Going out into the world on her own had always been a terrifying thing for Acciona since she was a child. Maybe not always, there had been a brief period of time when she was young, before she knew what secret horrors the world hid that she had snuck away from her mothers den and past pack borders. That was when Kyros found her, and took her. It had been winter then, too, and somehow, despite all the time that had passed, it felt like nothing had changed. She was still small, and defenseless. Her legs were still too short to easily navigate the dense snow that seemed to refuse to melt despite how late into the season it was. At least the gloomy skies above felt familiar, even if that familiarity wasn’t exactly a good feeling.
She trudged across the island, determined to familiarize herself with the lands near the Armada. Even with Kyros and Enno dead, and the bounty on her head effectively nullified, she’d been too scared to go very far, or familiarize herself with any of her pack mates. She had hoped that waiting until closer to spring might make the trip easier, but alas, that seemed to not be the case. She wasn’t an expert, but she felt as though this winter was a bit colder than most.
She shook off the strange thoughts and feelings lingering in the back of her mind, instead focusing on the large paw prints she suddenly noticed in the snow. She wasn’t alone out here. Once upon a time, she would have turned and fled back to the Armada where she knew she would be safe, but there wasn’t much left for her to have reason to fear anymore. She followed the tracks until she saw a large red woman with her head tipped to the sky. She didn’t approach at first, watching from a distance to try and get a feel for the woman. If she turned out to be hostile, Acciona’s small legs would be at a large disadvantage, and a quick escape would be almost impossible, thanks to the damn snow.
Words: 355
"Speech."
