Her flight from the oaklands had been a spur-of-the-moment thing. Sure, Kratha had been considering it for a while now, but she wasn't the kind of girl with any real spine, and the thought of leaving the place where she felt she most belonged was painful. What hurt most was the thought of never seeing Tama again - but at the same time, as she realized it was Tama who kept her rooted, there was a modicum of fear behind the sentiment. Some part of the girl did not wish to fully accept the butterfly-feeling in her chest, or the warmth and comfort Tama's presence often presented. She withdrew; she grew nervous during gatherings, and avoided alone time with the leader as their confidence grew. And then, when it seemed as if the pack was well-off enough that Kratha could fade in to the woodwork (pun not intended), she slipped away from Gnarled Oaks, thinking that maybe Tama wouldn't notice. It was her fear that drove her away.

Her resistance to the simple fact she wished so hard was untrue: she was in love with her best friend.

   As a result of her abandonment, Kratha slept little. She traced a trail across familiar terrain for a while, until only strangeness met her paws. Paths she'd never crossed, scents she'd never smelled.. All the while, the girl thought of Tama. It was a bittersweet journey. The days melted together, and so too did the nights; Kratha did not know where she was going or for how long she would run, but run she did.

Away, away, away, until the land transformed before her eyes.

Much like the flight from Saurfang to the land of Gnarled Oaks, things were vastly different; beautiful, but so unlike anything that Kratha knew. The trees had thinned out, but not to the point of being a wasteland. Actually the more she saw and considered, there was more life here than anywhere she'd ever been before - vibrant, ever-changing, and everywhere.


Grasses sprung up in clusters of autumn golds and browns, some reds that were intense and interesting to the worn-out traveler; flowers she'd never seen before but found alluring. The land rolled on for eternity it seemed, but it wasn't dead. It wasn't made of dust and emptiness, bones and sun and terrible heat - and as Kratha investigated another cluster of plants, staccato-stepping over a shale deposit,
she decided that leaving had been a good choice.

Kratha could start over here. Make a name for herself - or change her name, be someone else, someone better. Thoughts of Tama loomed always, but in time they would fade. People often faded from her life; this time, she instigated the separation. This time, it was on her own terms - even if it hurt.
 

 

Kratha was investigating a particularly curious cluster of wild plants (they were ragweed, but she didn't know anything about anything, so it was beautiful and new and interesting) when a voice broke her concentration. She had found scents of other wolves before; she had even met a few rogues in her travel between Gnarled Oaks and.. wherever this was. So maybe these were good excuses as to why she hadn't noticed the boy? Her mind was always elsewhere - always wandering in reverse and then lurching to the present, trying to ignore the guilt in her heart.


Hunting? She parroted then, lifting her head and turning to watch the stranger as if he'd suggested something more ridiculous, like flying or space travel. Kratha was mid-step; she crunched her paw down across the ragweed (likely killing it) and decided that hunting was a very good idea. I could hunt - you needin' a partner? For a rogue she was surprisingly adaptable. The kid didn't seem too dangerous on first glance though, and she was in need of something to sustain her after the great distance she'd just put between herself and her inevitable future. Sure, why not!

   

 

 

Kratha nodded. Yeah obviously, you'n'me can both take down something ourselves, she played along with his rambling, finding it more endearing than strange. A lot like Tama actually - a realization that came and went so quickly you'd never notice the clench of her jaw. The dark girl continued to stride along, moving around her new hunting buddy as she investigated him as well as the surroundings; but then she stopped and looked off in to the distance - something had moved. Do you hear that?

She wasn't sure if there was anything at all, or if it had just been the wind. What sort of amazing luck could they have? Mention food, and suddenly there is food? Kratha sniffed the air and squinted in to the light, but couldn't tell if there was anything. Maybe something had heard them talking, or smelled them, and run off? Whatever. They'd find something if they just took a second to prowl.