For Jem

The ocean colored child would wander around, wasting her fall days with exploring and in a way, training. Out in the open of lands she had never traveled to left her open for anything. It could be, in her mind, the most dangerous form of training. One could never know what dangers lurked beneath every stone or around every bend. The soft breeze flew through her fur, reminding her of Zeus and how kindly her captors had treated her. Vaguely she remembered Lyanna, whom had helped her cope with the change and separation for her family. She missed Lyanna dearly but the woman was watching over her from the stars. "Lyanna, I'm sorry I couldn't save you." The haunting memories of her death were overwhelming, causing tears to well up in her eyes as she sat down deep in the depths of the dense thicket. She was going to fight the world to hold the promises and ideas she had made to her friend. This was where her training truly started: back at the beginning where it all started.

Irelyn had cut across the land and woven a path between territories which held the scent of pack wolves; she had crossed at least two rivers, too, although her memories of entering and leaving the chilly water seemed as numbed as her body had been. Although the sun shone magnificently, giving even more vibrancy to the richly coloured Autumn foliage, it was far from the warmth of a true Summer, when everything, including the water, seemed to be painted a little more brightly.

She couldn't pine for Summer too much – at least she sort of blended into the present season with her honey coloured pelt. If she made a concerted effort, Irelyn could probably pass for a mound of fallen leaves – in her mind, anyway. She was like a drifting leaf herself, letting the breeze pull her along without any real clue about her final destination.

It seemed appropriate that Ire had found herself in the midst of a dense thicket – perhaps she could try out her windfall act away from curious eyes. It wasn't to be, though: inching her way between closely gathered trunks and bushes, she heard the younger female's breathing around the same moment that she caught her scent.

Irelyn stiffened, listening hard, before creeping forward and peering between the crowds of leaves. “Hullo?”

A young child would raise her head at a small sound that she thought she heard. Her deep blue ears would perk up as she carefully listened to her surroundings. A voice would hit her and she would instantly snap up. She was quickly on her feet, her eyes narrowed as she turned to find another woman standing there. She instantly calmed down when she saw the pelt color of the other wolf. She had, in her own mind, slipped away to remembering her captors. They had been kind to her for a time and an easy way for her to tell if one of them might be her captors. They all held pelts of blood red colors mixed with strange green hues. They still haunted the nightmares she tried to ignore. "Hello." Her voice was soft as she set up her defensive shields to block herself from harm.