Word Count: 223

Tagg scarfed down as much meat as he thought he could handle without slowing himself down and sat back, quickly grooming his paws and licking as much blood from his face as he could.  Now that he was full he was ready to nap, but he’d been stopped long enough.  He stood and stretched, mouth opening in a yawn.  He flicked his ears in acknowledgement to her well-wishes.

“Thank you.  And thank you once again for the help in getting a good meal.  I haven’t eaten that well in quite a while.  It was a pleasant change.  I hope you and your companion have a safe winter.”  He wagged his tail.  He hadn’t met this other wolf, but he assumed he must be a good fellow if someone as agreeable as Maera was staying the winter with him.  He really hoped nothing bad happened to them… she’d helped him remember some thing’s he hadn’t realized he’d forgotten.  He could never go back, he knew; too much had happened, too much had changed.  But that didn’t mean he had to leave behind everything he once was.

He paused as he turned to go, looking back to her. “And thank you… for helping me remember.”  He smiled, then disappeared into the trees, heading towards both his past, and what he hoped would be his future.

"Speech"  Thought