Pestilence was becoming more restless and uncertain of her place in life the more days passed. In the very next season and only a few short weeks away she'd be a yearling, allowed to roam to her heart's content and without interference of adults or alphas or Gods. For now however, she was still grounded. Fortunately her elders still wished her to learn and grow, and so she was allowed to leave the territory as long as she had an escort. She had begged her mother to take her north, to where the creatures were hardier and more difficult to take down. The pup had grown tired of hunting rabbits, and yearned to make a kill that was worthy of a Klein.

She basically ignored the fact that she was being shadowed and escorted and instead pretended this adventure was all her own. The woods were thick and the trees tall, and Pestilence wandered with her nose to the ground picking up every scent with full intention of bringing home a kill to be proud of. She smelled foxes, deer, species of cats, but each one she'd decided was too easy or too difficult for a pup to take alone. The girl was so preoccupied and focused that she barely noticed the nearing scents of strange wolves nearby.

Lumi had managed to scoot away from Acere's careful watch. The main pack lands were beginning to bore her. She yearned to roam further and discover different creatures. The same woolly furred goats and smart minks were beginning to bore her. Not to mention she wasn't quite fast enough to catch the quickly sprinting bunnies that called the north their home. Her legs were still a bit too short. Although she was young, Lumi was alarmingly patient. Much better at being patient than she was at being particularly fast. She tilted her head to the side and puffed out a loose breath of air. New scents flooded her nose, including several strange wolves. Lumi put her nose to the ground and tracked the smells quietly until she came upon a much, much larger female. With her darker coloration she stuck out like a sore thumb. "Hullo," she said, puzzled. Strangers didn't often venture this far north.

Pestilence's hunt was interrupted by a puzzled tone, and she turned bewildered to meet the stranger. It was another pup like her, though smaller. "Hi! I'm Pesto." Upon inspection, Pestilence frowned in confusion. Was this pup a wolf like her, or a wolf-dog like the Lucretia litter? Her floppy ears reminded her of the dogs, though the rest of her body appeared to be an ordinary wolf. "I like your ears." She complimented, trying to be friendly in this strange unfamiliar territory.

"I'm looking for something to hunt, do you know what might make a really warm blanket?" The girl was fluffier than she was, and Pesto assumed it was because her body was made for the rugged and cold northern lands. She sat, wrapping her tail around her paws and shivering slightly. Damn, it really was cold here. The northern wolves must be crazy to try and stay here full time, especially during the winter. If it was chilly now in the middle of summer it must be way worse when the snow fell.

"Oh, I know all about the animals here," Lumi said, suddenly brightening. Any questions about "why" and "how" sort of flew out the window. There was a new friend here, and Lumi had to show her around! The younger pup thought for a moment, running through the different animals nearby. What was the best choice for something soft and warm? The goats had wiry fur that wasn't very nice. Rabbits were good, but she couldn't catch them, and you'd need to snare so many to make something big enough. Especially for how big this stranger was. Lumi stared up at Pestilence, lost in thought. "It's kind of hard. There are big animals that aren't very soft and small animals that are very soft... or we could try for a seal, but they don't live in the forest," she chuckled. "Or... we could dig up minks. But they're kinda mean." They had a penchant for biting her on the nose.

The girl was awfully friendly, and Pestilence's tail wagged happily behind her as her tone brightened considerably. If she knew all about the animals here, surely she could lead Pesto to something soft and fuzzy to make a blanket out of. She listened intently as the white pup spoke, humming thoughtfully at each option until she got to seal. Pestilence nose scrunched up and she made a face, and then giggled softly. "A seal sounds wet and slimy." Her response came, dismissing it immediately. Who'd want to sleep underneath a slimey seal? "What's a mink? I bet I can be meaner." Her lips pulled back to show her teeth, though not in an way that was aggressive towards the other pup. "We need a medium animal that is kind of soft, I think. With you here I bet I can get a medium animal, alone I'd have to settle for rabbits or foxes." She frowned, exceptionally bored of chasing rabbits.

