Reminiscence

It was snowing when Drífa left her den to do some exploring and to clear her head. There had been so much going on lately and she was still trying to get her stores in order. She moved quickly through the snow, grateful that it wasn't too deep yet. Being a shorter wolf it could be difficult to move through terrain when there was a foot or more of snow on the ground but thankfully she was stocky and heartily built. She could push through most anything. Drífa frowned though as she walked. While the day was pleasant enough she was a bit lonely. She missed her companions and vowed to find new ones but it would probably be awhile yet. She still needed to get her den in order. Her herbs were prepped. She'd dried most of them or made them into tinctures so that she could distribute their goodness as needed without worrying about needing to find fresh herbs. The change in the weather meant relying on roots and mainly bark for fresh herbs. The roots were quickly becoming out of the question to collect as the ground was freezing solid. Not a pleasant time to be digging.

Winterfell had escaped the brunt of the volcano's explosion. They'd been far enough north not to be dealing with the worst fall out though that wasn't to say they were completely untouched. There was still frequent sleet and the clouds of ash in the sky affected the sunlight even this far north. Prey had been nervous and skittish but there hadn't been a noticeable mass exodus. All in all they were pretty lucky and she saw no reason to move but then it wasn't entirely out of the question either. It really depended on what the leaders wanted to do. As she hadn't been in the pack for terribly long she didn't mind uprooting herself. She also had lived with a nomadic group and knew much of the lifestyle of moving from place to place. That reminded her, she really needed to get a new pack. Perhaps she could find a companion that could sew and she could make some nice baubles and things to cheer up her pack mates and others affected by the disaster. With the winter coming in she'd need some projects to keep herself busy in her den. After all, she was getting to an age where she didn't care to be outside doing physical activity all the time and a blizzard was reason enough to stay inside. Thankfully they hadn't had any of those yet.

Drífa cross the pack boundaries and continued heading west until she reached the red forest. It didn't seem to be any better off in regards to the weather. It was beginning to sleet but thankfully the large trees above provided protection from the ice and rain falling from the sky. It was a lovely area, stunning to look at with the great trees growing above her. There was a reasonable amount of prey here if she remembered right. The large trees made for good shelter from the elements and there were a number of little streams that flowed through the area. The one downside was the trees were so massive that not much sunlight got down to the ground below so there was little foliage for larger prey such as deer though that didn't mean she never saw them in this forest.

Farther still to the west was one of her favorite places, the gale gorge. She frowned as she entered the territory. The forest and the gorge were where Fyri used to be and it caused her heart to ache at seeing the place so empty. What on earth had happened that had caused everyone to disappear so quickly and without a word. It wasn't like Ignatius to just leave them… well, what did she know. She wasn't part of the royal household. In truth she didn't know the man all that well having only met him officially here in Boreas but still it didn't seem quite like him to just up and leave. It still distressed her. She shook her head, nothing she could do about that now.

Drífa worked her way down into the gorge. It was windy as per usual and she stuck close by a group of hardy pines. Rare herbs grew here though mostly in the spring and summer. There wasn't much in the way of prey but the area seemed to retain moisture well enough. All in all though Acere had probably claimed one of the best sets of territories for the pack to stay in though she was partial to the old Fyri haunts herself. There was also the waterfall peak that was such a lovely place. It boasted a wealth of water and prey and the area below the waterfall was unlikely to freeze even in the coldest months. It was a good source of prey, water and shelter within the mountains. If Winterfell found itself having trouble getting enough food this was an excellent secondary hunting ground. Even so she rather doubted that the new pack would have greater trouble than usual in the winter and being next to the coast they had the option of hunting seal and other large game. With a sigh she turned around and started heading back.