No one was around to tell her what to do all the time, Da was too busy doing... something. What exactly he was up to was pure speculation, but the child didn't really care. Leggy and awkward looking, the time had come for ranging further and further from home. Da had pulled them away from the den where they had been born, and that meant it was time for wandering. Forfax had been talking nonstop about adventures, and they sounded fun. Perhaps one day the two of them would go out and see the world together. For now, the pale child was content to see everything the north had to offer.

The yawning jaws of a great beast formed the entrance to the mines. Somewhere along the line, she had found out about a strange maze of tunnels that led nowhere. It was time to see them, and get her grubby paws all over every inch of it! Mismatched eyes narrowed with determination, she set off. Stepped out of the light and into the pitch dark of the mines.

Oh wow. It was quiet in here. It took a few minutes for her eyes to adjust to the blackness of it. Meanwhile, she simply stood stock still and tried to get a feel for the place. The scent was musty, dank. Like it had been closed off for eternity, and just now dared open itself up to the likes of her. Air whistled across the entrance, like the birthing den. Inside, the occasional pebble clattered its way down into the abyss. The ground beneath her paws wasn't the hard stone she was used to, but instead loose rocks and stone. By the time she could see well enough, she had become rather acquainted with the place.

Oversized paws, now sullied with loose dirt, dared move from their places. Exploration called, and she was wont to answer it. Tentative steps soon became overconfident, trotting down the path toward an ever extending tunnel up ahead. What could be down there? Monsters? Perhaps she should go back, and get the monster beating stick from Jupiter. This seemed like the kind of place where monsters lurked at every turn. Pale auds tipped back towards her skull, wary of danger but otherwise carefree. After all, what was youth without brashness?

"Little star," She sang out into the darkness. That wasn't the right line, she'd skipped something. Da had sung the song once, and she had liked it. Apparently not enough to remember it all, though. Her toes brushed against something hard, and she recoiled. What was that? Dainty tiara would lower towards the ground, nostrils flaring to inhale the scent of the thing. It didn't really.. have a smell. Faintly coppery, like blood. She blinked at it, trying to puzzle it out. It was kinda bucket shaped, but round. Did it belong here? How strange.

One last, quizzical look was cast the object's way as she departed. There were other things to see, after all.

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Now six months old Aerndis was venturing farther and farther from home. Rid of the squat, little puppy legs that made long travel difficult she was taking in her new found freedom with gusto. Trotting along she scrambled over snow banks, splashed in small puddles of melting snow and took in the general warmth of a warm spring day. As she curved around a small hill a patch of deep, dark caught her eye. Hmmm… what was that? She trotted toward it, head tilting to the side as she stared at what looked like the mouth to a cave. Well, now. That just begged to be explored! Scrambling toward the opening she poked her head in. It was cool and dank down there and her eyes narrowed as she tried to piece the veil of mysterious darkness. A few tentative steps and she allowed the blackness to swallow her. It was cool in here. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness she heard a voice sing out. Little star, it said. Uh oh… had a monster or something seen her? She steeled her gaze but didn't see anyone. "Hello?" she called out. "Talk" "You" Think

Echoing down to her from above, a voice called out hesitantly. "Hello?" it asked, quiet and soft. Auds perked, and the youth turned her head towards the source. It didn't sound like Yaya or Dom, so who could it be? That definitely wasn't her friend Jupiter, either. Of course, it was from somewhere behind her. She paused her exploration, frowning. Maybe this would be more fun than whatever might have been down there?

Gangly limbs carried her up the path she'd just taken. It got lighter and lighter as she hurried up to the surface, and found a silhouette against the darkness. "Hey!" She barked with a big ol' grin, tail wagging jubilantly above her hips. Squinting against the light that flooded from the tunnel mouth further ahead, she tried to see what the other wolf looked like. It was another kid! A friend? "Who're you?" She demanded as nicely as a child could manage to.

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Aerndis' ears perked forward as she listened for an answer. Would a monster answer? Maybe it was just going to be quiet to lure her to her doom. Ha! Aerndis would never fall for such trickery… though she wasn't falling for it if she took a few more steps into the spooky cave right? Just a few. Aerndis started to move further into the cave when she heard something moving down in the deep. Her citrine eyes strained through the darkness before she saw a snowy shape come to life out of the darkness like a ghost. It took her a second to realize it was another pup bounding toward her. Aerndis grinned. Yes! Maybe she could make another friend. Aerndis started to scramble down the path toward the other girl. "Hi! I'm Aerndis. Who are you? Do you live in this strange cave? For a second I thought you were a ghost." "Talk" "You" Think

As she got closer, the light shifted in a way that let her make out the colours of the other kid. Woah, it was another colourful pup! Just like her friend Jupiter! Was this one of his siblings? She hadn't met any of them yet! Her tongue lolled from her jaws in a doofy smile. The other girl came skittering down the path, pebbles tumbling in her wake. Most of them managed to avoid hitting the pale child, save for a few that harmlessly bounced from her toes and ankles. "Hi! I'm Aerndis. Who are you? Do you live in this strange cave? For a second I thought you were a ghost."

It had to be Jupiter's sister. She talked a lot, like he did. Also, she was really friendly, just like he was. The fact that she had nearly been mistaken for a ghost was strange to her. It was starting to seem like she was ugly, or something. Everyone she met usually had something to say about how she looked. "I'm Divo! Everyone calls me Marvel!" She replied at first, trying to organize her words so she didn't sound like a dummy. Putting a random pause in between probably sounded weird, though. She didn't use the common tongue as good as everyone else she'd met, lately. "Nah, I live in Dreamer Col." Her rough accent mangled most of what she'd just said, but she was trying.

