Gone Tomorrow

Leaning backwards, