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Paws tucked into the child's white chest, back legs pushed against her empty stomach, ribs protruding around the little paws. Her thin face pulled around with her arching back, burying her nose into the dark fluff of her hindlegs, ears pinned back against her skull and chocolate tail wrapping around. The weather was changing, bringing cooler winds into the lands, marking the beginning of fall. The little pup did not understand this however, being born late in spring, all she knew was that she was getting colder and didn't understand why, wondering if it was something punishing her because she had begun to think her mother would never come back for her. A low whine hummed in her locked jaws, only making her wrap up further into herself. The sun had begun setting, casting the lands in darkness and cooler temperatures, the sky filling with pools of color. Had she been with her mother the girl would have stopped to watched the shifting pools, large mismatched eyes staring in amazement and wonder. For now though, she focused on staying hidden under the bent grasses, something her mother had taught her to do whenever she was not with her. It was important.

Huata had walked into the landscape, her paws stepping on the drying grasses that were beginning to die due to the changing of the seasons. She was rather alone and never thought she would ever meet someone new, however, she had met many kind wolves on her journey and a smile came across her maw. Her topaz pools shone bright when the moon and stars glistened across them, almost as if they were gems.

Huata continued onward, her creamsickle colored pelt continued to sway in the winds, and she would look around for anything interesting; that was when she soon spotted something in the grass. She walked closer, making sure not to make any sound and soon, when she happened to look ahead of her, her eyes widened. A pup, a young one, skin and bone with no one to help protect her. "Are you alright, Child?" Huata asked in a worried yet kind voice, trying to keep calm over the situation that was happening before her.

She lay curled up tight under the protection of the bent grasses, but it would seem that it wasn't enough for somebody had managed to find her trembling on the ground. Anaeia's head jerked up at the crunching grass, her large mismatched eyes going wide at the sight of another wolf. Quickly she uncurled and stood up, stumbling back into the grass but because of the dense area she had chosen all she could do was cower. It was a lady from the sound of her voice, asking if the girl was alright. The pup was unsure if she should answer, not knowing if the wolf will attack her or if her mother would be upset when she finally showed up. So rather than actually speak, the girl tried backing up further against the tall grass and nodded her head slowly. Just as she did this however a pain began to rise within her stomach, a low rumbling gurgle loud and clear, body trembling uncontrollably. She began to rethink her answer to the lady, head lowering and tail tucking in between her back legs before finally slowly shaking her head from side to side. "I... it hurts..." She whined quietly, almost inaudible. "Hurts... it always hurts." Emotions quickly overtook the child within those seconds, small streams of tears spreading over her lids and trekking down over her little cheeks before the woman. It hurt so much, her stomach, her paws, legs, body, head... her little heart. Anaeia so badly wanted her mother back, to feel the warmth of her belly once more, to be overwhelmed by her sweet scent. "Mommy..." Head buried into her little paws, muffling the child's cry for her mother, her body lowering to the ground and trying to curl up as tiny as possible as if it would make her mama come back.

Huata was pained to see the girl upset and depressed. She was not even sure if the pup's mother was even alive or what had happened to her, but she did know one thing: this young pup needed help, and if she didn't do anything, she would die. Her light blue eyes shone bright as the stars and moon reflected off of them, and a calm and comforting smile came over Huata as she slowly approached the pup, soon sitting upon her haunches.

"Listen, I don't know where your mother is, but, I would be willing to get you something to eat if you will let me," she smiled and stood up, walking off to find something for the little girl to eat. The sound of rustling in the grass caught Huata's interest as a plump hare came into her view, and before she even knew it, her body reacted by leaping forward and shaking the life from the creature as her jaws crunched down on the prey animal's windpipe.

She smiled happily and approached the pup, a small smile on her face as she placed it down in front of her, "I know it is not much, but you must eat. Eat slow, though, or your body will be more than likely to throw it back up."

