The girl knew the ins and outs of Hearthwood like the back of her paw. Her reluctance to leave the territory in her younger months had proved useful—now that she was bigger, older, she could slip away unnoticed whenever she pleased. She often ventured south to the lake her father inhabited often, for she found the lapping water just as soothing as the older Stark. Today, however, she had patrolled the Kingswood until the sun began to fall beyond the skyline. The sky grew dark, the last remaining rays of light slipping through the dark canopy overhead.

As she meandered through the trees a scent had captured her attention. It was the newest addition to the back, a scarlet wolf with brilliantly blue eyes. She had caught a few glimpses of him but hadn’t been properly acquainted with him—mostly because the girl wasn’t fond of strangers. You’re new here, huh? The pale Stark asked as she approached the older male, her maw canted to the side. The moon was high in the sky now, watching them. She offered him a small smile but her eyes burned with youthful curiosity.

It’s that obvious? Well, duh. Most of the pack was family or wolves that had known each other for years. The scarlet wolf stuck out like a sore dew claw. She had noticed him spending a lot of time with the raven’s daughter, the wolf that had brought the newcomer to the Kingswood. The ebony cub spent most of her time on her own, or chasing after her mother, so a friend was good for her. Especially since Lavender couldn’t always pester her age-mate for adventures, as she had her own duties to tend to.

The girl followed his gaze to the dark sky above, a thoughtful expression adorning her pale features. Stars. Her head tipped to the side, a single brow arched into her forehead. Kinda? She answered as she returned her attention to the auburn male, her hindquarters slumping against the ground. Just wanted to go for a night walk. She shrugged, dismissing her own words. But the stars are nice, too. Sometimes she watched them, when she was alone, and the sky was perfectly dark. And sometimes, if she was lucky, she would accompany her father on a night patrol and get him to watch the stars too.

The newcomer to Hearthwood seemed a little more intrigued in the stars than Lavender was. So, naturally, the girl felt bad for brushing them off. He had gone off in search of solitude and she had ruined it with her big mouth and dismissive words. She blinked, her brows narrowed in concern as she allowed her chartreuse gaze to settle on his scarlet pelt once more. Oh well. Now that he was part of a pack privacy was hard to come by—near impossible within the Hearthwood borders. She still felt kind of bad, but it didn’t linger.

His questioned earned a surprised expression from the girl, her head flopping to the side. If y’want! She chirped in response, although she did not uncoil her legs from beneath her. Not yet. I don’t mind star watchin’ with you, if that’s what you wanna do, she added with another shrug as a small smile unfolded across her pale maw. He had gotten here first, after all. She did not mind walking on her own if he wanted to continue star gazing. Or staying with him until she grew tired of watching the tiny specks of light. (Which probably wouldn’t take long.)

The pale Stark responded to his comment with a bright grin, his plume wagging softly behind her. For a fleeting moment she had felt bad for interrupting him, but the scarlet wolf made a good point. As long as the walk didn’t take too long the stars would still be there when their paws grew tired. And, if they ended up walking longer than expected there would always be the following night, as the stars always remained. Walks, however, were always different. Even if she took the same route two nights in a row Lavender would see something different, as things would change during the day.

She sprang to her paws as Reid did, a wide grin settling across her pale maw. Which way are we heading? The girl hadn’t thought that far ahead. Usually she let her paws do the thinking for her. Her brows pinched together as she glanced around, her ears cupped forward. Hmmmmm, she started, her smile twisting into a concentrated frown as she stepped forward, this way! She tossed her body in a random direction, east by the looks of it, and motioned for the older male to follow her with a flick of her nose.