It felt like the more she continued on with her journey, the thicker the air seemed to get around her. Her lungs protested and rejected through violet fits of coughing followed by short periods of relief… and yet, she knew it was the air around her to blame, nothing more. The stench of the smoke around her was enough to know that it was something deeper afoot. She had not seen any flames, but she knew they had to exist somewhere in order for the smoke to travel in the thick cloud that it did.

The dark tawny woman almost missed the scent of the border, pausing at it as she sniffed lightly, finding the scent of wolf along it, a clear marking. She’d pull back, pausing for a moment as excitement lit her. People. Wolves that she could interact with! The thought of it was enough to make her tail wag, her maw raising as she called eagerly for them without a second thought. She had never been one to think these things through much. She simply did what she felt was best, when she felt it was best.

This was truly no exception to the way she lived her life. Why would it be?

She would rest back on her haunches, taking a sitting position as she panted lightly, her tongue lolling for a moment as the girl looked around. It was a nice place… that showed great promise as well.

Miriam let the silence linger though it did little to calm her excitement, waiting for someone to arrive to the borders so that she might be able to greet them and bombard them with exciting tales. It did not take long either, the small girl noted the way he remained a neutral distance, and the size of the man in general. He must be the alpha. It was the way in her home… the larger and the stronger were the ones in charge.

She would dip her head respectfully, just as she had been taught to do while dealing with anyone of importance, a sweet smile on her features as she began to give way to something of a ramble. “Oh! Other wolves this is most glorious a discovery!” There was no doubt to the excitement in her voice.

“Paradise Falls? As in Kumwamba?” Oh she would most certainly be delivered now, for she had found paradise. “My name is Miriam, and I am but a humble sheep seeking deliverance.” The words eager as her tail wagged with such vigor that it took her rump with it.

Kumbawa. He pronounced it funny which caused a lighthearted giggle to escape her, listening as he stated he did not know the first but the second instead. “It’s Paradise… the promised land for all the sheep.” She explained lightly, an endearing tone lingering in the air as he stated he might be able to help. Of course! The promised land could always help, of that the young girl was certain. Tawny tail continued to wag behind her as everything unfolded.

“I am seeking deliverance… not from anything, but from everything.” She stated vaguely as she blinked, a smile on her features as she explained more. “I’ve been told from when I was just a lil’ cub that I would find Kumbawa, that it would deliver me from things I had not even found yet… Kumbawa, Paradise Falls… it seems to me like you all are just that.” To draw such from just a name was perhaps naïve of her, but she did not falter in her disposition.

She would find Kumbawa… she would make it if that was what it took. She would take a land and make it promised… really, wasn’t that all paradise was? What one made of it?

He asked how she could be certain, and it caused the youth to pause for a second and consider what she could say in response. There was a solemn expression on her features as she contemplated it before she brightened once more. “Because sometimes you have to take a leap, and trust that you’re being guided right.” She had given everything she was to this faith and religion, to an extent her parents had not been able to understand.

And now, she did it once more, putting herself at the paws of an Alpha whose pack she interpreted to be her salvation. Her mother and father had never understood, but they did not need to. It was not their relationship with the ancestors, or with the angelic voices that would reign from the heavens and demand the best of every wolf. He confirmed that it was safe.

“Every challenge is a test… it tests patience, resolve, kindness, and compassion.” She would offer with a stout sense of belief when he countered with the fact that it may not be easy… it was hasty, and seemed hasty, but to the girl it was the only option. “I have always been gifted in the hunt, and storytelling to children and adults alike as well.”

Miriam would offer a soft hum as he spoke, a soft murmur but all the more present. Tested but not broken. That was the kind of flexibility and resolve she had been caught to look for, a gentle nature in her eyes as a smirk danced across her features though it was far from devious or malicious… it was one still of innocence… of a doe eyed girl.

He stated they were in need, and she saw a new opportunity unfold. She could be the redeemer… she could help protect the angels. There was a sense of pride that coursed through her, as if she had been given nothing less than a heavenly test of her own mettle to see her through.

“Who resides in Paradise?” She would ask as her head tilted, welcoming herself across the borders at his word. Who was already there, who had found salvation… who was she tasked with aiding and protecting as part of her larger mission? These were important questions in her mind.