The more Leotie ventured around the area which surrounded their packs lands she found so a lot more to explore. The more she explored the more she found she liked it and part of her was angry with herself for not doing more when she lived in the bend. Still she had realized that she had to put that part of her life behind her and move on with the life she now had. Part of her explorations also included looking out for anything that might eventually cause problems for the pack outside their borders. Things she felt they should keep an eye on to make sure they remained safe in their new home.

It was midmorning before she had the chance to take in some exploring and see more of the area in which she now called home. Triell had told her that she would like it there and so far he had not been wrong. It was perhaps his words that helped her to get past her fear more and more as she wanted to see all of The Wildwood and Sacred Grove. Her travels that day hadn't led her far from pack lands but it was a place she'd never been before. Coming upon it Leotie could see the area was clearly overgrown but at closer inspection she could see faint signs that it used to be a clearing. It reminded her of where the pack meetings had been held in the bend and as she moved further in she caught sight of what looked like a den. Reaching out with her nose she looked for any scents that there might be someone there. It was clear that any signs that another wolf or pack were long gone so she went to inspect the den.

With her curiosity satisfied about the den she moved away to check out more of the area and become more familiar with the area. Coming down one of the overgrown paths her right paw slipped on a rock. A loud yelp sounded from her followed by a whine as she fell to the ground. Her paw was throbbing and when she moved her head to see what damage had been done she saw the red trickle of blood, another whine left her. This wasn't good.

What had been a good day of exploring new parts of the forest around their lands had gone bad very quickly. Leotie wasn't even that sure how it had happened she'd been injured so quickly. The agouti woman hadn't even seen the rock that has put a sizable gash in her paw. Upon closer inspection once she'd gotten past the fact she was bleeding Leotie could see the gash only went into her paw pad just a little. After falling she wasn't sure what to do since this was the first time she'd ever been hurt like this. All she could think about past the pain was how would an injury like this effect the pack.

The beta started to panic a little at that thought worried she wouldn't be able to hunt or patrol the borders with her injury. She wasn't so lost in thought though that she didn't hear the sound of footfalls nearing, 'Had someone heard her cry?’ At first when she saw the dark pelt she thought it might be Triell but the scent that came from the wolf was most certainly female. Leotie wasn't sure if she should be happy about that or not but the look the wolf held was not one of threat. The agouti woman relaxed and waited for her to come closer.

The question, ‘Could she move it?’ “I don't know,” she admitted as she tried lifting her leg and trying to move it. It wasn’t going well, “Perhaps I should try walking on it a little?” She wasn't sure if this female was a healer but Leotie was becoming increasingly worried she might have injured it worse. “The pain seems to only be in my paw,” she informed as she tried rising to her feet but it didn't go well at first as she couldn't get her hind leg under her.

When the dark pelted woman appeared Leotie was relieved, though she wasn't one of her pack mates the woman seemed willing to help. The agouti woman was also glad that she wasn't too far from home knowing it would be difficult to make it there with the pain in her foot. “Stupid mistake,” she mumbled under her breath. It was the middle of winter and here she was getting herself hurt. She hoped Triell wouldn't be too angry with her but mostly she hoped she would only need a couple days rest. The pack couldn't afford for her to be injured for longer than that.

Her first attempt to get to her feet was a complete failure as she feel back to the ground causing a wave of pain to course through her hind limb. It caused her to worry that the gash on her foot and pad was actually more serious.

“That's comforting,” she said in response to the woman's comment, “I can't afford to have a broken leg.” For her next attempt to get to her feet the woman offered to help, “Thank you, I'm glad you showed up when you did. I wasn't sure how I was going to get home.” So when she lowered her body Leotie did as she was told. Leaning against the woman's side she used her front feet to push herself up. Then she tried to get her uninjured leg underneath her but had to put a little weight on her bad foot. This caused another wave of pain to go through her but it was worth it if she could get up to get home.

The agouti woman truly didn't know where she would be if the dark furred woman hadn't come along. She thought that if she didn't return that evening one of her packmates would come to find her. The question was what would happen to her in the meantime? What if it would be longer than the evening before they became worried about her? She didn't know what the standard amount of time was not to mention this wouldn't be the first time she had disappeared. As far as those who she'd come from Oak Tree Bend were concerned.

The second time with the woman's help Leotie's attempt to get to her feet was painful yet successful. “I hope that wouldn't be the case but most certainly a possibility and one that is a rather scary thought in my current position.” The idea of something happening like what the woman described hadn't occurred to her until she was laying in the snow injured. “It's nice to meet you Lyris, I'm Leotie.” As Lyris started to walk so did the beta doing what she could to not put her foot down. Her concentration about how she was going to manage to walk without putting too much weight on her foot was interrupted but Lyris’ question. “It's up that way,” she said indicating the path she'd come from. ”There's an abandon den and a path just past that, my paw prints should still be there. We can follow those to the border.” Leotie had noticed on her way to the abandon den that she seemed to have been the only one in the area since the last snow. “My pack isn't too far from here. Your help is greatly appreciated but I hope I'm not keeping you from anything?”

Leotie was a little nervous about arriving at the border with an injured foot but she felt her alphas would be understandable. She also felt they would be appreciative of Lyris’ help in getting her home.

Once she was up and moving with Lyris’ help Leotie was a little less worried about getting home. She had given the darker woman instructions on how to get to the borders of Charred Ash Draw. It would be slow going but the beta felt they would be there a lot sooner than she would have been on her own. Her worry about how this might affect the pack however increased.

“That's good news,” she stated when Lyris explained how the cold and snow would help with the blood loss and swelling. “It should be okay then until I can get home and get off it.” She was worried about the blood loss as there was some on the snow where she had fallen. Having had no healing training of her own she was glad to have been found by someone who seemed knowledgeable.

When Lyris spoke again Leotie had been concentrating on each step to make sure she didn't fall or further injure herself. Though she had help she still wanted to be cautious, the last thing she needed was another injury. However, her attention was brought to the rabbit tracks her companion was speaking of. “That is too bad, probably would have been a fun chase too especially with the two of us.” Rabbits always were good for a chase and some days a good chase was welcome. The agouti woman nodded, “I'm sure they will and I certainly plan to take a few days to just that.” The pain right now was too much to accomplish her duties but she hoped in a few days it would diminish enough she could resume them.

The beta could smell the familiar scents of her home and even those of the individual members as they had placed their mark in the land. A smile crossed her face, she would be home soon though she was worried about wasting the woman's time. It was winter after all and there was plenty of hunting she probably wanted to be doing. She nodded at the woman's words, “You certainly have helped and I will be sure to tell my alphas how much. Perhaps someday I can return the favor to you.”