Whoops—clumsy Starhale had stumbled into a thicket, but escaped to tell the tale. Seconds after her friend arrived came Starhale, colliding into the waters with as much gusto as he himself had. She exhaled a heavy sigh of relief after looking him over and detecting he was no worse for wear than before... just a little more tired, probably. Her, too. You were really brave back there. Sorry for being a little reckless, I just... wanted to repay you somehow, She was more of an act first, think later sort of she-wolf. It had gotten her this far...



The suns fractured light rebounded off of more than just water in her peripheral vision, and Starhale heeded it with an excited whip of her tail before looking left. Heaven! She crowed as she bounded her way out of the waters and into the pool of mud, ripe for the taking. No sooner had Starhale looked cleaner than she had in days did she dive into the next mudpond she found, losing her footing in seconds and landing face-first in the stuff.


She tore her face out of the muck, sputtering before laughing, looking back and remembering she had her new trusty companion with her. Pawing her face to rid herself of some of the grime (ineffective, thanks to muddy foreleg), the wriggling Starhale gestured to the many open areas around her. She had an idea of how to repay him, alright. Y'ever take a mudbath before, Hero? She inquired, tail beating against the earth.

She grinned at his deflection of her compliment, shooting him a look that said: it so isn't!—that, and his shared intelligence, meant the world to her. As she rest her jaw upon her legs for a moment, Starhale waited for him to answer her Most Important question—when, nearby, she spotted four other coyotes. Their aggressive posturing was not missed, and Starhale was on her feet again in moments.


Starhale was jeapordizing him every moment he loitered outside of his packlands. For the moment, they remained where they were.


That's a lot of 'yotes in one day—you weren't kidding, her gaze was for the bristling beasts alone, who surveyed the surroundings to see if there were more than just the two of them. I... I can't go back with you, Hero—I... I couldn't do that to your leaders, or you—wait out this coyote mess, then leave to find my family, that wasn't fair, not at all—not to him, or his leadership, or the packmates she knew she would come to love if she was given the chance. Her ears flattened atop her head. Four coyotes were more difficult to deceive than two, but in her head she was already calculating the way in which to do so.

Her eyes snapped to the defensive posture Hero adopted, and her stomach dropped as she interpreted swiftly that he wasn't leaving. The coyotes remained where they stood, as though protecting something nearby... perhaps this was where these rude mongrels lay their claim? Her gaze had fallen back to the bristling creatures, but then shifted as Hero came into the mudwater. His suggestion was met with a nod, and Starhale shifted to follow the very direction he had pointed toward, knowing he meant to keep to the river. As his nose brushed against her shoulder, she glanced to him, grinning at the dollop of mud that her shoulder had offered him, free of charge.


Sorry you couldn't enjoy a real, actual mudbath. But, hey, as we army-crawl through it, feel the wonders it works. It's not only fun to fling around, but it helps with aches and pains, and can keep you cool in the heat... she could go on and on. Despite the tension the day had brought about, she could not help but feel at ease around her new friend, even despite this plot twist of more coyotes... and now, she felt even more grateful and thankful for his lingering presence, too. She wasn't sure why he stuck around, as loyal to her in this moment as mud, once it was caked on her furs nice and compact; but Starhale was prepared to open up a can of whoopass on these coyotes if they thought it was wise to follow, even if it wasn't the wisest move of her to retaliate...



He would call his packmates? Well, in the case of his own safety, it made sense—but he could just go home, in that case, and she could just... zig-zag around and hope for the best. Pray they didn't follow her. He was prepared to do so much for a she-wolf who was ill-prepared to pledge her loyalty to those he ran with, for reasons she had candidly expressed. There was the piece of her that wanted to please and appease that compelled her to simply want to do just that, though that piece was also because she feared for his wellbeing.


In the face of adversity, she was a lost lamb. Starhale didn't know the right thing to do, or the right way to go... only that here and now, Hero was the best thing she had come across in months. In their short timeframe together, he had given her a reason to continue her journey, her reason for dispersal... and yet... he had also given her cause to want to stop. If only for a little while... How could she make it up to him? Where did she even start...? An idea came to her: It's gonna be my life mission to find the best mudpond this wilderness has to offer, so you can get the best mudbath ever, she determined with a wave of her plume, as they waded through her favorite channel of sludge (mud). He deserved that, and more—and she would sure come up with more.

If the coyotes could let her alone, and stopped dogging them both, Starhale would feel a bit better in continuing her journey. But now there was the matter of his own safety, too. He had pack he had stated could assist him, so there was that comfort... and she supposed that this would have to be enough for her. Starhale had to remember and remind herself she knew what she was getting into when she had decided to travel to find her family. Sure, these coyotes were a bit uncharacteristically aggressive, but these bumps in the road were the only ones she had come across in a journey that had otherwise been relatively smooth sailing (minus her hunger).


She thought of the carcass the coyotes had been guarding, and was disappointed all she had been able to grab was skin... but it was worth it. She knew that for a fact when she glanced at her friend as he peered over his shoulder.


As for what he said, she nodded. I think I might just be able to do them both at the same time. Scout it out, she explained thoughtfully. Yeah, being a scout, that would be cool. And, if she found her aunt, give her reasons to scout out Hero. She was trying to define 'more'. He had given her motivation and inspiration to continue forward (which she had more than enough of to start with, but there was something to be said about knowing you were almost there, really almost there, not just hazarding a guess about it, and the spirit it brought about in you). She found herself also not wanting to let him down, and she wasn't sure how the best way to go about that was. Well, at the very least, she seemed to not be doing that as she had to start with...


I guess that's where they're based, huh? They had been acting territorial... Do you think your pack will try and displace them, eventually? Spring had just passed, which meant cubs... which meant wolves were hardly in the business of going out of their territory toward others. It just made them more territorial of their own, as a matter of fact. Just as the coyotes seemed to be behaving, as she thought more on it...