Not way back

Trying to keep the Nomad Band together had been excruciating and painfully tiring work. Emersyn was doing all that she could, giving all of her effort to maintain some normalcy in her little family's life, but it seemed like the more she tried, the more everyone seemed to be pulling away. Their group was coming unraveled at the seams, and Em feared that before long they would all be cast adrift to the wind and the new life she'd thought she'd found would be nothing but sand in an hourglass—a memory of a once happier time when she thought she'd found her home. Trying her damnedest to not let those depressing thoughts bring her down, the large dusty violet wolf meandered around the warm, sunny valley, enjoying the beautiful spring day. After the terrors the world had endured in the long darkness, feeling the sun on her fur felt like a wonderful treat. Hearing the birds chirping and singing lifted her dour spirits, if only marginally. What she really needed was something to focus on; something to give her purpose and keep her occupied.

Dark paws carried the lady through soft grass and along the edge of the valley, surveying the lands the band had chosen to reside in for the season. Fern Gulley was very picturesque in the springtime with all the flowers and plants in bloom. She wandered along until she came to the creek that cut its way through the verdant gulley. Mismatched eyes followed the flowing creek until she spotted another figure just a short ways down. At first, she froze and tensed, eyeing the figure with lethal concern. seeing only the top of a lion's head. Her heart missed a beat, fearing that a large predator had come to the valley and could now pose a danger to her band. Lips curled back from pearly fangs and Emersyn hurried down the creek, readying herself for a fight.

Yet as she came closer, she realized that the head of the lion didn't match the body. The fur was all off and different colored. She skidded to a stop, eyeing the strange chimeric creature until it raised its head—and Em saw it was a wolf wearing a lion's head. Relief washed over her as she breathed a sigh. He didn't seem to be a danger, but she also had never seen this wolf before, so she couldn't be sure. Still, these were wild lands, unclaimed and not belonging to her. Anyone could come and go. Walking up to the opposite side of the creek from the male, she regarded him with cautious cobalt-aqua eyes and dipped her head to him in greeting and took a drink. "Good morning," she said, trying to be friendly without being overly chatty. "Your headgear worried me for a moment. I nearly mistook you for a lion."

"Emersyn"