Marianna Leigh felt weird.

Now, this wasn’t something that happened overnight – she didn’t wake up one morning and find herself inexplicably changed. But she’d been hungry the past week or so, hungrier than usual; that in itself was weird, for Gent (and the rest of his pack, by default), made sure that the youth was fed well enough. It certainly wasn’t like fending for herself. The lost weight had been replaced, and she’d been fine – so why had it reared its ugly head?

And now…this? She felt so warm; at first, she might have chalked it up to the weather. Winter seemed to be breaking a little early. The snow was melting, the sun seemed to shine more brightly, and winter seemed to be on its way out. She hadn’t started to blow coat yet, so of course she felt too hot. But that didn’t explain the tingly feeling that started in the tip of her tail and slowly worked its way over her body now, did it? At first, Ari had tried to itch it away, but that didn’t work. Neither did rolling in the snow. It was just…it was just weird, weird and uncomfortable, she had no other words for it, and slowly, very slowly, the young Leigh was starting to wonder if there was actually something wrong with her.

With an angry huff, she threw herself down in the snow pack and began to roll, for what felt like the seventeenth time that day alone.

If she’d known one of her (new) sisters was nearby, Ari might have trucked her rump a little further before starting the crazy antics. Maybe. Actually, probably not, she realized, standing only long enough to plant her front end back into the snow. Using her hind legs, she pushed herself along, smearing her face and fur against the cold. It did little to ease the fever heat burning her up from the inside out, and when she finally did pick up her head to greet Lucia, half of her fur was matted against her side by the damp snow. Her ears pricked forward, and she offered a small woof.

“Yo,” she greeted Gent’s daughter in return, momentarily distracted from the constant buzz of white noise the spring seemed to have brought to her mind. Apparently the alpha had changed his mind about how far pups were allowed to wander without an adult. She rolled her shoulder in a half-hearted shrug. “Dunno. Gotten all hot and itchy. Thought it was spring shed, maybe? But I don’t think I’m losing that much fur.” She paused, brows knitting together as she eyed the swarthy yearling. “…I don’t…look like I’m losin’ fur, right? I ain’t got bald spots.”

Fucking hell. What if she got bald spots?

The laughter, at least, did something to appease the ever present hum in the back of skull. Her ears pressed forward as she allowed herself a small chuckle, realizing she probably looked like a damn fool. Lucia wasn’t wrong, after all. If she kept trying to rub and she wasn’t shedding, she’d start ripping her coat out. Her tongue lolled out of her mouth with a small smile, and she gave her sister a short huff. Hey! That idea really wasn’t that bad at all.

“Let’s do it,” Ari decided enthusiastically, picking herself up and giving a good shake. The large yearling circled once, twice in the snow pack before deciding on a good spot to flop down. Her tail whipped back and forth as she peered up with steely grey eyes. It took a little longer to organize her long limbs, groaning softly as she adjusted her one bad ankle – but the cold felt good, even there. After a few moments, the female laid splayed across the snow, tail still wagging away as she gave Lucia a quick nod. “Alright. I’m ready.”

To be quite honest, the chill was already starting to feel quite nice against her belly and chest, cooling the never ending itch.