Already it was April and still, the snow continued to fall. As much as she enjoyed winter, she yearned for the renewal that spring would bring to the land. All this snow was getting just a little ridiculous. Had she been a more superstitious type of wolf, then perhaps she would view the continued snow as a bad omen. But that was not the way she thought. Jynx was rational, going by hard facts of proof rather than far out assumptions. The weeks following her courtship with Emrys had indeed, as expected, sparked a slow but dramatic change in the russet huntress. Her mood swings became less predictable. One moment she would wish for nothing else than to be alone, and the next she'd yearn to be surrounded by the closeness of the pack. Pangs of hunger became more and more frequent, and she found herself craving a snack more than once a day. 

Today happened to be one of the days when she wished to be left alone, where she could be with her thoughts while going about her business. Which included tracking down a tasty, sizable morsel for lunch and possibly pinning down an ideal den site. Any onlooker or passerby would be able to tell from her scent alone, that new life was growing inside of her. Her normally tucked, slender stomach had begun to swell, but only ever so slightly. Russet ears pinned back briefly against her head while yellow eyes narrowed in a squint. The snow was still coming down, with no sign of relenting any time soon. Everywhere she looked, the land was covered in white. She had left the comfort of the Notch for the day, to put some distance between herself and her subordinates. As a wolf who knew her way around well, she knew where she was. She had passed through these very same blackberry fields before. 

What she didn't realize was that she had never traveled quite as far into the fields as she had now. The foliage had grown thicker, more dense. The blackberry bushes had yet to sprout any fruit, but the thorns they were known for were still plentiful. Her eyes lingered on the still bare, spindly little branches wistfully. A few mouthfuls of tart, ripe blackberries would certainly satisfy some of her cravings right about now. But she would have to settle for something else, more rich in protein. Moving on to pick her way through the expanse of the fields, now well into the old abandoned territory of Blackthorn Downs, she paused, a frown cutting her features. She hadn't seen this place before. She'd made a wrong turn somewhere, thanks to all that glaringly white snow. Chances of the place yielding a meal of any kind were looking slim too. Backpedaling, she made to turn back the way she came. That would be simple enough, she rationalized.