"Waaah ... my foot huuuurts!"

Lena huffed and wobbled through the trees, stopping now and then to nurse her right front paw with a grumble, coupled with a few soothing licks. It seemed that she'd acquired a cut along the calloused pad, one that had started to grow slightly puffy and quite tender. She had tried her best to keep an eye on it, knowing that the dirt being stomped into it wouldn't exactly do that irritating throb any favours. So, every few minutes, Lena would stop, lift her leg and then clean the (actually not that bad at all) wound.

The girl had a tendency to overreact, to be a hypochondriac. It wasn't like it was a dangerous or fatal cut! It was far from a gash and nowhere near a laceration. A small slice, that bled slightly. Of course, it had stopped bleeding now, but what if it hadn't! Oh goodness, she would have died out here, all alone! And what a waste that would be!

Now, how had she acquired her clearly life threatening injury? She had slipped. Pure and simple. She was crossing the creek and then, whoopsie daisy! There was a very sharp pebble--more like a bear tooth, really--that she carefully located with her foot. From that moment on, she had decided she would not, in fact, wade through the shallows of a mystery water source, and would simply follow the soggy, damp banks.

The very dirty bank.

"This is the woooorst," she whined, miserably hobbling along like she'd lost her whole damn limb instead of just getting a tiny little boo boo. "The woooooooooorst!"

A voice interrupted the pitiful whining that was gushing from Lena's mouth, and she turned her attention to the source. She was about to wail off her story, how she'd been a fool and overstepped the boundaries on a terrifying rock's territory and that her trespassing punishment was to bare the sins of her crime for all eternity! But ...

"Woah." Yikes, the sight that met the yearling's gaze! A woman, quite a thick one at that, with golden eyes seemed to be showing herself off. She looked like she had gotten on the wrong side of a grizzly bear, and quickly found out that, alone, bear plus wolf equals dog-shaped chew toy. And here she was, marching on with life with the scars of battle displayed like medals. That was kind of inspirational, really, and it definitely shut up Lena's pitiful, exaggerated yowls.

"I mean, I was gonna complain about how I might have to get my poor foot amputated, but I see that you got me beat for, well, most beat up." She paused for a moment and then offered a shitty little grin. "But I mean, I doubt you had to fend off a terrifying, hidden rock." The wag of her tail was offered to show she meant no harm, despite her toothy expression. Lena wasn't lippy, and she most certainly wasn't this way for the sake of poking the bear--well, wolf. She wanted to be the kind of wolf people could laugh with, regardless of situation. Sometimes, it took a god awful joke to break the ice. Sometimes that ice broke right under her feet and she dropped arse first into a swarm of hungry piranhas.

"Though, if yer serious ... I'm alright, I'm just making noise, I guess. Oh! Sorry. I'm not disturbin' you or anythin', am I?"

Thoroughly pleased that the older woman had decided to indulge Lena's little joke, the younger wolf beamed delightedly. She was an open book, a children's book at that. Exceptionally easy to read, with lots of bright, colourful pictures. She gave a chuckle as she smiled, tail wagging amicably behind her. "Yeah, I reckon I am! Y'reckon they give out, like, fancy titles for things like that?"

Feigning hurt, she visibly recoiled with a gasp. "I sounded that bad? Oh, I'm hurt!" She gave a pout, kicked at the dirt beneath her paw, though she couldn't help the twitch at the corner of her lip. "Sorry to disappoint ya, but I'm healthy as a rock-beaten wolf can be! Though, I gotta admit, the idea of easy food is ... nice." When was the last time Lena had enjoyed a real meal, not just old meat or berries and mushrooms that she had snorted through the undergrowth to find? Fresh, warm meat ... ack! No, she was making herself way too hungry!

"Oh? Y'lead a pack? I'm, uh, actually lookin' fer one in particular. There's ... somethin' there I need to find." Well, answers weren't technically a thing, at least nothing a tangible object she could pick up, but she technically wasn't lying either.

Lena gulped. "I'm gonna test my luck here and ask--you wouldn't happen to lead Oak Tree Bend, or at least know of it?" Excitement brewed in her belly, and her heart thundered as if she was staring her own family in the face. If this woman was a leader, she had to know all about nearby packs. Not to mention, it'd be exceptionally lucky if this grizzly looking lady actually was the leader of the Oak wolves! Lady Luck, smile down on this scrappy little kid, please.

Lena chewed her lip nervously, looking particularly snaggle-toothed as she did. To admit what she was looking for felt like it'd be quite tough to explain, but at the older wolf's words, the yearlings heart practically leaped from her chest, out her mouth and rocketed into the sky. Her smile widened. Had she wagged her tail any harder, she would have been whipping her own rump. This woman was the leader of Oak Tree Bend -- this woman had to know her family.

What was she looking for? Oh, if she could plant a fat, wet kiss on the grizzly wolf's face, Lena would have done right there. Today was a very, very lucky day, it seemed, and she owed everything to her pathetic, self pitying yowling over a teeny cut to her paw pad. Grinning slightly, trying very hard not to look somewhat psychotic, the young girl explained her. "Oh man, I must be the luckiest gal ever! I'm -- I'm lookin' fer my family. See, I spoke with this older fella up North some way, he says that I can find my dad's family down South. My father, you might know him? Considerin' yer the leader 'nd all ... Sceral. Sceral Donata. S'my pops."

She offered another smile, eyebrows lifting in a curious, almost pleading way. "You, uh ... you know any Donatas?"

And just like that, everything that Lena had been dreaming of shattered.

"Oh," she croaked weakly. Oh. That was unexpected, and it certainly tugged at her heart strings in a way she hadn't ever experienced before. All that wasted time, a whole damned journey spent just chasing a dead end. It was Lena's turn to swallow thickly then, the lump rising in her throat threatening to climb higher still. "That's, uhm ... a shame." Her body language took a full one-eighty; she let her shoulders sag, her tail stilling behind her. That little gleam in her eyes was gone. The hope Lena had worked up into a frenzy just packed its bags, flipped her the bird and stormed out.

What she couldn't understand, though, was why the old wolf up north had lied to her. Had it all been some elaborate ploy to get her off their land? Was she going to be that much of an inconvenience if she lingered a few days near a not-even-formed-yet pack? Wow. That one hurt. It left her chest feeling tight, like her ribs were ready to pop her lungs. It was an uncomfortable feeling, like she eaten something rotten and now she was paying the price. Problem was, you couldn't pass emotional distress like you could pass intestinal distress.

"I, better get goin'. I, uhm-- it's a long way home." She offered a meek little smile. "Thanks fer yer help. I s'pose. Sorry to inconvenience ya." Dipping her head, Lena turned away. The injury on her paw was forgotten entirely, the only pain she could feel being the fire aching in her heart. Ow. Ow. Ow.

Lena exits, unless she's stopped.