Anaeia just wanted it all to go away, for the pain to stop throbbing throughout her body, to have a full belly and cuddle up into the warmth of her mother's neck. The longer she spent hiding in the tall grasses however, the more she realized that would not be happening. Her mother was no longer here, no longer loved the pup. She was alone until the bad animals came for her, whisking the child to Paradise. Slowly she lifted her head at the sound of the female wolf approaching, dull blue and gold eyes watching with confusion as the lady took a seat, and even continued speaking to her. She didn't know where the girl's mother was, but she would be able to get her something to eat if she let her. Sniffling, Anaeia wiped one of her tear filled eyes and nodded her head. While the lady walked off to catch something the pup would lay her head on the ground, taking her other paw and wiping at her other eye, still sniffling a bit. And in no time she was back, placing a bunny in front of her nose with a smile. The moment it was set down the girl could already feel her mouth salivating, tongue licking her lips and paws slowly inching her forward. Floppy ears perked up as she spoke again, telling the girl to eat it slow or she might throw it back up. To this she gave a small nod of her head, then carefully grabbed the rabbit by the ear and pulled in close, her stomach rumbling as if she had an animal in her belly. Despite how hungry she was though, the pup wouldn't dig into her free meal, instead she had pressed her nose to the bunny's forehead and closed her eyes, lips moving as she sent thanks up to the creator. "Thank you nice lady." Sweet tones were directed towards the stranger momentarily before digging into her meal. Rather than dive right in and probably end up throwing it back up, Anaeia chewed off bits of flesh with the side of her jaws, making it mushy first then swallowing. She continued doing this till just about every edible bit was gone, her stomach full and aching a bit while she licked at a few of the bones. Done, the girl looked to the woman with a small wag of her tail but the expression on her face did not seem to change. "It was good.... thank you." She thanked once again, glancing off to the side briefly then turning away from the lady to curl back into the spot she had been in just moments ago.

Huata smiled, happy that the young child took her advice into account while she devoured the hare quite quickly. The dame hoped that the child would soon become healthy and happy again; but, deep down, she knew that something was wrong, but, she could not put her paw on it at the moment. She could see that the chocolate colored pup had curled up to get warm, but the orange and cream woman did not know if she could just approach the pup and curl up beside her, for she was not her mother or a guardian. Plus, she did not wish to make the pup feel uncomfortable, so she approached slowly and cautiously.

"Young lass, may I ask your name?" Huata sat her haunches a couple inches from where the pup lied, her ear flicking incase there was danger, and soon, hearing none, she focused her attention back to the malnourished child. "You are surely young to be out here by yourself. May I ask why that is?"

Anaeia lay there quietly, large mismatched eyes watching the woman slowly approach. The nice lady asked what her name was, sitting down and asking why she was out here by herself at such a young age. The chocolate colored pup wouldn't answer right away, bringing her paws into her body shyly, looking down at over at her tail. Her mother had always told her not to converse with strangers, don't give away information because they would take it and try to use that against you in any way possible. Twist your thoughts. But... her mother wasn't here anymore, who else would the pup turn to? So with a short, low whine the girl looked up at the lady finally with those watery eyes. ”An... Anaeia...” She said softly, keeping herself curled up tightly. ”My momma went out to get us food...” She lifted her head, floppy ears held up atop her skull as she looked to the grasses. ”She is still gone.” She added on, nearly inaudible as she brought her head down and lay across her shoulder. It was some time now since her momma was gone, and going back to her thoughts from earlier, Anaeia was starting to guess that she would not come back.

Huata smiled, she was happy to see that the pup was willing to say some things to her, such as her name and why she was alone. Due to the shape the young pup was in, the dame knew very well that her mother would more than likely be dead and gone. Her topaz optics met the heterochromatic eyes of the pup and she smiled, her topaz optics shimmered slightly in the small amount of light that spread across the area that they resided in.

"My name is Huata. It is very nice to meet you, lass," she smiled and lied down, placing her paw upon the pups back with a smile on her face, "If you would like someone to take care of you temporarily until we can find your mother, I'd be willing to look after you. I always wished for a pup of my own, even if it is not mine. But, I will let you think about it since this adjustment must be hard on you right now."

