Although tortoises have been leaving every day for the last twentieth-season^, I am surprised how sparse the leg-forest is now. The pups can navigate with ease already despite the lack of clear auditory information and a wall of barely varied scent. Since we reached the Conference, the pups have been able to be pups. They are catching up with the play they missed. Tunnel First Eyes has spent every day with Obedient First Eyes, travelling between different tortoise circles and to the human and bee delegations who have come. Obedient First Eyes is full of excitement every Set with mind-shattering observations about other cultures. “Did you know that humans want light in their private spaces? They have stuff called ‘windows’ that they fabricate in the walls of their dens that lets sunlight in. Then they collect the sunlight in their rooves and broadcast it into their dens at night.”

Each revelation makes my head spin but both First Eyes are, as they should, guiding the unification of this huge, varied Pack. She is learning names of bees (which seem to just be a number code), tortoises (an often never-ending list of whatever they have researched over their never-ending lives) and humans (an eclectic mix of plants, places, names of previous humans, descriptions and ancient words they no longer use in conversation). It is thrilling to be adjacent to this learning. I know if I was focused on that with her, I would be overwhelmed with all the new information. I am much better suited to keeping the other 7 pups engaged and developing.

I often barely smell Nosey all day. She attends presentations from Rise to Set with Hard Observer, or as they are now known, Altruism in Canis sapiens. It transpires their original research was on some low-level shrub, but they changed to us when we came along. For the first few days, before the human and bee delegates arrived, Leaf mould-Ferns-Grasses-Mice-Mammal reproductive strategies-Macro mammalian communication-Vibratory capacity of mice-Mammalian-tortoise interactions-Tortoise ova-predation by archaeopteryx-Archaeopteryx roost-site choice with their translation device went with them. Once the delegates arrived they shifted their focus, like Obedient First Eyes, onto the other cultures present. Nosey still attends with Altruism in Canis sapiens despite no translator. I have no idea what she understands from them or if this is just a pack-attachment. When I ask her about it, she tells me about a whole range of things. I have no idea how much is based on her imagination and how much on actual observations presented by tortoises.

The other 6 are romping between tortoise legs. Only the small tortoises even notice their passing. They found a stick in the forest yesterday and (as happens in every creche) it suddenly gained high pack-value. Now they are stealing it from one another and then trying to keep it for themselves. The fission-fusion alliances that happen in these play sessions will soon give way to consistent mini-packs. The fact they already have a pack-bond but haven’t migrated onto pack-play would tell a scent-story to any Soil parent. If there was another here. I sometimes imagine talking to Soft Rise about the pups. It would be nice to have a fellow Soil parent to share the thoughts with.

I am keeping a close ear on their play. Their various play calls occasionally shift into genuine growls. I have not had to interfere as yet, but it is always hard observing a pup learning what that shift means. It is approaching zenith and they will definitely return to our new, fixed den. Small Runt^ insisted on digging it after observing the way tortoise dig for their Heat. The tunnel is steep and the chamber large. I helped him make shores and add a cache. The weather here is the most like World, I appreciate having a deep den that remains cool at the heat of zenith.

Quiet has started getting rough with Daring. Quiet is small but fierce and proud of his increasing proficiency in providing. Daring is almost a head taller than his litter-mate but he is a contented mid-ranker. He has none of Quiet’s ferocity. He lets himself get backed away from the river where he would clearly have the advantage (even if he couldn’t swim). Daring has my rank with Obedient First Eyes’ frame and calm acceptance of rank. Boisterous has noticed this part of the fracas and thrown herself in with joyful abandon. She is a proficient fighter, being more circumspect than the others in general, and has a strong bond with Daring. Small Runt will fall in with Quiet when the mini-packs form. Small Runt is the biggest now and he is second only to Nosey in curiosity. He is strategic in his alliances, nothing unusual for a pup his age but I hope he manages to develop a stable sense of Pack. I do not want to add to my list of crimes against these pups and Pack.

