One more step.... Just one more step....

Those words repeated themselves throughout her mind, over and over again. She would keep searching, until she could search no more. He was out there, somewhere, and she had to find him. There was no alternative, she had to find him. He was her only link to her family, the ones that had been killed right in front of her, in front of everyone. That day had ruined her life, and the only way to make it right again was to find her brother. She would find him, even if it meant crossing this mountain that was directly in her path.

Her paws were rubbed raw and aching from the climb up the steep mountainside. Every rock that she stepped on made pain flare up in her paws; causing her to wince. But she would carry on. Her trek up the mountainside had taken her up halfway, and it was slightly more level. The white girl decided that she would rest here for a few hours before continuing on.

Hobbling over to a small hole carved into the mountainside, the white girl was about to lay down when something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. Turning her head, she cautiously made her way over to the object. Her paws stopped a few centimetres away from it, and a laugh escaped from her maw. It was an intact skeleton of a rabbit. It most likely had frozen to death, and the low temperature must have kept the bones together.

Lowering her head to the ground, the white girl poked at it very carefully with her creamy muzzle. She didn't want to ruin it, but at the same time, she wanted to see what would happen. As her muzzle nudged against the delicate bones, they shifted position and she paused, not wanting to damage it any further.

After looking at the skeleton for a few more moments, the white girl smiled before turning away and heading back over to the hole. As she lay down, a yawn escaped from her maw; causing her to open her jaws and curl the tip of her tongue. The trek up the mountainside had been hard and she was tired. Her paws hurt from the rocks and her leg muscles were screaming out for a rest. Hopefully getting some rest now would alleviate the pain. Placing her head on her front paws, the white girl closed her eyes, and attempted to drift off to sleep.

420 Words

I will always be seen, for
I am the light in the dark...

How long had she been here now? A few months? Long enough that she was really feeling she'd established her place as a hunter, but still could feel at times as if she'd only just arrived... she still remembered encountering @Naira on the ridges of the monutain's peaks as clearly as if it were yesterday. Unlike then Asta was more fulfilled and in many ways less lonely. But there were times... days, when she could not quite shake the absence she felt from her brother's loss. Thankfully, this was not one of those days.

A small smile graced the little wolf's muzzle as she kept a steady lope down the rocky slopes, occasionally sending mickle stones down the path ahead of her. Anyone who knew Asta would realize such behavior was perhaps a little unusual - she was usually so light on her feet, even here. But she didn't seem distracted... indeed, the woman was going about her daily duties; she'd made a pass at the borders, left her own scent (though Naira's and @Mapplethorpe's remained by far stronger than her meager leavings) then she'd passed them by. Now she was halfway down the mountain.

Asta hadn't come this far since she'd first joined the Nomads. It was partly for reminiscing that she did so now. As the path ahead of her flattened out and became a little less rocky, Asta decided to angle her course so she might stand atop the small rise. She was as gray along her back as the rocks behind her and, while she'd have nothing on some of the mountain cats, she'd be difficult enough to see if she sat totally still. Which she did when she reached the edge and found herself looking down a sheer drop. It was maybe ten or more of her lengths to the bottom: a dangerous fall for any wolf. But Asta didn't worry as her eyes lifted to the horizon and swept their way across the land below.

What is...? Is that...? Asta's head tilted as her yellow eyes caught something out of the ordinary: a mass of white among the gray and meager brush. A wolf! A hulking, white wolf! She suspected it wasn't @Crowe. She was sure she'd pick up on that lumbering giant if it were anyway and besides, why would he be trying to sleep out here when they had dens back home? No, this was a stranger. Too far and too high to pick out a scent properly, Asta perked her ears and barked, "Lo down there! Who goes?" Her tone was neutral, for she was beyond the Pass. But she was also aware that the stranger was halfway up the mountain. Asta would have to act as a guardian if they intended to proceed.