It would be of no use to the mute girl to stay atop the mountain peak. Looking down over the edge with the waterfall roaring beside her. The wind whipped at her, almost as if it were pushing her to go farther. To stray from the Armada and into the unknown. Without the threat of winter to lose her path back, she would make it back. That was the idea at least as her eyes searched for a pathway. There, not far off, a thin game trail peeked out from the sparse brush that lined the cliff's edge. Ah, she could fit there if the mountain goats could too. Making her way down the mountain's steep cliff face, pressing her chocolate coat up against the cool rock, she dared not look down. Just the sound of the small pebbles breaking away was enough to get her heart racing.

Once her paws were on flat ground, she reassesses her surroundings. With the Armada behind her, she notices the thickening pines, the lengthening grass, the lake that lay not far off. There, she could get go get a drink of water before looking for something to hunt. Not that her belly rumbled with hunger, but if she could continue to get better, maybe the Warlord would accept her back. She had to prove her worth at some point. Hiding in the cove wouldn't do her any good for much longer.

Approaching the lake's edge, she feels the way the mud squishes between her toes. The warm spring breeze rolled in clouds that would threaten rain a few day's time. As she leans down to sip from the ice cold water, she notices the herd of deer grazing on the eastern shore. Trees broke away to a small field of wild flowers where some lay to sleep the morning away. Careful to not move suddenly, Dee continues to get her fill of water as her eyes hover on the deer.

It wasn't as if Hanako had someone in mind, it felt like it'd be kinder to make it random, as if leaving it up to fate to decide. That way it would save her from the weight of it all, the guilt that wanted to nip at her heels as if to remind her just how much of a terrible person she was for agreeing to this. How desperate she was for Azure's attention. She wandered, ambling about as if she had no real destination in mind and eventually found herself back in the north. It felt dangerous almost, tempting fate to be so close to the Armada because if Sirius found out- well she didn't even want to consider that. She wasn't stupid enough to try and lure a pack wolf anywhere, but a loner seemed like fair game, right? Someone who wouldn't be missed by a greater whole.

As luck or misfortune would have it, Hanako followed the sound of running water and found a lone soul.

Hanako pursed her lips, pink smushing thin as she regarded them. She seemed distracted, watching the deer on the far side of the water, not wholly aware of her surroundings. The lady stood taller than Hanako, with an athletic build that ensured she'd be able to flee if she had the chance, though if things went according to plan it wouldn't come to that. Hopefully.

Hanako approached, clearing her throat a little to announce her presence. She was the lure and just had to fall back into old habits, sociable and sweet, an easy smile upon her lips as she came to stand beside the girl with the frankly boring brown coat. She would do, maybe, it felt too early to say.

"I'm not intruding, I hope?"  

Her head lifts at the sound of brush moving and a throat clearing. A slight startle of her athletic frame gives away just how easy it is to spook the poor girl. Maybe if she hadn't been so focused on the deer she wanted to hunt, she would have heard the other coming. Turning to look over her shoulder to sight the pale yet beautiful lady that questioned if she was intruding, Dee shook her head softly. No, this was a free land, intruding wasn't possible.

Stepping gently to the side, Dee lifts a paw and motions it beside her. The woman is welcome to join her. There is an easy and pretty smile on the woman's lips that in a sense ease her suspicions. A slightly familiar tinge of something tickles the back of her mind, but Dee wasn't sure. Was this woman from Armada? She looked slightly familiar, but not quite enough for her to put her paw on. Unfortunately for the woman, this was about to be a rather one-sided conversation...

The woman didn't respond verbally, but gestured suggesting Hanako was welcome. This made Hana pause briefly, a look of confusion flitted across her features only to be shoved away before it could settle, before it could be noticed. Could she not speak? It felt too soon to assume such a thing but...well, if she couldn't speak then she couldn't tell a soul? Couldn't spill secrets Hanako would very much prefer she kept to herself, that whatever happened would happen in silence. On her end anyway. Wanting to dig into this, cautiously optimistic Hanako offered her a smile, her tail wagging gently as the herd of deer continued to linger on the other side of the water, hadn't noticed the pair of wolves lingering idly by.

"You remind me of someone." Hanako said, only to immediately regret how her mind had made the link between Meadow, someone she'd cherished and her, someone Hanako would lead to hurt and suffering. "I've been looking for a friend, I mean." She went onto clarify, to lie. "My friend and I got split up and I'm not a very good tracker. I saw you from a distance and thought you were her, my bad."