Lumi giggled. "Well, minks are kinda small too... and they live alone." This was such a hard question! She ran through the animals that she could think of in her head but none of them seemed quite right. "There are some sheep, but they are kind of hard to find. And goats, too, but their horns are big." Lumi snuffled around on the ground for a bit, her tail twitching curiously. "But maybe the two of us together could get one! Oh, and I'm Lumi." If Pesto could distract the front end of a scary horned animal, Lumi was small enough to maybe get up close from another angle. "Let's hunt some goats!"

The other girl's giggle made Pesto smile, and she waited patiently for more ideas on what they could possibly try to take on. The mink was dismissed for being too small and solitary, but then she mentioned sheep and goat and Pesto's ears perked with interest. "Oh yeah we could do it." She agreed easily, confident that her and her new friend could take down the biggest fattest goat possible. It was nice to have a name to place to the girl, too. Pestilence did not have many friends, all the pups her age frustrated her. Perhaps the northern wolves were simply better friends, that made sense to her.

"OK, where would we find them?" Her nose lifted to scent the air, but with all the unfamiliar animals who had passed by at one point or another, she could not pick out the smell of sheep. "I was told to find things by the water, cause they gotta go drink. Maybe that's different here though..." Were the rules of hunting the same all throughout the lands? Even in the chilly north?

"Oh! Yes, yes," Lumi said, her small tail twitching with excitement. There was a small stream that cut through the forest. She'd spotted deer and sheep stop to take sips there occasionally, and now that it was summertime, the water flowed freely. In the winter and sometimes fall they had to stop and bang, bang, bang it with their hooves until they could crack the ice and take a frigid drink. "Follow me!" she announced in a stage-whisper. Not that any animals were listening just yet. The northern gal set off towards the creek as a pleasant breeze cut through the normally still woods. Leaves rustled above and made patterns on the forest floor as the summer sun trickled through. It was a beautiful day!

As they closed in on the creek, Lumi slunk into the underbrush and ushered Pesto closer. Downstream an elderly goat drank alone. It had a hitch to its step that was obvious as it moseyed along. This was going to be a little bit easier than she had originally thought. "Ok," she whispered. "You can have the pelt but the horns are mine. You head it off from the front and I'll bring up the rear." Still in a hunter's crouch, Lumi crept up on the lone goat.

Lumi lead her onwards and Pesto found it easy to follow, her own voice mimicking the other pup's stage-whisper. "Okay, I'm right behind you." Since they were already making the effort to be quiet, Pesto did her best to keep her paws silent as they moved through the woods. Towards the creek Lumi led her, and new scents reached the near-yearling's nose. She crouched along with her new friend, peering over at the goat they stalked. "Ok, lets try not to hurt the back too much then." She warned gently, knowing that if the pelt got too damaged that it'd make a poor blanket. It was odd that the white pup would want the horns, but Pesto shrugged it off.

The plan was solid, and Pesto nodded her response. She looked over to make sure Lumi was ready, and then leaped out towards the Goat's front end. She knew Lumi would take the rear, and the goat would have nowhere to run. Her lips peeled back in a growl and she snapped her jaws forward upon one leg, shaking it and trying to tear the tendons as she'd watched Luta do to the bear to cripple it. Pesto was not much of a hunter, she did not have the instincts for it. However whatever she lacked in the hunting, she made up for in the killing in her mind.

Yipping with excitement as Pesto tore at the animal's front, Lumi closed the distance between herself and its back hooves. She was right - it was hampered a little bit. Maybe an old injury? Oh well. If she took a closer look once they downed it, she could learn something from it. Muscles kind of worked the same even if you ate grass, right? Lumi snapped at the goat's rear legs and it bleated in frustration. Pesto seemed to have a good hold of it. All they needed was a good opening to make the kill. She lowered herself closer to the ground, pulling her best snarl. The goat tried to lunge away from Lumi but its front leg was already caught. It tried to evade, but slipped on some wet leaves and tumbled to its side. Lumi's eyes brightened as she saw the opening. The pup, already small and compact, slunk lower to the ground and leaped between its flailing legs to tear into the goat's stomach. Warm blood filled her mouth and spilled on to the forest floor. If Pesto could just make the killing blow, they'd have their quarry.