Though the day was a beautiful one, at least as far as winter was concerned, Jay's mood was uncharacteristically dour. It'd been awhile now since the raid on her pack, but only now - now that she was getting a little older and beginning to understand what happened more - was it beginning to weigh heavy on her heart.

Jay hadn't been part of the raid on Avalon - no, she was far too young still - but she was no less affected by it as the adults who had participated seemed to be. She'd never really known wolves like that until they'd arrived, unannounced and wanting to take what was not theirs, and coming to terms with that reality felt hard for her. Her little family here was so good that it felt hard to imagine someone taking from them, especially when they'd give willingly to those in need.

Maybe getting away from lands familiar to her would help? Maybe not, but it felt worth a try. She'd never really gone this far before, always sticking close to home, and only recently had her parents started to fully loosen the reins on her and her siblings. They were almost yearlings now, after all, and though they weren't overly protective it was no surprise they were cautious after the unexpected raid.

She'd found this valley awhile ago, a strangely fertile cut of land that seemed a little out of place where it lay, and Jay's interest was piqued. For at least a half hour now she was circling the edge, scoping it out and searching for a way down. She wasn't the only one who had been drawn to this place, though. The smell of prey animals, a scarcity in the midst of winter, was stronger here than she'd expected. She smelled all sorts of critters, from bunnies to mice and weasels and even birds. Maybe she could catch herself a snack. It was a welcome distraction from her sullen thoughts, at least she thought.

The little thunderhead had made his way out of the familiar lands of his pack, and sought out some entertainment elsewhere. It didn't take all that long for him to find a little valley a short distance from home, spared from the blankets of snow that had been steadily making their way south as winter gathered its strength for the long haul. The sun was out, the weather was agreeable, and it wasn't too cold for his scrungly little body to handle. It smelled like more creatures than he could possibly identify, and curiosity had a stranglehold on his every waking moment. So off he went, trundling down the lush, green slopes without a care in the world. He wasn't even halfway to the gulley when he more or less walked into someone. Squeaking with surprise, he struggled to backpedal up the steep incline. "Oops! Sorry for-" and there went his footing. Still a bit too young and gangly to have the control required to correct for the awkward angles, the little grey pup didn't stand a chance. He flopped onto his flank, and then skidded down the rest of the slope with all legs sticking straight out. Once he reached the valley floor, he sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. Well then! The boy rolled to his feet, shook himself off, and didn't bother to check on exactly how much grass was stuck to him. He looked up to find out who he'd stumbled into, squinting against the sun. "I'm okay!" he called out with a grin, tongue lolling from his maw. Attention stolen by movement somewhere behind him, the boy's reddish eyes tracked the movement of a rabbit high tailing it away from him. Without a moment more to think, he looked back over to the stranger with an even bigger grin (somehow). "You wanna chase bunnies with me?" "Nimbus" raindrops by sqdpxl

Woah! Jay had been all but wrapped up in her thoughts, as well as trying to scope out a good route to follow through the gulley, when a boy practically ran into her. Admittedly she hadn't really been paying attention to what was going on behind her so maybe she shouldn't have been so surprised. She only looked stunned for a moment though, watching the boy slide down further. It felt like it happened in slow motion and she had no time to help, but he quickly pulled himself up and called out that he was fine.

Oh, good! She breathed out a little sigh of relief, her demeanor immediately brightening as she recovered from the surprise collision. "Did that hurt?" She asked quickly, brow furrowing slightly in concern, but he seemed like he was in good spirits nonetheless. It wasn't long before she was beaming right back at him, tail wagging in a wide arc behind her. The prospect of a new friend was too much to ignore, even if he did appear to be a bit younger than her - that didn't matter in the slightest to her.

"Yeah, let's chase bunnies!" She agreed, seeing exactly where his attention had gone almost as soon as he spoke. They had no time to waste though, and Jay decided too that introductions could come later. Jay wasted no time in heading after it, glancing back to Nimbus to make sure he was keeping up with her. It was hard to keep up with the bunny through the budding foliage and grasses, but she was trying to stay tight on its heels.