I made it back to the Cave of Dreams in one piece.  It took us almost three full moths at our fastest to get there even with Yahn to speed up my two legs.  It was a fairly uneventful trip.  We skirted town, and when I needed food I simply slipped into my own wolf form and hunted with the pack.
            Ris was waiting at the entrance to the cave when we arrived, sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, the wind blowing gently through his long silky blonde hair.  Sagais said later that he’d been doing that every day for the past two months, sitting vigil awaiting my return.  I think it was one of the most welcome sights I had ever seen.  Yahn made his best efforts to pad as silently as the wolves up to the entrance, and he wasn’t half bad.  I slipped off his back and tried to sneak up on Ris, but as soon as I crept within two feet of him, he broke out in a huge smile and opened his eyes.
            “You’ve gotten rusty, Alyssa m’dear.  I heard you!”  he teased me as he got to his feet and opened his arms wide.  I stepped into his embrace and hugged him hard, feeling the warmth fill the spot in my heart that had been missing these many months.  After several long moments, I pulled back with a sigh.
            “This is Yahn,” I said as I pointed to Yahn.  He nodded in greeting to Ris.  “Yahn is half nightmare.  He was real callous when he first arrived, but he turned out ok.”  I winked at him.
            Yahn rolled his eyes at me and snorted.  ‘Well if she hadn’t insisted on learning to ride me,’ he made it sound like a great insult.  ‘I might have been nicer sooner!’
            Ris looked a little stunned.  I chuckled and patted his arm.  “Yahn has that effect on people, dear.  I think he’s telepathic.”
            Ris nodded.  “Well, that ought to be interesting.  Why don’t you come in and met Sagais and the rest of the animals?”  This directed at Yahn as he started inside the Cave.
            Sagais was feeding the animals as we came in.  He looked up in surprise, but broke out in a huge grin when he saw who it was.  After embracing, I introduced him to Yahn as well.  Sagais took a long look at him and the wolf pack, then winked at me.  “Well I see you must have plenty of tales for us!”  I laughed as I nodded.
            Life settled down into a routine again.  The wolves made their own den a short ways away.  The area around the cave became their territory, and it was a large one.  Sagais, Ris, and I carved a tunnel out from the meadow to the outside so Yahn could come and go as he pleased.  We ended up having to put a short fence in front of its opening after the goats escaped three times.
            The Stone of Sages was placed back on its pedestal in the central cave.  Nod was the only wolf that stayed there with us, and the guardianship was shared between Ris, Nod, and me.  Sagais used the magic of the cave on Nod, and she started changing subtly.  She grew taller and bulkier.  Nod said that she’d noticed better hearing, clearer eyesight, enhanced sense of smell, and a stronger jaw with sharper teeth.  By the time Sagais said he’d done all he could, Nod almost looked like a werewolf herself.
            Ris and I are starting plans to build a small cabin somewhere near the entrance to the cave.  We haven’t yet decided whether we should place it between the main entrance and the meadow tunnel, or directly in front of the main entrance.  But we both agreed wholeheartedly that we wanted to live outside.  But that will have to wait.  The trees outside are just starting to turn the brilliant colors of fall.  Soon, the wind will blow colder, and animals have started to prepare for the winter months.  Snow will fall, and perhaps the wolf pack will den with us until the weather clears.
            There is talk of children.  I smile when I think of small ones underfoot.  I learned to walk clutching the fur of a wolf; maybe they will too.
            Ris and I are happy.  He is happier than he would be if he had lived in his city.  And while I remember the memories of my childhood with great fondness, I have finally realized something.
                        I am home.