It seemed the young muse was back again....Kleio knew not how long she had been without her sisters at this point, and there was no telling whether or not they still lived, but she did know that if she simply allowed herself to continue wasting away in their absence, she risked throwing away the last of their spirit along with her own. Or her reputation if she happened upon any of them and they still breathed. Anyway, she figured that if she had somehow been spared by the disaster that had separated them all in the first place, it had to have been for a reason. She could not bring herself to throw away this second chance at life.

Well, third, at this point.

She had kept herself hidden for the duration of her season, but with winter coming to a close, Kleio felt it safe to emerge once again. It was far too cold yet for the rivers to be fished with ease, but that did not stop her from squinting at the layer of surface ice for signs of movement underneath. All the while, she kept her ears erect and moving, for she was no idiot; she could smell the stenches of various packs all around her. It was with luck that she had meandered so thoughtlessly into a patch of neutral territory.

225 words

Winter was drawing to a close, but it wasn't quite gone yet. Cloud had been having difficulty finding decent food for the pack with such a harsh winter, but it didn't stop him from going out every day in an effort to find something. It was bad luck, however, that he had seemingly caught everything near the pack lands. And he was pretty sure he wasn't the only one that hunted what he could as close to the pack as possible. With two other packs so close, the competition for food was high during the Winter, and the male was forced to head further out in an effort to find food. He meandered along the river, listening to its icy flow as it wound its way through the land. Bi-colored gaze studied the water as he walked alongside it, wondering if it would be worth the effort to try and fish. Who knew, maybe if he was lucky, he would catch something big enough to bring back home. But then there was the matter of carrying it all back, assuming he managed to catch anything worthwhile, if at all. He was slightly put off by the idea, and even more so when he thought about having to fish in such cold temperatures. Well, desperate times called for desperate measures, right? Black paws left their marks in the cold mud as he continued to trail alongside the river. Cloud had been far too focused thinking about food for the pack when he suddenly saw someone else. It was a female, her scent obvious by her season. He glanced up, tearing his eyes away from the frigid water as he spotted her no more than a few yards from him. She, too, was staring at the water. Was she thinking about fishing as well? Or something else? He supposed at this point he would have been detected, so he did what any gentleman would and announced his presence with a soft bark, though made sure to keep a comfortable distance when he approached a little closer. "Thinking of fishing?" "Speak"

art by Risketch