Not so long ago, she’d promised herself she’d never, ever leave Silent Moon Plateau if she’d got home safely and without harm.  Her previous exploration had been frightening, though perhaps not actual trauma had occurred.  That seemed like a lifetime away, however – that was when Aponi was still at the head of Silent Moon Plateau.  That was when her mother’s rules still mattered.  What did it mean to be forbidden from leaving pack grounds when her mother had bid her farewell before picking up everything and leaving?

It was a fierce desire to go and look for the woman that drove the honeyed child from the safety of her father’s lands.  Oh, she had every intention of coming back before night fell.  Having left at dawn’s first light, Kyna thought a full day was plenty of time to look around for the silvery female.  While it seemed unlikely that her dam was still on the mountain, how would she ever know if she didn’t look?  What if the woman had been hurt and unable to get home?  She was certain her mum would have come looking for her – the pup knew she had to do the same.

Several hours and countless miles later found the young princess at the bottom of the mountain.  She’d slipped, startled, and the trail she was certain she’d use to get back to the plateau seemed no where to be found.  Creeping through the forest, Kyna put her nose to the ground, wishing violently she’d asked her father to come look with her.  (He’d have probably said no, she thought, but she could certainly use an adult, and who else could she ask?)  Ears swiveled as she huffed, only an hour or so from giving up when a strange noise caught her attention.

Kok-kok-kok.

Picking up her blond crown, the wolf responded with a small chuff, orange eyes growing wide as she looked around for the source.  The scent was foreign as the calls, and the girl began to pace when it sounded again, closer.  Calling out once, Kyna was debating whether she should investigate or not when the bird burst from the tree line with another loud call.  Shrieking, the young girl bolted towards the forest the animal had come from, seeking shelter behind the trunks.  It wouldn’t chase her, would it?  What if it attacked?

“Help!”

Not waiting to see if the bird had come charging after her, the puppy stampeded through the unknown forest in blind terror.  Her overlarge paws caught on branches and stones.  Only by a divine miracle (or perhaps simply through the thrill of adrenaline), the girl managed to stay on her feet as she careened through the unknown land.  Only when something else began to galumph through the forest did the girl screech to a halt, paws skidding through the dirt and leaves.  Raising her crown to try to peer around the undergrowth, Kyna’s ears swiveled like radar dishes atop her head as she tried to determine the exact direction the crashing was coming from.  The woodland was nothing like the plateau she’d spent the first four months of her life on – there, the key was being as quiet as possible.  A single tip of a stone was enough to alert someone else of her presence, and upon the heights, there was no where to hide.  Echo location was not something the girl had any practice at.  The echo was disorienting, as were the myriad of sounds underlying the crash and snap of branches breaking underneath someone’s (or something’s) feet.

By the time she realized from what direction the noises were coming, the princess realized it was entirely too late.  It probably wasn’t the strange, monster bird she’d seen explode out of the woods – but what if it had friends?  What if the bird was running from something even more terrifying?  Choking on a whimper, the honey-touched child did the only thing she could thing of.  Into the ground she sunk, legs shaking and trembling as her joints began to buckle and quake.  Her belly touched the forest floor, eyes tightly clenched as she wished for the earth to swallow her up.  Knowing well this wouldn’t happen, Kyna folded her legs beneath her lanky frame and waited for her inevitable fate, for the unknown monster to come thundering out and open its big, gaping mouth.  There would be sharp teeth and terrible breath, and she’d never get to see her mother again, or apologize to her father for going to look for the missing woman.  Heart pounding so loud it was beginning to hurt her sternum, the girl began to mumble under her breath, trying to summon @Phineas with a wish to sweep her away at the very last second.

At the last second, the thunder of feet became a scuffle and slide, followed by a soft…groan?  Kyna’s ears pressed forward, startled by the lack of roar, and peeled her fiery eyes open slowly to find not a monster looming over her, but another puppy only inches away from her face.  For a moment, she could only stare, so certain that she was about to die the relief was almost paralyzing.   “Wr-ren?” she finally squeaked – but no, this boy wasn’t Wren.  As cold as the other cub’s eyes could be, they weren’t the actual color of ice, and this boy seemed to be a bit darker in color, too.

After a moment of staring owlishly at one another, the stranger covered his face with his thick paws, leaving the princess to exhale again.  The tension began to drain from her shoulders, limbs trembling slightly as she reached forward with her nose, touching it gingerly to the black wolf’s forearm.  “…you…okay?” she whispered forward a moment, ears out to the side as she tried to look the other boy over.   “Did it follow you?”

