It was fairly early in the morning when the young girl woke. She happened to be squished in between two very warm piles of fur. Crystalline blue eyes fluttered open to peer on either side of her and she let out an inaudible huff. Pyre was on her right and Lilly was on her left and she was sandwiched right between the two. Originally she wouldn't have minded sleeping in, really her siblings were quite comfortable, but ever since arriving at the knolls Amethyst wanted to explore. She couldn't very well do that being a pup sammich, now could she?! So the girl very slowly wiggled herself out of the pile doing her best not to wake either of her siblings. She had to be very careful not to wake her father either or else her whole adventure would be over before it started. After a few more seconds of considerate sneaking she manged to finally squirm past her siblings. A victorious grin spread across her muzzle and her tail wagged silently behind her. Now all she had to do was sneak out of the den! It was easy enough to sneak past her family and before she knew it she was in the fresh morning air. Sunlight streamed down on the open hills and her eyes blinked quickly as she adjusted to the new light. She paused long enough on the top of a hill to get a good look around before she set off down the hill with her nose to the ground. On her short journey she managed to run into a pretty yellow flower that reminded her of her father's pelt so she grabbed it between her jaws to take home to him. She also saw a snail, a garden snake, and even a couple mushrooms. And that's when she saw the giant. She hadn't been very mindful of where she was going, but when she heard the bellowing and then the snort of something big she happened to look up. The first thing she noticed was very wide hooves with lots of fur and then her gaze traveled upwards. The next thing she noticed was a wide body, lots more fur, and black beady eyes staring down at her. She'd managed to find a bison calf! Her tail waved for about half a second before a more angry sound reached her ears. She turned her head in time to see the mama charging towards her. Uh oh! Realizing it was time to go, Amethyst tucked her tail between her legs and skittered out of the way and towards a tree with its roots slightly raised. There was a spot just big enough for her to squirm in to so she wiggled in to it just in time to avoid the massive hooves crashing towards her. Panting heavily she watched as the mama bison stamped her hooves a couple time before leading her calf away farther down the hill to graze. Grinning to herself now, Amethyst reveled in the adrenaline of her close scare. She'd almost been a pancake! Feeling as though it was safe to come out the girl wiggled out of the root hole she'd hidden in and shook the dirt off of her pelt. She even had her flower still! Walk, "Talk" Think

At this point, Artemis considered her family long gone. In their defense she'd wandered far, far away as well and had only recently returned to her homeland. They were no where to be found. She missed them terribly of course, but each day found her expecting less and less to see them over the next horizon. She still hoped, but more and more her days were filled with other pursuits. On this particular morning she found herself roaming the knolls. Buffalo were normally too much for any one wolf to take down on their own, but the swift arrival of spring had led to many calves birthed a bit too early as mothers rushed towards their spring fields. It was an opportunity she recognized, even if she was uncertain she had the energy to pursue just then. Wheat she didn't expect, cresting the peak of one knoll, was to look down upon a pup who seemed to have the same idea she had. It's coat was a vibrant purple, nothing strange to Artemis though certainly unusual as far as most wolves were concerned. The young girl seemed as startled as the young bison, but the creature's mother did not seem to notice or care. The mother bison began to charge forward and Artemis gasped, leaping forward in a rush to intervene, uncertain if she could even reach the girl in time. The pup scrambled away, darting towards the only semblance of cover around. Artemis had nearly resigned herself to getting gored protecting someone else's idiot pup, when at the last moment the mother swerved away. She collected her calf with a huff and off they went, as if nothing had ever happened. Artemis' headlong sprint slowed to an ambling, jostling trot as she forced herself to rein in her speed. "Phew," she exhaled, subconsciously releasing a breath. She looked skyward, glaring out a quick Why me? before trotting over to the roots where the pup hid. "Well, well, Lady Luck. If you follow the gods you'd best be thanking them," she said by way of greeting. The girl wriggled her way out into the day again, and Artemis got her first good look at her. She was quite young, and Artemis found herself taken aback that her family wasn't accompanying her. "Are you lost, Lucky?" Artemis didn't know her name but that would do for now, she decided. If she was forced to spend her day playing lost and found instead of finding a meal, she would be quite put out indeed. "Talk" "You" Think