Anaeia felt a tad bit more comfortable around the woman when she gave her name, Huata. The child's head tilted at it, a floppy ear falling to the side as she lifted her head. ”Ha... wee... ta.” She sounded it out the best she could with her still inexperienced tongue, face scrunching up in a silly manner with concentration. She paused afterwards, mismatched eyes focusing on the air before her as she thought about it. It would be the best she could do at the moment, shaking her head slightly before turning her attention back to the woman as she lay down. Though she didn't seem to mean any harm, the girl still flinched when Huata lay a paw over her back, pulling back shyly but still remaining under the limb. Looking up to the lady Anaeia's ears pulled back as she listened, uncertainty finding its way into her gaze at the mention of this wolf temporarily taking care of her until they found her mother, she would be fine with watching her and would give her some time to think about it. To this she would look down at her paws in thought, wondering if her mother would be upset by going with this lady when she was gone. At the same time the lady was nice, giving the girl food without asking for something in return. It wasn't a long thought process, relatively easy considering the situation she was in. She was just a child just weaned before being abandoned, no basic skills in hunting or defense and only knew how to hide in temporary spots... She needed this. With a small breath she looked up to the woman and nodded her head slowly, her little paws shifting in the bent grasses beneath her small body. ”Momma will know, she won't be mad at me will she? If she met Huata, she would know she is nice and gave me food.” She spoke in a sweet tone, searching her face in hopes that it was true. Anaeia was a good girl. If Huata meant to harm the pup then she would have already done it, her mother always made it clear that bad creatures attacked immediately to get the upper hand, but this wolf didn't.

Huata smiled and gave a chuckle when she heard the young lass speak. She was young and Huata knew that, but, she was rather fond of the little pup that she had happened to stumble upon, and the orange and cream dame smiled and nodded her head in reply. She would die for this young pup if it meant that she would live, even though Ana was not her birth-child. Her topaz optics lied upon the mismatched colors of the female pup.

"Well, I am sure your mother would say that it would be alright if it meant that your life was in jeopardy. The way you are right now, Ana, I don't say you would last much longer without proper care." She would say, her tail flicking slightly. She cared about the child, truly. She did enjoy being with her, even if it was for a short time. "If you do not wish to come with me, I understand completely. But, you must eat, and the hare I brought you will only help you for so long, young one. Think about what your mother would want for you to do."

The lady smiled and chuckled at Anaeia, she would take this as a good sign, that her mother would be fine with her going with Haweeta until she came back. Slowly her tail would begin to wag, something that hasn't happened in some time now since her separation. It thumped gently against the ground, mismatched eyes looking up to the woman with a new found hope. She would be taken care of again, the pup would not be cold at night and wouldn't have to always be hiding from mean wolves and bad animals. Haweeta spoke now, the girl's floppy ears perking up to catch what she was saying. She thought that the girl's mother would be okay with her taking the child if it meant her life was in jeopardy. Anaeia's head tilted at this, her vocabulary not that extended just yet so her little brain would attempt to translate into something she could understand. The only thing she was able to come up with though was that it meant she needed a teacher a little longer, she couldn't be on her own just yet. To add onto this Haweeta didn't think the girl would last any longer on her own without proper care. Ears pinned back against the child's head, not liking the sound of that and actually scared her a little bit. Still the kind woman continued, telling the girl she understood if she didn't wish to go with her but that she needed to eat and that rabbit wouldn't help her for long. Think about what her mother wanted. Anaeia was silent now, her dark eyes looking to her paws now in thought. She really wanted to stay here and wait for her momma to come back but at the same time she was so hungry and her body hurt all over, this lady was nice enough to come along and feed her and was now offering to take care of her for a little bit... “I... She will want me to go with you.” She finally spoke up softly, looking up to the woman. “I will be safe with Haweeta. Momma always wants me to be safe.” Nodding her head the girl added on further confirmation, wondering if it was enough for the lady to accept and take her back home.