Location: Cedar Falls Duchess wanted to try her best for her new pack, The Hallows. She wanted to impress Indigo, but also wanted to impress his grandmother. It was important for her to do well even though she had never been in a pack. Maybe she wanted to please so badly because of her previous and only relationship. Draco had turned into a more superior, evil man as time went on. When they were young he seemed kind and loving, and as his adolescence kicked in she saw the change in him. She didn't think it was anything to worry about, even when he lashed out at her and put her down. She wanted nothing more than to make him happy thinking it would keep him by her side. She wanted to be with him forever. Apparently he didn't feel the same way. Winter had been hard before she was with the pack, but it didn't seem to be any better after either. Sure they worked together to keep everyone afloat, but going out on scouting missions had been more difficult while looking for more resources. Because Auster was more tropical than the land up north, the ice and snow decimated almost all living life. Plants were impossible to find. Prey had either died or been hunted in the previous winter. Some became sick from the cold and lack of forage. It wouldn't be wise to eat sick prey, even in the event of starving. It would be more deadly but she supposed she would have rather died from being sick than slowly starving to death. She tried to scout most of her days, Indigo liked to keep a close eye on her so she wouldn't wander far out of reach where he couldn't protect her. She didn't mind, but it wasn't the kind of life she wanted to live. She was more a caregiver than a helpless little girl. That didn't mean she didn't appreciate him looking out for her. He wouldn't hold her down at least, she wasn't a prisoner to him. She came out more south of The Hallows, she figured any kind of prey would go to a fresh water source nearby, it would be their only continuous life source aside from scavenging for food. The water sources here were dwindled as the lands had froze, but Auster was much better off than Boreas, not that she would know that while she lived in Auster her whole life. The small stream of water at the falls she would examine first, trying hard to catch any lingering scent that came by for a drink. It seemed she had come to leave empty handed, there wasn't even a trace of a scent of prey. It had been long since a deer or anything had come here to drink. Maybe everything really was dead. She stepped over the small flow of water, moving into the forest of the falls. She had given up completely on coming back to The Hallows with any spoils. But as she lingered almost sulking in the woods, her nose caught onto a scent she couldn't identify. She followed for a good while before she realized she was moving around in circles, her nose moved to a tree that had a more fresh scent of the hairy creature. She looked up to reveal an animal she had never seen before. It clung to the trunk of the tree up high, it must have been prey rather than predator while it didn't seem to want to attack her. In fact, it seemed completely uninterested in her. It's long claws sifted through the branches of the trees, finding only a few buds to snack on. She wondered how it was even living given it's large size and what little food it could find. But it seemed to be pretty healthy. Maybe it's body was somehow adjusted to the freezing winter temperatures. She looked around to see if there was any good way up to get to the creature, she was already thinking of a way to kill it so she could bring it back to The Hallows. She needed a way to get up in the tree, but it wouldn't be easy given her much smaller size. She looked behind her at the small rocky cliff from the falls behind her, and it seemed if she was careful, she could venture the different branches across each tree in order to get to her target. It proved a lot easier when she was actually up there. It seemed her smaller size actually helped her agility across the long branches. She finally made it just before the sloth-creature, it had moved very little. She wasn't aware it was because it was slow, she thought it just like to hang out in trees during it's free time. That's where it was looking for it's food source at least. She carefully set herself up for a leap towards the creature. It wouldn't be a gentle fall, so she only had one chance to make it right and grab a hold of it before she fell to the ground. She flew from through the trees, barely grabbing a hold of the back of the creature's neck. She peeled it off the tree, landing on her back and shoulder when she hit the ground, the sloth animal falling on her. It was awfully slow she would come to notice, and when it finally removed it's body from her she easily took it's life at the throat. It barely fought back, it's claws looked pretty viscous but maybe she didn't give it enough time to fight back. She would probably never know what it was really capable of. It was an easy kill minus the venture through the trees. Now she had to find out how to get it back to The Hallows. That would be a little more difficult. She debated on whether or not she should call for help from the pack. She didn't want to be a burden. She attempted to start pulling by one of it's legs. It would take time, but she'd get home eventually. Walk "Talk" Think

There were a few things...

I lied.

There were MANY things that I considered not worth my time and running around trying to do some semblance of training surely was not one of them. I had been away so long from my parents that I had fallen out of that routine and quite honestly I thought it was for the better. As long as I could feed myself, and outsmart any dumb wit that wanted to come forth and test their luck, then why was it so important?

My answer? It wasn't!
However... The aches and pains of walking all day made it clear that my limbs just weren't what they used to be a year ago. My stamina had fallen so low that a few hours now and I was already complaining to myself. Brain fog was a thing but after the ritual a few days ago I honestly felt so much better and clear-headed and my hunger of late was just sated with the random floor dwellers that came about every so often. It being still cold out some days made it hard to find them but luckily my stomach wasn't racking my body with tremors too often. The point that I made clear to myself today was that I had to get some running in whether my body liked it or not... just a little bit though. And for sure, I was going to get some fun out of it if it killed me.

That being said, the pounding of my heart was beating so loud that it overtook my thoughts, my breathing was rhythmic as I took in large inhales through my nostrils and flared them out as my chest constricted, the thumps along the ground was like a drum with pauses only to be explained by the occasional jump over a tree root or large jutting rock. I ran hard, covering the length of ground at a measurable rate before I pushed off into the air and for a moment, felt like I was flying. I couldn't help but allow my tongue to fly out from my jowls, my jaws agape as my eyes locked into its target and positioned my outstretched paws to hit it with force.

3. 2. 1.