Cheerful is getting tired in the heat; his still roundish belly is heaving. Bright likes to observe. He follows his litter-mates with his nose. Sometimes, at Set when the others are denning down and Nosey and Tunnel First Eyes have told all their stories, Bright sidles up to me and asks me questions. “When the others play and Quiet is being rough, he needs prompting to stop but Daring does not. Will that remain over time? Can you tell what kind of dogs they will be?” It knocked me off my feet when he first started to ask. He has shown himself to be insightful into their behaviour and have a mature understanding of development for one still developing. If Tunnel First Eyes is Obedient First Eyes, Bright is me. He is gentle of soul, deed and communication. Cheerful has stopped and sat in the middle of the patch in front of the den that is the current battle ground. Boisterous darts in, nips Small Runt on the haunch and he yips and jumps back. She dashes away full of victory and he gives chase. She leads the whole pack whooshing across the plain and out amongst the leg-forest. I don’t bother following, they will be back shortly, but Bright follows them at a gentle trot for a few dogslengths before they come crashing back, shrieking in delight. Cheerful, who is grooming himself and yawning is strafed by the tumbling pack and he slumps down to yawn more fully.

The pack becomes three as Daring slows and is left by the others. He follows their progress for a moment then starts to groom himself. I chivvy them both gently to rest in den for the hottest degrees^. Bright keeps following the swarm that is Boisterous, Small Runt and Quiet. Small Runt will stop next. He has the least to lose. He could probably keep going just as long if it was just about physical resilience. But it isn’t. It never is. Obedient First Eyes, while being at the peak of dog fitness and beauty, was notched for her determination. The part of her that refuses to Walk is what earned her the notches she lost. Small Runt is not as invested in this contest. He is more interested to find out who it will be between the last two.

When he drops behind them and positions himself so he can watch what unfolds, the other two stop chasing and start scrapping. Boisterous has a greater reach but Quiet has speed and ferocity. They both are determined to come out high-ranked in the pack they are developing. The stalemate in ability and determination is broken by Boisterous’s greater circumspection. She is thinking two attacks further ahead than him and he begins to get frustrated. He starts lashing out with more aggression. My mane tingles. I look at Bright who looks like a lion^ with his rigid ruff of wiry hair. Small Runt’s mane is barely disturbed. He bites down onto her front paw. I hear the pop and the howl, the snarl and the scream. They are hunched down away from each other. The air is tinged with their blood. The smell of it hot and coppery and rich. Boisterous holds her left paw off the ground. Quiet has a small chunk of flesh missing from his side. They both smell horrified.

They approach each other as though they have not been together in a season and start to groom each other’s wounds. First blood. Play has been rough before, but this is the first time any of them has made another bleed. It had to come sooner or later but it feels like yet another end of something. Small Runt joins them. I let them groom for a few minutes then send them after their litter-mates until the air is cool enough to think. They seem a little subdued but very affectionate as they head down the steep entry passage. As I instinctually begin to sweep the area with my nose, ears and eyes for signs of pups left behind. I almost trip over Bright. He is sitting, contained but intense at the mouth to our den. I appraise him for signs of distress. He finds the roughness of the others both fascinating and frightening. His mane is still stiff, but his scent is more curious than upset.

“Loyal, do all dogs make their litter-mates bleed?”

“Well my spots, most pups make a creche-mate bleed at some point. Why did you ask?”

“You weren’t worried. You did not stop them even though you knew they were getting vicious. So, it must be a normal dog behaviour. But it feels wrong to me. Boisterous and Quiet are litter-mates. This pack is all the Pack we will have. I know they have strong Pack for each other. Why would they hurt each other?”

“They did not mean to hurt one another. They were caught up in the fun of adrenaline^, dopamine and the sun. Dog behaviour is often influenced by lots of things more subtle than just the individual dog’s emotions. That feeling of running and moving and not thinking is contagious. As the play escalates there is a point where every pup in a pack feels connected and that is so enjoyable to most pups that they often then try to make that fleeting experience longer. When they do, they often do more extreme things like biting hard and hurting each other.”

“So, they are not choosing to bite each other.”

“No, they are learning about how to control those hormones and emotions.”

“But once they have learned, they could choose to bite each other.”

“Yes, but I know very few pups who have grown up to bite their own pack. The only one I can remember was a pup who had a very difficult experience. She was impacted by that for her whole life. She did a not-for-Pack deed and then she left the Set Pack. I don’t know what happened to her after that. I think of her sometimes. I wish I had been able to help her more.” In my recounting of the story I have drifted back to a time where I understood Pack and I forgot I am not talking to Soft Rise or another adult, trained Soil parent but my creche-pup, my whelp-pup. My traumatised whelp-pup who now scents utter misery and abject fear.

