the colors of my life
are painted in black and white

The aging woman was having issues believing she'd turn six by the time winter hit. It seemed like just yesterday she was four and living within the confines of a pack. Granted she'd been less confident and sure of her abilities then and she feel like she'd done a lot of growing. Despite that fact, she still wasn't content with her age or certain aspects of her life. It'd taken her this long to find a stable pack that wouldn't be challenged or disbanded at the very least. She also hated the fact she didn't seem to be very close to many of the wolves she lived with, but she was hoping it was something she could change.

She was still on edge despite the fact that the raid had ended ages ago. She was waiting around for some sort of retaliation and, if she was being honest with herself, she knew it was about time she learned to defend herself properly. Her last fighting lesson had been with Xephyris, and the only fight she'd ever been in recently she'd won because the female had gotten distracted mid fight.

She tried not to dwell on the fact that there might be repercussions to their raid and instead headed off towards the falls to try and find some marshmallow. All the rain and dreary weather lately had her convinced that illness was going to be common within the pack and Armai wanted to make sure she was stocked up on herbs. It wouldn't do them any good to all get sick and be unprepared if any enemies came along.

The forest near the falls smelled as wonderful as ever. Evergreen and Ceder were two amazing smells and she figured that, by the time she returned home, she'd smell strongly of them. She only focused on the scent for a moment before she began sniffing near the falls for the odor of the plant she was looking for.

The past couple of days had been relatively the same for Azura. Hunt, explore, sleep. Not much had really changed, not yet. She was pining for a friend at this point, or at least a kind person to spend some time with. The land had been surprisingly devoid of other wolves - Azura had met very few during her time here. Still, gathering herbs and berries in the field surrounded by maple trees was keeping her well entertained for the time being. She had grown comfortable with the land, having found secret little places of hers that she liked to visit and enjoy. There was a shallow and calm part in the river where she had waded several times on the warmer days, afterwards drying off on the beach and laying on sun-soaked, warm rocks. Still, there were painful moments where her mind drifted towards thoughts of Liana, or how hateful her mother had been during their last few days together. Still, Azura pushed through day after day, telling herself things could only get better.

She had come back to the falls. She told herself that the reason she was going there was because she wanted to collect some herbs that she knew grew near water, but there wasn't much use pretending that she wasn't planning on going down to the falls themselves later to admire the view. And what a view it was! Azura hadn't been there for a couple days and she longed to visit Mother Nature's beautiful creation again. But for now, the girl focused on searching for some Horsetail plants that she had glimpsed last time she was here. When she visited the waterfall she would keep an eye out for watercress - she was hopeful that she might find some there. 

The snowy wolf glanced to her left, scanning the area at about eye level for the easy-to-spot plant. She saw only tall Cedar trees and other vegetation. Her head swiveled to the right, repeating the process as she moved forward. Azura inhaled the pleasant scent of the forest, pausing for a moment to peer behind a large tree. Nothing. Oh, well. If her search yielded no results, then at least she could gaze upon the falls again. Still hoping to find the horsetail, Azura veered off to the right. She thought she may have seen it somewhere in that direction. Treading over fallen leaves, carelessly making quite some noise, Azura wove between trees or over fallen logs. Her ears perked up. Somebody was nearby, she could hear the sound of crunching leaves. It was too loud to be something as light as a squirrel. Automatically, the young woman changed course, now heading straight for the sound. She chose her steps carefully, stepping on roots or on patches of leaf-free soil so as to make as little noise as possible. The canine hadn't eaten all day, and now was as good a time as ever to get some hunting done. After a minute or so of creeping towards the sound, she caught a glimpse of silvery-grey fur between two trees. That was way too big to be a rabbit. Now wary, Azura advanced a few more paces before the animal came into full-view. She jumped slightly at the site, not because it scared her, but because she had not been expecting to meet another wolf. Making a split-second decision, the girl cleared her throat and gave a nervous, "Hello?"