Her heart thrums against her chest like an animal beating against its cage. For the first time in hours, the she-wolf pauses to assess her surroundings. A waterfall cascades into a collection of glittering pools, surrounded by lush greenery. Its allure is a peaceful one. The dawn sky, streaked in vibrant hues of peach and scarlet casts an almost golden glow across the landscape, and from nearby, a collection of birds twitter contentedly amongst themselves.

But despite it all, she can't quite shake off a lingering sense of anxiety.

Perhaps she merely distrusts the serenity. Given the current circumstances, paranoia was acceptable, she supposed. Regardless, she is in uncharted territory, and harbours knowledge of these lands she was vunerable. Ans she hated being vunerable.

With a weary sigh, she adopts a quickened pace, eager to pass through the hotsprings.

The hot springs where a treasure she had not visited before, but had heard about through word of mouth. After a long and stressful few days, the Alpha had relished the idea of a small vacation. She had left the pack to Rhymes very capable hands, and had made her placid way to this terratory.

Her little blue tree swallow twittered and fluttered through the sky ahead of her. She pushed upwards, and dived downwards treating the sky like waves and made flying look like an effortless laugh. She laughed at the creatures antics. She knew that Feather was glad to get out from the disconcerting eyes of Rhyme's new familiar - a raven, of all creatures.

She had just caught the scent of heated water, and had let out a content sigh, thinking of sinking her body beneath the warm waters, when she noticed the form of a hurrying wolf. "Excuse me, are you okay?" The gentle Alpha would ask. It wasnt in her nature to leave another wolf in trouble.

A voice cuts through the silence, jolting the fae to attention. She freezes at once, fur spiking with agitation, and swings around to face her companion. A woman shrouded in black and white stands nearby, eyes on the mahogany she-wolf. She doesn't exude a sense of violence of ill-intent, infact, her words had suggested the very opposite. There'd been, perhaps, a hint of concern there. But Thorne was instilled with heightened anxiety in that moment, and although her pelt smoothed, she maintained a cautious posture.

"Greetings. I hope I didn't startle you". She raises her head and stands tall in an attempt to regain her composure. "I was just passing through". She hesitates, the words balancing on her tongue, silently debating whether she should speak the words. They could damn her. Or save her. "I'm new" she says finally, and although, outwardly, her words are calm and even, she interally winces. Her vunerablity is evident, she is sure. "If you'll excuse me, I'll get out of your fur". She turns on her heel, cheeks burning at the awkwardness, eager to disappear into the undergrowth.

She caught the attention of the wolf, and the others fur stood up in agitation or fright. The gesture unnerved Shaye momentarily. She hadn't meant to frighten the stranger. Still, when the woman spoke to her, she seemed friendly enough. "Not at all" shaye replied. She wasnt startled, only befuddled. Her miniature bird companion gave a curious little twitter, wings rising and falling in the sky in a birds version of a hover.

The wolf explained she was new, and then took off. Shayes surprise lasted only a breath. "Hey, wait a minute" she called after the woman. A sense of urgancy strumming through her veins. Something about the wolf felt off. Share wasnt convinced that she was okay. This new sense of protective wrath rose up inside of her again, and Shaye knew she could not abandon this stranger. She silently cursed this new aspect of herself that she had discovered, only a season prior. Or was it really that new? The first wolf she had fallen for had also been a little hurt inside, and Shaye had always strived to be there for him. Perhaps her protective instincts had always been a part of her makeup.

The little tree swallow flew ahead, guiding Shaye as she took off after the other. It wasnt a headlong dash. She had no desire to make the other feel chased, she only wished to catch up enough to get out a few words. To ensure she wasnt leaving this wolf to pain. "Please. Maybe I can help?" She called out  pitching her voice to carry

Thorne does not expect to be followed. As she slinks away into the undergrowth, the occasional leaf or branch snagging at her glossy pelt, a voice cuts through the air, ringing with concern. Startled, the mahogany fae pauses to allow the women to catch up, fur bristling with caution.

If the black and white she-wolf stopped to face her, Thorne would regard her through wide eyes, tail twitching with agitation. “I’m sorry if my sudden departure seemed...odd” she murmurs finally, aiming to meet the woman’s gaze with her own. ”The truth is, I was-am-feeling a little...unsettled”. She scuffs a paw along the earth, relishing the soil as it sinks beneath her claws. ”I doubt you can help me, however. And even if you could, you wouldn’t want the trouble”. She speaks honestly. Relying on others has never come naturally to the fae, and she truly believes that the she-wolf would not want to bother helping a bedraggled stranger like herself.

The wolf looked startled and uncertain and Shaye paused. She could act a little fierce when she thought someone needed help, but maybe she needed to tone down on that a little. "I didnt mean to startle you - I hate the thought of leaving if it turned out I was needed here" Shaye would try to explain herself, through perhaps that wasnt really doing the job. She sighed softly, looking at the cautious wolf.

"What has you unsettled? If you dont want my help, I'll leave you be - but the offer is there, if you want it." The Alpha would finally say, she managed a soft smile, a compassionate expression as she looked at this stranger. It wasnt in Shayea nature to leave a wolf that needed help, but nor could she stay if she was not wanted.

The stranger seems unwilling to walk away, and this puzzles the woman. She had no current means of repaying the stranger, nothing the stranger could possibly want from her. She was not raised on kindness and affection. Her childhood was, by no means, an unhappy one, but her father had been a man of logic and practicality, and he ruled his pack by these methods. So this sudden act of compassion was foreign to her, and for a moment, Thorne regards her companion with an impassive blink. After a moment, she recollects herself and dips her head in gratitude. She owed this women that much, at least. "I...did not expect this" , she admits, though no sadness laces her voice. She wears a stoic mask of indifference. "At home, if one is unable to fend for themselves, they are considered a burden among others. I suppose I expected to be treated in a similiar fashion". speech action

The wolf finally turned to her, dipping her head in acknowledgement, or gratitude. When she spoke, her words puzzled Shaye. She didn’t expect what? For Shaye to chase after her? For Shaye to be there in the first place? She continued to look at the Stranger in puzzlement, wondering if her meaning would become clear to the Alpha. It did, when she spoke further, explaining her way of life. A flicker of something would flash over Shaye’s expression before she got control of herself again and smothered it. The flash of.. Anger? Or whatever she had felt, pushed down.

It seemed she would constantly find wolves where the world had abused them. In her home, what happened to the wolves that were considered a burden? She thought of Tana and Spider, both frightened, damaged wolves that stuttered and flinched from others. Shaye was working with them both, encouraging them that the world could be a better place. Still, it left her feeling a little bitter towards those that could ever call another a burden.

“Some will, I won’t give you the illusion that it would be otherwise. But… I am an Alpha, and I have created a pack where everyone is treated with respect and kindness. That’s the world I grew up in, and the one I want to share with others.” she would explain, before clearing her throat. “Anyway, was there something you needed help with? Are you new to these lands?” she had spoken of her home like it was a distance away.