“So, she had a difficult experience. It made her frightened and then she was so dangerous that she had to be left… alone?” I realise what he is thinking and want to pin him and surround him in Soil and Pack. I want him to know he is going to be alright. But can I promise him that? I worry Soft Rise would hate me forever as a runt-maker.

“Oh, my spots! She did have a difficult experience and it did make her frightened and angry and if she had not done something not-for-Pack she would have been given Pack and that can heal many wounds.”

“Then why wasn’t she given Pack? I thought all dogs were Pack” I pause and realise I cannot answer him as any other creche-pup. I cannot tell him “because that’s how Pack is”. This pack is already so different from any I have known. “Because” is not good enough for Bright. It’s not good enough for me anymore.

“Because that version of Pack was wrong. Obedient First Eyes told me it was wrong, but I didn’t understand all the ways that she was right. Ye are Wild; ye get to decide what rules this Pack has.”

“Then I will have pack for any dog, no matter what they do. If that helps them be for-Pack.”

“I don’t doubt that you will.” The heat seems to hit him all at once; he yawns and stumbles down the tunnel. I think I will have to persuade Small Runt to dig a more dog-angle for us. Even Obedient First Eyes sometimes trips and slides on the sharp incline.

I do not normally nap with the pups. It is useful private time for me. Pack all around but no-dog in my mind but me. I have spent many degrees looking over the sleeping litter-mates and planning how to make their lives as close to “Pack” life as I can. Bright has released me from my guilt. It spreads over my skin. Obedient First Eyes was right, even if the system served most dogs, it did not serve all dogs. These pups, that she and I whelped and raised as dogs have not done for centuries, will be their own Pack. They will make their own Pack rules. Just because I can’t imagine how a different Pack would smell, doesn’t mean that they can’t. I feel more content than I have in a long time. I cursorily groom them all. Once I have examined Boisterous’s paw and Quiet’s haunch and seen that they are very superficial wounds that will be forgotten by the time they wake, I let myself trust these pups, trust my bond-mate, trust this Pack and sleep.

The pups have had a low energy after-zenith today. I think they probably were startled by the tussle getting out of control. They have been off sniffing, investigating the Heat-plain, now full of scents stirred up by tortoises laying their eggs (which seems like an impossible beginning for an intelligent being). The entire plain is marked with tulip-shaped patterns and the scent of turned earth. The smells of earth and the plants, into whose roots the nests were dug, kept every-pup busy until now. But the Set-hunting degree is almost over, and they are getting tired. Obedient First Eyes has been provisioning with Quiet, Small Runt, Boisterous, Daring and Tunnel First Eyes most nights. They could have been and returned by now. We do have enough cached to not provision until tomorrow if necessary, but I am getting increasingly worried about what has happened to her and Tunnel First Eyes and Nosey and even Altruism in Canis sapiens.

The leg-forest is more like a leg-copse now. Most tortoises have left and those that remain are resting in circles, continuing to communicate their important research until they run out of energy and fall asleep. They are not able to stay awake much beyond nightfall in the main. On the first few nights, when I was restless and not yet able to trust that the Heat-plain is protected from the monstrous night predators, Obedient First Eyes and I would stand sniff^. Before the first nests were dug, we noticed a few tortoises who might have been awake well past nadir, with their uncanny “centre” shining on our backs. But, as with seemingly everything the tortoises do, I couldn’t be sure of my observations. Where the Conference plain was lush grass next to the shrubby, sandy Nesting plain, there are now many littersworth^ of circles in the remaining straggly tough grass. Tortoises ate while they listened and talked. Some patches, that were obviously in high demand or where significant research was presented, have no grass left at all. It’s just dusty footprints and ridges from their panelled bellies listening hard.

I don’t have time to let myself acknowledge how strange it is to be able to interpret these alien pieces of evidence. I need to make a decision. The pups are already noticing that it is getting late and the others are not den yet. If I let them feel my fear, we might be a formidable pack. These are almost full-grown and trail-hardened pups (even if they have not lived that life in a quarter-season). But if there is nothing to fear, then all the effort we have expended making this place feel safe might be undone for no reason. It is not yet so late that I am worried. Even with many of the tortoises gone, I am told the predator-hum will still be active until the last tortoise leaves. They will be safe within the Nesting and Conference plain until the Rise. But that could be way too late to go and find them. I start expanding my scent horizons, wondering where Nosey got her nose. I can smell the vague waft of tortoise left from all those creatures in one place. I can smell the crow delegation that were here two days ago. The crows generally smell abhorrent to me, but I try to be packly. I am a representative of all dogs and, if Obedient First Eyes wants to create a new future for new dogs then I need to be a part of that. I can smell the humans, chemicals^ and sweat. I can trace all the pups movements all day but only the outward trail of Nosey, Tunnel First Eyes and Obedient First Eyes.