"You know my friend Jupiter? He looks like you." Her head tilted to one side, ears flopping comically.

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The girl introduced herself as Divo but people called her Marvel. Aerndis let her head fall to the side. That was a funny nickname! How did they get 'Marvel' out of 'Divo'? "How come everyone calls you that?" Maybe she was really amazing at something or something. She talked a bit odd but it didn't really phase Aerndis. Marvel said she lived in the Dreamer Col. Oh that sounded neat! "Oh cool, maybe you can show me around some time. I want to explore the whole world!" She scrambled over a rock and peered down a nearby pathway but swiftly turned back to the girl she'd just met. A grin broke across her face at the mention of Jupiter. "Oh yea! He's my brother, he explores a lot but I'm gonna catch up to him if I can. When did you meet Jupiter? Where did you go?" "Talk" "You" Think

The weird look from Aerndis was followed by a confused question- "How come everyone calls you that?" The pale youth frowned for a moment. What did she mean? Wasn't it obvious? Oh, wait, no it wasn't. "Sorry," she murmured, her smile turning shy. "in my language, Divo means Marvel. So, everyone uses common tongue version." She explained awkwardly, glancing down at her paws.

"Oh cool, maybe you can show me around some time. I want to explore the whole world!" The starry girl didn't even miss a beat. Grinning, her tail whipped about behind her. "You should meet Forfax, she wants to see the world too!" The girl yipped. Her gaze followed the movement of her new companion, who scrambled up over a small boulder. She looked like she wanted to head down there, where she'd come from herself. It had been really fun, exploring down there. The lanky child took a few steps to follow after her, in no rush to get anywhere.

"Oh yea! He's my brother, he explores a lot but I'm gonna catch up to him if I can. When did you meet Jupiter? Where did you go?" Aerndis was quick to respond, and seemed delighted to hear all about their encounters. Champagne paws padded slowly along, meandering down the path she'd taken before. "Caves near the end of the mountain where I lived," She began, and paused. "he says you live there too?" It was hesitant, unsure. After all, some of her siblings lived far from where she did. "We hunted for treasure, and he let me keep the beatin' stick for a while. I bring it back, little while ago." She babbled, watching her paws as she trailed along.

After a little while, she glanced over her shoulder. Checking to see if Aerndis was still there. "Where have you gone, so far?"

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"Ohhhhh…." It made much more sense why Marvel was called Marvel. She bounced at the thought of meeting another traveling companion in Forfax. "Oh, neat! Maybe you can introduce me to her some time. Or I can come visit you." She wasn't exactly sure where Marvel lived but she was sure she could find it and then all of them could go on a great big adventure together. She ventured further down into the deep and shrugged at Marvel's first question. "I guess, we don't really live anywhere now. Our pack disbanded so we just go wherever we want to… I haven't seen momma in awhile." She didn't really want to admit that she'd gotten lost. It was embarrassing for a master navigator and hunter to get separated from her family and not be able to find her way back. She grinned though as the topic turned back to adventure and she raced to fall in pace next to Marvel. "Umm… I've been to the Mile High Woods…the glacier place…ummmm I don't really remember where everything is called. What about you? Have you been to a lot of places?" "Talk" "You" Think

Aerndis seemed delighted at the thought of a travelling companion. She would definitely need to meet Forfax. Those two would be peas in a pod. There was a moment of pause, before the star clad youngster responded to her question. "I guess, we don't really live anywhere now. Our pack disbanded so we just go wherever we want to… I haven't seen momma in awhile." She seemed really bummed about it. A whine pinched the pale child's throat, brows knitting together. What if her mama disappeared? That would be so horrible.

"You come live with me," she said, looking to the girl. "we take care of you, and look for your mama." It seemed like the right thing to do. Kids needed a mama, right? So Aerndis could borrow her mama for a little while.

"Umm… I've been to the Mile High Woods…the glacier place…ummmm I don't really remember where everything is called. What about you? Have you been to a lot of places?" Almost instantly, she perked up. Excitement flooded back into her muscles, and Marvel felt better. She liked it when everyone was happy. It sounded like she was on her way to becoming the best explorer in the world! Hesitating, she hummed softly. Where had she been? Not many places. She wasn't adventurous, not like Forfax or Aerndis. "I been to black snow and water, is called.. black sand beach. Been all over the big mountains, and.. dunno. Da says we going away from home, see the rest of place." Well, that was lame. Everyone else had gone to all these cool places, and she wasn't even sure if she'd ever left home.

"You should come with us, see everything." A solemn nod was given, quite sage for a youngster like Marvel. Two toned gaze returned to her new friend, wondering what she might think.

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Aerndis was enjoying herself, taking in all the strange rock formations as she walked along next to Marvel. She grinned at the other's suggestion of her living with them. She shrugged. She supposed she could join another group but some how that didn't quite settle with her, at least not yet. "Thanks, but no worries! I'm going to find my brothers and then we'll find my mom. It'll work out." Aerndis' thoughts lingered on her father. She barely knew the man but maybe… just maybe, he'd know where Artemis had gone. Maybe he'd like to be family to them? It was hard to say. She had no idea how to feel about her father. Aerndis listened with intent interest as Marvel listed off the places she'd been. "Oh! The black sand beach sounds so cool. Which way is that? Say maybe you and I can do some exploring together. I heard there a place to the Northwest where the earth spits water high up into the sky." "Talk" "You" Think