S P L A S H

Feet first, my body dove into the water and quite unmajestically half belly-flopped into the mediocre pool of water. To say the water was cold to me felt like an understatement. We were just coming out of winter and so the first feeling of the water jolted the breath right from my lungs. I didn't even account for the rocks to be so shallow and so after the initial impact soon came the crumpling of my legs against parts of the stone, pulling a soft yelp from my maw as my mouth filled with water. Yeah... as smart as I considered myself to be in the science realm, I really didn't think this one through. And boy did I pay the price in this moment. Scrambling for a mere second, I found my footing, and even with me standing up erect the water at these parts just reached my neck.

"Sssss... ow. Ow."

I complained, wading/walking forward until I reached the banks and flopped down to my side, coughing up small spurts of water.

I sighed with a grin plastered over my muzzle.

"Worth it..."

I breathed and rolled onto my back to recover, letting the world fade around me.

"Speech"

The sound of thundering paws nearby had made her alert, and she was worried now that someone else would be after her meal for The Hallows. She pushed her hunt aside, near the tree trunks and brush hoping that no other predators would find the meal to snack on before she could get it back. She would probably need to call Indigo to help her lug it, not that she felt proud to do so. She quietly stalked around the trees, the sound of a splash came across her and she took care not to make her presence known until she had better eyes on the stranger. She was generally pretty careful but she could have been considered as social too, not that she had proved so in her new pack yet. Her pelt was far from easy to hide, it blended in with nothing in the natural world. Her dark features were much more suited to sneak around at night, even with her oddly colored portions. Not that any of it was odd to her, she rarely thought wolves of color were strange or different. She spotted this male, laying in the tiny stream that came from the falls. The gentle flow of water struggled around him but the banks of what once was a river helped let the water flow. Duchess moved forward quietly, honestly considering the male was wounded, or maybe sick. Who else would lay down in the water in such coldened temperatures? "Excuse me," she treaded lightly, "Are you alright?" Walk "Talk" Think

With my eyes shut and my body now laying on its side, my breathing came a steady in and out, almost to the rhythm of when im sleeping. Today was a special day. An anniversary of sorts. And with every special day, I was making it rememberable by doing the things that I knew weren't in my normal character of doing. In this case? Just remembering to be a kid again. That thought was broken as I heard a soft voice off in the distance.

"Hm?"

My body rolled upwards and I looked this way and that until my gaze fell on a small female looking over to me. She kept her distance from my form, curiously looking over to where I was yet seeming like she was ready to flee at any given second. I lowered my head marginally, allowing my ears to push forward with interest. She already seemed so tentative in her stature yet I did have to take into account that she took the time to come and see what was up. Maybe she was around these parts?

"Am I alright? You know... I ask that of myself almost every morning."

I laughed lightly and sighed, allowing my head fall back on the ground while I rolled onto my back and stretched both my front and back paws out as far as they could go. It felt good for a change not to be on alert and so tense. It was a much needed change and the main reason why I originally ran away from home. To eventually feel free enough to make my own decisions of what I wanted to do with my life. Atleast enough so that I could plan my next move and figure out a way to heal father.

"Yes, yes, Bella. I am indeed 'alright'."

I spoke, groaning through my stretch and coming out of it by moving back onto my belly. My entire right side was covered in dirt and grit from being on the floor and I could feel it making it's way to my skin where it would truly annoy the shit out of me. I'd have submerge back into the chilled liquid eventually.

I allowed my nose to twitch for a moment, trying to scent the air and get some bodily information form her but alas, she seemed too far away for me to dechipher anything. I sighed and tilted my head while eyeing her physique.

"Did you just meander over here to check on me?"

I woofed softly before rising up on my paws.

"Or was there a plan before this?"

My voice had gradually lowered in volume as I slowly closed the distance between us by casually strolling over to her.

"Speech"

Duchess remained where she was at as the brute went on, and honestly his responses made her uncomfortable. He asked himself if he was alright every morning. He called her Bella, she was just being extremely put off by him even if he didn't really show any threat to her. She took a step backwards, but tried not to show how uncomfortable she was in her face. She at least didn't feel like he was going to attack her or anything, but her expression may have showed some distaste. "No, no plan." She responded, while she believed he was mentioning she had some idea to ask him out for a dinner or something of the sort. "Just making sure you weren't hurt." Her voice was blunt, maybe trying to get to the point and show her disinterest in him now. Her eyes shifted only slightly before looking back at him and her paw pointed in the opposite direction. "But since you're fine I guess I should move on." She didn't show much fear as he approached her, just took another step back and thought about the slim chance that Indigo was around to put the distance back between her and the stranger. She wasn't very physical herself but she wasn't exactly a priss either. She just knew better than to put herself into situations she couldn't get out of. Walk "Talk" Think

"No, no plan."
An eyebrow arched as her response.
"Just making sure you weren't hurt."
I allowed a pause to sit between us for a moment, looking at her in case there was more to say yet by her slight change in demeanor it seemed like she was edging on ending the conversation now. What a shame. Just as my mind was drawing her out to be this beautiful young queen, with the air becoming charged now, I wasn't the type to push more for what wasn't wanted. However tempting.
I blinked a couple of times and let my voice air on a sigh.

"Ah."

I said curtly, shrugging lightly while turning back towards the water. Even with the sudden shift, I still found myself walking with a slight pep in my step. My body rolled down onto the ground shoulder first and onto my back once more as a cloud parted in the skies to allow a sliver of sunlight to filter through.

"I appreciate the concern little lady."

I called out to her. My back paws stretched out and fell into the shallow edges of the water while my font paws reached out above me.

"But since you're fine I guess I should move on." Her voice rang out, it seemed distant now.

"If you so choose!"

I woofed, closing my eyes and waiting for the sunlight to move to just the right spot for me to take in some heat.
If I had any regrets with this brief meeting, it would have been to at least get her name.

"Speech"