There is not a single trace of fear or anger in the air. I am sure I would feel if Obedient First Eyes was having a major emotion, even outside of bond-range. I think it is time to get everyone fed and then I will see what has happened when we’ve eaten. If action is required, at least every belly will be full.

“Cheerful and Small Runt it is time for us to eat. I am going to ask you to be responsible and guide us to get enough provision from the cache (remember we need to use the oldest first) for us to eat. The others are not back yet but I see no reason to be worried about that. They have been later each day with the tortoises moving on and the important Service they are doing. We are going to do what is best for Pack, which is provision and then we will see if we need to respond differently to the situation we find ourselves in then.” The two of them swell with pride and begin to organise the unearthing of caches and collecting the various cached provision. Cheerful makes sure that Bright does not have to deal with any animal provision and sends him to unearth the fungus and tuber stores. Bright is encouraging Quiet in how he is doing such good pack-Service. He is clumsy, but subtle enough that Quiet has not become suspicious of it, despite Bright’s notable increase in engagement in pack-work after zenith. I have no idea how long this will last, but Bright seems to be taking his promise very seriously. Depending on how this goes, I will have a chat with him about the pressure he is putting on Quiet by focusing his Pack just on him.

I ask for guidance and there’s nothing left to be done. We are on the surface, at the mouth of our den, eating variously dried plant and animal provision. I admit I do miss the feeling of hot flesh in my mouth, but it is easily quelled by thinking of the fear, of parents dying with their charges. Dried animal provision barely seems like animal flesh at all. It is so far removed from the fear and the sadness that it smells delicious. I try not to think about it and try to smell other things. I catch the tiniest hint of dogs. Tired and dusty dogs. I throw out a pack-message:

( Is that you my spotted ambassador? ) If I can only just smell them, it seems unlikely she would hear anything clearly. Maybe it’s the alluring smell of the provision that is distracting me from their scents. I tensed when I caught a waft of scent. All the pups have their heads up from the mismatched, chewy provision between their paws. They are turned to me, noses to the sky. As they all sniff as one, I feel the scentscape with all the clarity of a full bonded-pack. We are scent-sharing, and they don’t even know what that means. They have had such a strange experience developing their pack-bonds that they have occasional flashes of very advanced skill alongside their usual slow mastery of the various pack-skills.

With this clarity of scent, I am able to discern that I did catch a scent of them. They are moving slowly but they are coming. I sing a scent-song down the pack-bond for the pups and Obedient First Eyes.

( Oh, she left this Rise smelling free
With her brave pack, Tunnel First Eyes and Noseeeeeeeeeey
Now she comes back to where it is best
To den, to Pack, to nest )

The pups definitely hear something, but they are not sure what it is. Obedient First Eyes liquid, honey, chuck comes billowing down the pack-bond to my stomach. I am whole again. These long days have stretched the pack-bond and left me feeling less. I am filled with an urge to tell her everything that happened today. She feels exhausted so I hold off a little longer.

( I am sorry my spots, I hope you cracked open the cache and are feasting on Cheerful and Small Runt’s supplies. )

( It is fine my one-eared soul, I practically had to pin Quiet to prevent him going off with Small Runt and Boisterous to provide on their own. Cheerful kept generous portions aside for ye all. He even brought back a ball of moss for Altruism in Canis sapiens

( Good. ) The weariness in her tone lets me know I should leave her alone. I turn back to the pack. Cheerful is relaxed and chewing his provision, his focus skipping amongst his litter-mates. He is trying a very blunt form of pack manipulation by being relaxed in a potentially tense situation. It might be serving but it is impossible to tell with the range of interest from Small Runt, fear from Bright, complacency from Daring, obliviousness in Quiet and joy from Boisterous. They wait for my confirmation.

