While Flair had had a good night’s rest, the climb was tiring enough in itself. She considered herself a fit wolf, but in her almost 5 years she had mostly travelled over flat ground; You have to do this every time you need to hunt...? She wondered again about this Fallen Tree pack, and Chan up ahead, who seemed to have returned to their lands so happily. She supposed the view might make up for it, to some extend – as they slowly scaled the slopes, the sun burned away the mornings fog to shine brightly down over the icy panorama, more and more of the surrounding forests becoming visible the higher they got. Until finally, they crested the ridge and dipped back downward, slipping into surprisingly dense pine forest.

Flair looked around curiously, sniffing in deeply to familiarize herself with this new landscape, while her eyes swept the ground with the same purpose. She’d expected the mountain top to be more similar to her family’s home in the north: freezing cold and mostly barren, but instead it reminded her more of the Woodlands, though the lack of proper underbrush made it a good deal easier to traverse; Thankfully...! Chan’s sudden howl made her muscles tense, unexpected as it was after they had walked so long in companionable silence. She couldn’t help but shiver slightly, for so long, hearing howling wolves had been a danger signal to her, a clear message to any loner to get the hell out of dodge. No matter the cheerfulness in the young male’s voice, those instincts were drilled in deep.

The fiery girl gave a strained smile at her guide’s explanation, waving her ears back and forth in nervousness; Four! As far as she was concerned it might as well be a whole pack. When she’d signed up for this mountain expedition there had been no mention of other parties, she had been hesitant enough about just the one. Still, it was far too late to back out now, all she could do was hope they were as laid back as Chan himself. At least his question was much easier to deal with; “Always,” She huffed, smile growing more genuine; “If you… all are okay with sharing.” It was the most polite way she could think of asking who the rest of these ‘us’ were, and whether or not Chan would get in trouble for helping her out.

Word count: 403

It wasn’t that she was scared of meeting his pack, not really, after all Chan had been extremely nice and she would assume any wolves he associated with were similar. But the thought of being surrounded by strangers did make her slightly claustrophobic – for years she’d only dealt with other wolves one on one, and she liked it that way! Still, she couldn’t be mad at the younger wolf for simply informing his clan that he had brought a guest home; At least he’s warning me…

She nodded at his comment about the cache, giving her tail an appreciative wag. Good-mannered or not, every wolf was protective of food and finding strangers digging into their stores would rub almost anyone the wrong way. However, she wasn’t entirely put at ease and as they walked on, she remained silent and vigilant. Chan’s second comment earned him only an acknowledging huff while her eyes continued to dart around the woods, looking for any trace of movement. She barely even registered the glimmers of water in the distance, only noting how the trees were thinning which, blissfully, gave her a better view of the immediate area.

Her ears twitched as she heard movement through the trees, head spinning to face the approacher. A moment later, a young voice called out to her guide, and then she spotted the black form, quickly making its way towards them. Flair stopped in place, carefully keeping her hackles flat and ears lifted, as polite as possible; yet she couldn’t keep from rising to her full height, tail hanging down stiffly behind her; These are his friends…! She reminded herself, taking a deep, calming breath as the new arrival came to join them.

And then, just as she had appeased herself with this addition, another boy arrived. Older this one, he carried himself with a lot more poise. Glancing briefly between the three, Flair determined this oldest to hold the most authority, although the dynamic seemed a lot looser than any packs she were familiar with; He did ay they were only four… So, not really a pack then; Just a family perhaps? This latest arrival, with his mismatched eyes, did look like he could be related to Chan. He greeted the other two briefly, on russet ear twitching at the unfamiliar name; Nash…? And then his attention turned to her, the question making her neck nape unexpectedly. The fiery woman had to fight herself to keep from snapping at him, wanting most of all to demand he introduced himself first. But this was their land, and it would be unfair to Chan if she didn’t at least try to be polite to his companions.

Swallowing hard, she met the unnerving, two-color gaze briefly and gave a brisk introduction: “I’m Flair.” More she couldn’t muster and quickly looked away, eyes drifting to the one member of the group who was at least not a total stranger, hoping to find comfort there.

Word count: 493

It would almost have been easier if she knew these strangers were unfriendly. Aggression, she knew how to deal with, but being all polite and cordial? She hadn’t done much of that in ages. Of course, she had met friendly wolves before, she’d been in several packs after all and none of them had had the habit of assaulting strangers, but still, she didn’t have a lot of great experiences with groups.

Obviously, the lake wolves sensed her unease, and both kept a respectful distance, which helped somewhat, as did Chan’s reassuring presence at her side – as fresh as their friendship was, she still felt more comfortable with him than without, at least as long as she was surrounded by strangers. Her ears faintly registered him explaining their meeting, but she had no presence to react. Her eyes just shifted slowly back and forth between the gathered wolves as they talked.

She was able to nod a single time in understanding, even offering a hint of a smile as Chan introduced his brother, then her attention turned to Aleister, as her initial impression was confirmed; Soon-to-be? So they weren’t a pack, yet. Still, the agouti man seemed to be taking his role seriously, welcoming her as a leader would. Flair swallowed, trying to wet her tongue and throat, both dry as a dessert. The manners her mother had so diligently attempted to drill into her were putting a firm pressure on her to answer the older wolf, and after swallowing twice more she managed a: “Thanks I… Appreciate it.” Then she looked down at her paws again, mentally growling at her own awkwardness; This isn’t difficult! They’re not monsters!

Finally, with another push of effort, she managed to look back up, nodding at both wolves in turn; “Nice to meet you… Both.” Then her gaze turned to Chan, and she tried not to look too desperate or sound overly pleading as she asked: “Could we… Go find that food now? I’m… feeling a little light-headed.” She offered a quick, apologetic smile to the other two, ears folded back against her head. She couldn’t help it. They might be near the very top of the world, but she felt like she was trapped in a den during an earthquake; I just wanna get out of here!

Word count: 385