breath of fresh air through smoke rings

The minute she could edge away from the crowd, she did. Finch retreated to the outer rings of the gathering where wolves gathered in smaller groups of twos and threes, sucking in a deep breath of cool evening air as she did. She was distantly proud of herself for coming all this way on her own - but the feeling had ebbed right out of her when she'd been faced with the crowd. Avalon was quiet. Small. Finnie hadn't realized how accustomed she'd become to its comfortable rhythms until she'd stepped outside of them and now she was far from home. A strangled whine worked its way up her throat but she swallowed it down. Quit embarrassing yourself!

The wolves around her had paired off for a reason. They were involved in deep conversation or... something else. Her young eyes skirted past the few that had retreated to neck in privacy, bodies entwined. Heat rushed to her cheeks. Her fur and skin were pale enough there that the blood did flush her face, a dainty pink peeking through the fine light fur. Finch gulped down another breath of air like she'd forgotten how to breathe normally. Soon her siblings would be here and they could chase each other through the fireflies or make up stories about the wolves lingering out of earshot. Something innocent to pass the time - all games she was familiar with. Whatever else happened in the dark here at the edges of the gathering was not familiar to her at all.

She trained her eyes on the ground, beginning to name the flowers and grasses she could recognize. Boneset, clover... she went on in her head until she was lost in her own game and began to quietly mouth them out loud: "Milkweed... yarrow... phlox..."