“Yes, they are coming. Finish your provision so we can give them plenty of space to rest and groom when they get back.” They start to chatter and gnaw. Boisterous is telling Daring that she heard us talking and she knew Obedient First Eyes was coming home. Small Runt and Cheerful are talking about the scent-sharing, with none of the vocabulary to do it.

“It was like I had a littersworth of noses!”

“It was like my nose was everywhere!” I let them chatter and tap into the contentment I found at zenith as I have been doing periodically all afterzenith. It is almost addictive, this thought of drifting away from Pack and that whatever this Pack ends up being like is what it should be. Obedient First Eyes is where she needs to be and that can be true of all of us.

The pups are finished. I am still ruminating. The ragged pack comes into sight-range. Tunnel First Eyes is trying to keep up pace with Obedient First Eyes’ natural pace despite not having the same length of stride yet. Nosey is riding on Altruism in Canis sapiens’s shell. Leaf mould-Ferns-Grasses-Mice-Mammal reproductive strategies-Macro mammalian communication-Vibratory capacity of mice-Mammalian-tortoise interactions-Tortoise ova-predation by archaeopteryx-Archaeopteryx roost-site choice is with them too. I thought they had left; I have not smelled them in over a twentieth-season. The tortoises are obviously beginning to run out of energy. Obedient First Eyes is trying to keep everyone moving. The pups around me look to me.

“Go and help them den then” They charge off together. I look at the wide stones to the Rise of our den. They are warm from the day. They are similar to those that the tortoises use, presumably for energy, on the Conference plain. That might be sufficient to help them recover from this long day. I shunt some of the smaller, still warm stones towards two larger ones to give two clear areas to lie. Bright, who didn’t join his litter-mates, helps me. We have done a decent enough Service and now the pups, the tortoises and my reason for not Walking are close enough to see, smell, hear and roll in the Pack of it all.

The tortoises awkwardly arrange themselves on the stone platforms we made for them. Altruism in Canis sapiens is about the size of 4 large dogs and they fit relatively comfortably on the smaller of the two. Leaf mould-Ferns-Grasses-Mice-Mammal reproductive strategies-Macro mammalian communication-Vibratory capacity of mice-Mammalian-tortoise interactions-Tortoise ova-predation by archaeopteryx-Archaeopteryx roost-site choice by comparison is larger than the whole of our den and is precariously able to balance on top of the life-restoring warmth. Cheerful pulls out the moss ball he found earlier,

« I’m sorry I didn’t get very much for two of ye. I was not expecting to see you, Leaf mould-Ferns-Grasses-Mice-Mammal reproductive strategies-Macro mammalian communication-Vibratory capacity of mice-Mammalian-tortoise interactions-Tortoise ova-predation by archaeopteryx-Archaeopteryx roost-site choice but it is really wonderful. » He is an outgoing and welcoming pup. I find his pomposity as charming as I do every time a creche-pup does something similar. Where a few degrees ago, I would have had that feeling followed by a breeze of self-loathing for what I did to these pups, there is none. Before I can complete this thought Quiet and Small Runt are charging with Boisterous towards the area where they found the moss ball. I don’t even consider trying to stop them. Daring gives provision to the dogs while Bright gives a few tubers to the tortoises from his own portion.

The pups are draped over the tortoises, providing extra warmth and all but Nosey and Bright are, at least, dozing. Even Tunnel First Eyes has not been able to keep herself alert in the spooky night light. Watching her snooze draped over Leaf mould-Ferns-Grasses-Mice-Mammal reproductive strategies-Macro mammalian communication-Vibratory capacity of mice-Mammalian-tortoise interactions-Tortoise ova-predation by archaeopteryx-Archaeopteryx roost-site choice’s shell she seems her age: not even ready for training. Not the ambassador she is most days. Talk turns to reflections on the Conference and what the next cycle will consist of. I gather from Obedient First Eyes that this is part of the end of their Heat rituals. They reflect on where they will be next cycle. I am barely listening except to the mellifluous sound of Obedient First Eyes’s excitement. She is intoxicating. She draws every sense. Even to the tortoises. She is expounding about what will be in place by the time the tortoises come back next cycle.

