She had ended up staying away all night, trying to hunt but continuously losing the trail until it got too dark, and she was too frustrated to continue.  At that point she had made it to the opposite shore of the lake, among the fallen trees where the Cove had first been born – and it was easier to sniff out the old den to sleep than make it all the way back; Always with the excuses…

This morning, she’d taken her time getting up and then chosen the long route, south along the bank, back towards Sanguine Cove, figuring she might catch something along the way to justify her absence. But in truth, she was in no rush to get back to the pack, still not sure how to deal with her conflicting feelings.

She’d only just rounded the southern curve of the lake, when the ground started to shake, her head jerking up as the rumble of the avalanche filled her ears. The fiery wolf rushed up the slope to see the last of the snow crash down into the woods below, a cloud of powder dancing above the treetops as the last echo slowly died out.

When the voice broke the ensuing silence, Flair jolted, spinning around to face the stranger. Her pale fur camouflaged her against the snow, although she could have been bright red and Flair probably still would have missed her, with all her attention drawn by the avalanche. Now, too startled to take time to think or consider backing off, she simply blurted out: “What happened, y’ fart or something?”

Manners had never been her strong suite, and her mouth had gotten her into plenty of scraps over the years – though it had been a while since the last time, maybe she’d gotten complacent. At least, the stranger didn’t seem all too pleased with her crass joke. The fire with which she snapped back actually surprised Flair, who was used to being the grouchy one, especially when it came to meeting new wolves.

An unexpected snort of laughter bubbled from the russet girl’s chest at the clapback, her head tilting to one side as she dipped her muzzle in recognition; Touche…! Honestly, it hadn’t seemed an unreasonable question, with how sound was often the trigger for these things, and the stranger had wondered aloud herself; Of course if it’s a sensitive topic…

Choosing the diplomatic approach, Flair followed her direction, looking down into the, now quiet, woods once again as she answered: “A big one! Guess y’re lucky y’ didn’t get flushed too.” She looked back up at the stranger, raising her brows, waiting to see if there was any chance of reconciliation, or the other woman was set on making it a fight.

She still couldn’t quite get a read on this Woya, body language and tone seeming to shift between irritable and carefully neutral, yet keeping up the conversation, mostly civilly. Not that Flair was particularly adept at reading others even at the best of time, and the smaller shewolf’s blunt way of speaking didn’t exactly offer much help.

Still there was something intriguing about the enigma, enough for the fiery woman to want to find out more. And her curiosity only deepened as their exchange went on. The attitude in her reply made Flair snort, a surprised smirk parting her lips; Suppose it’s not for everyone…! Though this was the first time she’d met someone on the mountain who didn’t complement the view.

The rest of the answer was the real surprise though, both flame-colored brows bouncing high at the revelation. “Y’re related t’ Al?” he hadn’t mentioned anything about having more family around the Lore; Though I haven’t really given him much chance lately… She pushed the thought aside, focusing on Woya and the present instead; “Just visitin’?” The only family of Aleister’s she knew of was his dead parents and the sister who had left the Cove without a word; Nothing about cousins… She wondered just how far the pale lady had come for this visit, and how she knew where to go.