Lonely Star

It was no surprise at all that Kiela had returned to the north. The last few seasons had been exploring lands farther south of here, but now that winter was arriving rapidly it was time to track down the reindeer herd in the north and begin to familiarize herself with it. She had grown up alongside the herds in her homeland and she knew how they moved and where they tended to go, so finding one of the herds was not a difficult feat. This particular herd was a sizable one, nearly as big as the herd she'd grown up alongside, no doubt profiting from the prolific summer and fall that Boreas had been gifted with. They were healthy, with a few she noticed here and there that might become stragglers as the group continued their trek north. Perhaps if she was lucky she might find a few other wolves to take one down with, but only when the time was right, and only if she found wolves who understood the kill wouldn't be one taken lightly. The reindeer were sacred to her and she wouldn't tolerate disrespect.

But tonight was not a night for hunting, nor feasting, but instead observation. It was the perfect night for it, too - the sky was clear, with the stars shining in a brilliant cascade overhead. The trees that towered around her, gnarled and reaching high toward the sky, didn't full block out the moon's light. Kiela had navigated to a less dense area of the woods, on a slightly higher elevation than the reindeer, offering her a good vantage point of them. They were paused, no doubt taking one of their many daily rests, and Kiela would stop and rest with them. So far they hadn't noticed her presence, or if they had, they were unperturbed by it. It wasn't as if a lone wolf could do any real damage to them, even if she wanted to. Getting up and moving in a few circles to stretch her limbs from getting too stiff, she finally moved to lean back against of one of these trees, briefly casting her glance upward. A smaller wolf might have some lucky climbing these branches but she didn't dare chance it, even with the view it would no doubt offer her.