« It is strange to think that when the young emerge, they will see dogs before they see adult tortoises. Those who reach a name will be interesting to study. If I wasn’t starting a new research project… Maybe you could look into them Altruism in Canis sapiens. Give it a couple of turns to get your first full study done then you could make your second study the tortoises who saw dogs first. It would fit with your progression. What would a good linking project be? » Tortoises are not usually this animated after Set, let alone after the day of walking and discussing they have had. It is a testament to Obedient First Eyes’s ability to make every-dog (or should I say being?) feel like they are valued. A tiny voice chirps up,

« Excuse me? What do you mean about those who reach a name? » I had thought that Bright had drifted off but obviously not. Leaf mould-Ferns-Grasses-Mice-Mammal reproductive strategies-Macro mammalian communication-Vibratory capacity of mice-Mammalian-tortoise interactions-Tortoise ova-predation by archaeopteryx-Archaeopteryx roost-site choice sighs, they have little patience for any dogs not Obedient First Eyes or Nosey – even Tunnel First Eyes does not get so much patience from them.

« You are named when you are whelped. We are not. We earn our names. »

« Yes. I understood that. I was asking why any tortoise might not earn their name? »

« Some tortoises like Altruism in Canis sapiens here, take several attempts to earn their first-name. Most tortoises earning their first-name are no bigger than your head. When you met them, they had no name. »

« But they got their first-name this Conference. They are bigger than others were. They still earned a name. Why wouldn’t every tortoise eventually earn a name? » I realise that in a roundabout way, he is asking what happens to Runts or those who need more Pack. I hope he learns to apply this new thought with care.

« Oh, because most no-named tortoises die. That is expected before a tortoise has a name. Some are not as strong, some are not observant enough to avoid predators. If they cannot earn a name then they won’t earn one. Each tortoise who laid here will have put between 10 and 20 eggs into the sand. The number that emerge will be about two thirds of that. Predators will take at least half of what is left and maybe a quarter will not be able to meet their own basic needs like provision or water or sun-food and they will perish. Of the remaining quarter, a maximum of a quarter will be able to make any kind of observations. Of those, depending on whether they have an interest-mast event, maybe half will get names. For every tortoise who laid we will have a maximum of 2 more tortoises next turn. Some turns it is more, some it is less but my last study has taught me that about 10% of what is laid get names. » Throughout this speech Bright has become smaller and more curled round himself. His tail is tucked under him and he is gazing up at the tortoise spewing forth something so against-Pack. I am only able to smell neutral because I have already gathered that this is the approach tortoises take. It is horrifying and I wake at night imagining the pups dying leaving one pup alone and broken. It is always Bright. The tortoise peers at him as he cowers against me then glances to Obedient First Eyes « Sorry, I am getting cold and I haven’t considered how this would affect your young. I am sorry little one. Until an egg has earned a name it is still an egg. » Bright is still horrified, mane stiff. I let him get beneath me and radiate Pack into him. The conversation snaps back to what study Altruism in Canis sapiens could do between now and when these eggs would be earning first-names that would prepare them for that research. I am surprised how engaged in the conversation Nosey is and how seriously all the adults are taking her contributions.

Bright is still completely stiff under me. I wait until I know no-being would draw attention to it,

( I am going to take Bright away for a chat. ) Obedient First Eyes acknowledges and submerges herself in the tortoise conversation. I lead Bright to den. I still find it easier to have Soil parent conversations in the earth, away from the centre. We shimmy down and get settled.

“Would you like to tell me how you are feeling, my spots?” he says nothing but leans into my side. I absentmindedly groom his head and he slowly unwinds.

“Why don’t they care for Pack?”

“They don’t have Pack, my scent-spark. At least not like we do.”

“But isn’t it the worst thing to do, to let your pups die?”

“For a dog, certainly. There is a terrible word for it in old Pack that I hope to never hear again. But they are different. They are more different than Set and Rise, more different than dogs and mice. They do not eat animals like dogs do. In fact, they think eating flesh is as upsetting as you find them not doing everything they can to save their pups.”

“But I don’t eat flesh and I am a dog. And you don’t eat flesh and you are a dog. We are not doing the thing that they don’t like so maybe…” he seems thoughtful. I have to prepare him for what it will be like if we stay here.

“But that is not the same. We are the only two dogs who do not eat animals. You are asking them all to change. That is more than even Obedient First Eyes could achieve.”

