening keenly for distant strains of a song she still could not distinguish between the sending of an elf, or true sound.

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