today is my birthday

When she'd first seen the grassland spreading out ahead in the distance, it had been sunrise, and Aella could almost have believed it was a sea. As day broke, the ivory she-wolf skirted around the edge of the lush fields, senses alert for signs of prey. She was not particularly hungry, but she had never seen a place quite like this one before - it looked like the sort of locale where the very fattest deer and rabbits might wander.


Several hours later, the sun had vaulted itself high into the sky and was blistering down upon the landscape. More sensible creatures were probably napping in a nice shady nook somewhere. Stomach empty (except for a few insects, a mouthful of grass, and one unfortunate mouse), Aella retraced her steps, this time hunting for water. I know I passed a stream this morning... she thought to herself, when suddenly a new scent presented itself to her nostrils. Ears askance, the Tenebrosi cautiously waded through the grasses. She smelled other wolves.


At first, she intended to approach them, but them she heard a voice weaving through the grass. The words were utterly unfamiliar to her, and she halted and crouched deeper into the grass sea, laying low. She was outnumbered, and if they were unable to understand her, their reactions would be more unpredictable. Tipping her dark nose up into the warm air, she tried to tell if it had given her position away to them.