“Maybe.” He lapses into silence then something shifts in him and I smell the sharp high tang of a new idea gathering speed as it rolls downhill. “I am going to sleep away from the tortoises. I will be OK to sleep on my own. I am very tired.” He starts to diligently groom. Feeling dismissed by my own litter, I head back to the surface. I do not have the energy to tackle this now. I will try again in the Rise when I have slept a little. I just have to get to the end of today. I suspect Obedient First Eyes will want to explain to me what her day was like. The sooner every other being is asleep the sooner I can be the centre of her nose for a few moments. As I re-join the pack, I hear Nosey chirp up,

« Loyal, now you have returned I would like to tell every-being here my plan. » I am startled but Obedient First Eyes seems less so. Why do any of our pups have a plan? What is going on? I am too tired for this. « Altruism in Canis sapiens will be leaving tomorrow to do their first full-study, it requires a cycle of observations. They are planning on completing the study of the shrubs they stopped observing for us. » she leans into their limbs. « But more specifically they want to do a comparison between identifying features of different shrubs to different species. » She trails off. Obedient First Eyes looks to me. I notice that every set of awake eyes is pointed at me.

« I’m sorry I must be ‘getting cold’ too, » Obedient First Eyes beams at me down the pack-bond for my use of tortoise phrase. « but I am not very scientifically minded. Can you please explain your point like to a close-eyed pup? »

« They need a mammal to collect data with. » I can’t fit this information into anything I heard. I obviously display my confusion overtly because she eventually says. « Like a dog. Like me. I am going with them. » After everything else today, I feel beaten like prey.

( And I take it you are happy with this? )

( She is almost at training age. She would be leaving you anyway and she would have left me long ago. I think she should go. Altruism in Canis sapiens has a hum. She’ll probably be safer with them than us. )

« Seeing as I seem to be the missing step to this happening, I will ask you some questions then send you with Pack. Are you sure you understand what this will mean in terms of being far from Pack? Ye do not have a translator. Talking like this will not be an option. »

« We both know. But we can communicate reasonably well without one. I am learning the hums and they know our words. We don’t really need to talk. Not most of the time. »

« You will not be able to provide easily for yourself on your own. You might have to adopt a tortoise-diet like me and Bright. »

« I have already been eating less animal provision. I will come back next turn with so many new plant-provision for ye to try! »

« This will impact the bond-skills you have later. It is not necessarily a problem. Many dogs never focus on pack-bonds, but you should know what you are sacrificing. »

« I understand. I think I have a chance for a different kind of bond. Afterall, we don’t know what kind of bond we would be able to cultivate. »

« And are you in-Pack with all of this Altruism in Canis sapiens? »

« Very much. Nosey will be the first dog to earn a name. We’ll have matching names. »

« And you will keep up your hum? »

« Of course. »

« And, Nosey, you will fight for them when they need it? »

« Always. »

« Then you are basically already Pack and no-dog would break up a Pack. » She yips and rubs all over Altruism in Canis sapiens’ legs. Leaf mould-Ferns-Grasses-Mice-Mammal reproductive strategies-Macro mammalian communication-Vibratory capacity of mice-Mammalian-tortoise interactions-Tortoise ova-predation by archaeopteryx-Archaeopteryx roost-site choice seems incredulous but also more exhausted than me. They slip into sleep. Obedient First Eyes rouses the other pups and sends them to join Bright. They slept through the Soil-shattering news. After Nosey has spent a prolonged period of time pressed against the front of Altruism in Canis sapiens, she goes to den and they too go to sleep, almost instantly.

( I will figure out how to explain this all to the others tomorrow. )

( We can figure it out together once we have slept. ) I wanted to talk to her about everything: - about my realisation, my renewed admiration for her scent of the future, about Bright and the first blood and how way-markers that were achievements in creche now feel like horrible but inevitable wounds… but I have nothing to give.

( I love you more than my pelt, but I am afraid I don’t care about your day or mine. I will want to hear tomorrow. )

( I don’t want to go into it yet either. I am not ready to den yet though. )

( Me neither. ) We sit in silence. Under the same centre, over a different plain, I find I admire my one-eared Pack-Guider^ even more than the sleek warrior who thought there could be something better. Almost as much as I admire the dog I am today. We have been through a lot but there is something new coming. Maybe I won’t miss Nosey too much. I only smell her for a hunting-degree a day already. Obedient First Eyes grooms my ears and I groom her ear. We smell day-beings settle and the night unfurl. Without even bond-speaking, we get up and tiptoe down the steep tunnel into den and all 8 of our pups for the last time.