Jude happily rolls over, shaking the snow from his coat, knocks companionably into Abby's shoulder before he takes off at a full-out gallop.

Jude isn't the fastest in his pack by far, but he has endurance, built from traveling extensively and often. He can outpace them in the long run. And he intends to see how far Abby can go.

They head back to the river, sprinting upstream, finding places where the rocks bring them up and up and then through thick greenery again.

A flock of ravens startles at their passage, taking to the skies with offended hoarse caws, and Jude playfully chases one, then another, snapping his jaws at tail feathers and dancing on his hind legs.

One divebombs him and then another, before it becomes clear that they're playing.