Paws as white as snow carried a young girl with ease across the land. All around her were gorgeous maple trees, painted in varying shades of red, yellow, and orange. Her sky-blue eyes scanned the woods with eagerness, not wanting to miss a single detail. This could, perhaps, be her new home. Were there wolves around living in this area? Azura hadn't caught the scent marking this as someone's territory, but she knew that didn't mean that there weren't other canines living near here. Half of her hoped to meet someone, to find a friend, but the other half knew that she could trust no one, not so quickly. But, said that hopeful half of her, wouldn't it be nice to have someone to talk to, someone who enjoyed you? The young lady shook her head ruefully before stopping to observe a plant to her right. The plant stood about as high as she did, tipped with patches of white. Boneset. Automatically, images of Liana with that gentle smile upon her face flashed through Azura's mind. The girl could see her Aunt describing the plant, how useful it could be when dealing with a bad cold or fever. She remembered how Liana had warned her solemnly not to-

Eyes watering, Azura rushed onward and pushed the memory into a dark corner of her mind. Now was not the time to become emotional. This was supposed to be her moment of triumph, of joy. She had finally escaped the wretched place she had called her home, she should be celebrating. Forcing herself to think happier thoughts, Azura placed a feeble smile upon her face, hoping to convince herself that she was happy. In an effort to enjoy herself, the pure white canine leaped onto a fallen log and walked down its length, making a game out of keeping her balance. After a few minutes of pacing up and down the tree, sometimes wobbling a bit, the girl finally lost her footing and slipped onto the forest floor once again. Feeling slightly more energetic, Azura glanced ahead. 

Her breath caught. How she had not noticed what lay just a couple dozen feet away she did not know. Just in front of her, a beautiful field ran up to the edge of the maple trees. It looked like an afternoon of exploring just waiting to happen. With a yearning grin upon her features, Azura began to trot into the field, eagerly awaiting what it may present.

He wasn't sure what hurt worse - was it his body or his pride? Maybe they hurt equally? It was hard to tell, but one thing he knew for sure was that he felt like utter crap. Then again the feeling had been there since his mother had left them with their father to go find the nomads to cure Surreal. The grudge had slowly come back. Maybe if she hadn't left them to go on a stupid mission she wouldn't have been sick and everything would be fine. Maybe Creed hadn't realized that he was getting old and taken them to the south. Maybe he wouldn't have told Valor about where Glaciem had been and maybe he wouldn't have led Creed right to his death by the jaws of that woman. it wasn't really his mother's fault Creed had died, or why he was here right now, but he was just bitter. He felt like his entire life since his mother had left had been one giant shit show. Being taken prisoner by Talis, by his cousin no less, was just the icing on the cake. He'd kept to himself since arriving in Talis. He wasn't sure what he was, or wasn't, supposed to be doing, but he supposed he'd find out. He wasn't even sure if he was allowed to leave the pack lands, but he supposed he'd find that out too. Considering he hadn't been told not to yet then he could use that to his advantage later. In the mean time he wasn't going to wait around in the pack awkwardly to find out. He had nothing to do and at this point he was willing to test the boundaries. So he'd left Talis and headed off towards the closest territory next to Talis. He wasn't going to go too far considering he still needed healing from them. That and he was going to demand answers at some point. Why had he been taken prisoner by his own family? What had been the point? The better question was, did anyone back home miss him? Did they even care? Fable had up and disappeared and Justice had been the only one, with Reg, to go look for him and Creed. Would his mother even notice his absence? Sure, he imagined losing Surreal was hard on her but she had kids to care about, especially since her damn mate had died. Why couldn't she snap out of it? His snout crinkled in irritation as he thought about it before he remembered that it was still scabbed over. He let out the softest of whines at the pain and tried to relax his muscles again. He didn't mind the bruising to his ribs or shoulder, but the wounds on his lower jaw and muzzle were enough to make him angry. It was hard to eat without the scabs ripping over again and he hadn't exactly done the best job at keeping them clean either. THUD! Another yelp of pain, this time louder, escaped him as he walked face first into a tree. The fresh scabs on his face broke open again and blood began trickling down from his muzzle. His nose now stung too and his pale tongue swiped out to lick the blood away. Well this was great. He couldn't even have a good time escaping without running into some sort of trouble. Stupid tree. Walk, "Talk" Think

A noise. What had that been? Azura slowed her pace and, ever so slowly, turned around. She scanned the woods, looking for any sign of life. It had sounded farther away, somewhere to her right and into the woods. The canine took a nervous step in its direction. She was torn between wanting to enjoy the field behind her and wanting to know if there were other wolves already living here. The sound had definitely not been a morning bird -- it was different, more like a yelp. What if someone was hurt? The lady had confidence that she would be able to help, assuming they didn't react violently when she showed her face... And assuming someone was even out there. She glanced over her shoulder at the field. It seemed to be calling her, begging her to unwrap all the discoveries waiting to happen. No. Azura took another step forward. The field could wait, right now she should focus on what really mattered. She would check to see if anyone was out there, and when she didn't find anyone, she could come right back. Fields couldn't just pick themselves and find a new place to sit, anyways. 

Making as little noise as possible, the young lady set off in what she thought was the general direction of the yelp. She was walking as swiftly as possible, wanting to get this over and done with. Azura was reminded uncomfortably of all the times she had been lured into the clutches of her childhood bully. He had often made a noise nearby, and poor innocent Azura had taken the bait almost every time, wandering right into his arms. She thought of how kind and gentle Liana had been when she returned to the cave, barely holding in her tears, wounded and frightened. Why had she left Liana? Her Aunt was possibly the one person in the world who loved her and understood her, and the snowy canine had up and gone because of a bit of emotional strain. Her Aunt would never take her back now, not after her niece abandoned her. The young lady silently cursed herself for her weakness and stupidity. She had spent the last few weeks exploring anywhere she pleased, and even went to the difficulty of getting on this isolated continent. She couldn't see how it was only now that she was regretting her fateful decision. Maybe because she was considering making this place her home, and suddenly it all felt so real. If only she hadn't been so impulsive and immature, maybe she would still be with her dear Aunt. If only she hadn't been faced with so many difficulties within her pack.

She couldn't play the 'if only' game, it was getting her nowhere and making her feel even more stupid. A defeated sigh escaped her maw, and Azura found that she was no longer paying much attention to what she had set out to do. Her gaze roamed the fall colored maples, searching again for someone, anyone, that could have made the noise. What was she even doing anymore? Did she really think that whoever was out here was friendly, let alone even a wolf? God, why was she so impulsive? The girl gave an annoyed groaned and sank into a sitting position, slightly mad at herself for coming all the way out here for nothing. In fact, she was mad at herself for everything. She felt like banging her head against a tree. What. Was. She. Thinking? Coming all the way out to a new land with no real idea of what the actual heck she was doing and just hoping that everything would turn out great and she would have a lovely life. Things, Azura knew, did not work that way. Despair and hard times came, and they stayed. She couldn't just run away from it, get a 'fresh start'. God, why was she so stupid.