A great sigh of relief rushed from the pup when the other child confirmed that the demon bird had not, in fact, pursued him. They were safe (for the time being), and Kyna allowed herself and her companion a moment to collect themselves after such a distressing event. That he didn’t talk was no great strain on the girl – in fact, it was the silence that comforted her like an old friend. Settling down into it, she made no attempt to move from where she was. If she did, there was a greater chance of the monster finding them. Besides, the other cub here didn’t seem like a threat at all. If she had to guess, she reckoned Not Wren was just as disoriented by the entire ordeal as she was.

As the swarthy male pushed himself upright, the princess watched for several minutes before she did the same. Her forelimbs felt like wet noodles, still trembling slightly as the adrenaline continued to drain back into the earth. The question was only met with a puzzled expression, compounded more so by the hint of suspicion. She knew that tone well, it was one often used by Aponi before her mother had…left. Ears suddenly flattened out, the girl sinking visibly as her shoulders hunched. Even though the alpha had disappeared onto the horizon, she could still recall such a haughty voice, often laced with cynicism or unhappiness, as though the wolf stood right next to her. Despite everything, Kyna found herself glancing over her shoulder just to check, and sunk down further as she realized how dreadfully foolish she was being.

This other boy must think her an idiot. What did he say his name was? “N-Niles? You’re Niles?” she asked, peering at his face bashfully. Why was he hiding, she wondered? It did not occur to her that the only reason she had the courage to study his face at all was because he was not looking at her. When she met his older brother (and little did she know Niles was related to Greer, a terrifying shadow she found to be more agreeable than she’d ever imagined), she was hardly able to look up at all, watching the surroundings, her feet, the ground, anything but looking up. She even had a hard time meeting Phineas’ guarded expressions, plagued by worry of what she might read on another wolf’s face.

After a moment (or several moments), and a strong swallow, the blond tried to speak back up. “I’m…Kyna,” she decided slowly, never having a reason to lie about her name. She worked her jaw as she thought, wondering if she should explain her situation. The rules had gotten quite fuzzy with Aponi gone – her sire wasn’t nearly the authoritarian her mother had been, at least not in the honeyspun child’s experience. “I…I’m lost,” Kyna finally admitted, glancing around the forest. “I w-was looking…for my momma…and I fell. Now I’m…here.”

Wherever here actually was, she sighed to herself, deflating further. The girl was only inches off the ground she’d risen from moments ago. Twisting her head, she glanced back at Niles hopefully. “Willow Ridge? Is that here?”

“Oh. Okay.” Kyna glanced up and over her new companion further into the trees, her tail wagging slowly as she shifted her head. Trees. Greer had told her he lived in the trees – he didn’t say what kind, or what his home was called, but he’d motioned down the slope when they were discussing their respective homes that lovely day on the hillside. It had started completely terrifying, the little girl cowering in her castle on a cloud cloud. Crying at all is not allowed – there she found her bravery, and had made a friend out of the slender shadow, sharing his deep love for the quiet solitude the wilderness could offer a wolf. Curiosity struck her, and she tipped her head, fire meeting ice once more as she enquired, “These trees…does @Greer live here?”

She might have pressed the subject further, asking if Niles had known Greer, or if he was like the sturdy shadow, fond of soft words and quiet expression, if the other pup had not asked after her mother. Ears rotated backwards, her expression crumbling as the hope and joy that had been summoned by the thought of her friend gave way under the memory of her mother. “My momma left,” she whispered quietly, something warm and uncomfortable rising from her chest and up her neck. Her fur began to feel itchy as the blush prickled against her skin and she glanced downwards, shuffling awkwardly as she sniffed. Kyna often wondered what she had done to drive Aponi away – what she could have done to convince her mother to stay with her. Honestly, she didn’t even know if her dam was still alive, or if she was like Aesire, buried somewhere in the cold earth. At least @Wren could visit his mother, whatever comfort that was. It was almost a worse fate, that he did not know where his father had gone, and the same for the princess and her mother.

“My momma left. Said she had t-to…to…t-to look. For something. But she never camed back. So she left me with my poppa. But--”

The honeyspun princess bit her tongue, shaking her head as she trailed off. It occurred to her that the Willow boy had not asked for the entire story, and rarely did she enjoy the sound of her own voice. If he really wanted to know, he’d pursue the topic further – as it stood, she was simply looking without any clue of where the former alpha had actually gone, and how she was actually meant to get back up the mountainside. Sniffing, she glanced up at Niles as he made an offer, and she gave him a slow, careful look. After a moment, she shook her head. “Fell. Got lucky, I guess. Just got scared. No booboos,” she murmured quietly, glancing down at her feet to make sure. Undoubtedly, the young girl would have bruises under her golden pelt and sore muscles come the morning, but Kyna would not feel those effects until said muscles had begun to stiffen during the night. “You know any paths? Up the mountain?”