With the children now grown enough to feed themselves, Naira had no qualms leaving them at home with @Taima and @Datura to watch after them. She had been stuck at home for far too long and it was time to stretch her legs.

She wasn’t sure what had led her to the lake, it may have been the fleeting scent of her scout, or it may have been the urge to try and ambush a lone pack wolf by the water in an attempt to burn off some extra energy. Regardless, the sight and smells that met her were far from what she expected... and she could not keep the smile from her face as her head lifted high and her tail rose to match it. They had been foolish enough to leave a child unattended, and perhaps although the trail was clear they had been too lazy to pick it up? If she travelled to the Sacred Grove would she find another set of scrappy remains so like the ones she and @Mapplethorpe had encountered in the Red Fern Forest while searching for Datura?

The thought bothered her far less than it should have.

Running her flank alongside a familiar boulder with a smile, she lowered her chin to the lush summer grass and pushed forwards with her rear legs, allowing her front legs to fold back as the rest of her body fell joyously into the roll while she spread her scent about. Rolling over and over, she kicked her paws out behind her as she stood again, leaving deep gouges in the soft earth as clods and grass went flying out behind her. At a distance she thought she could see a familiar outline, and with reckless abandon she threw her head back to call out in victory. The mountain was finally alll hers. As it always should have been.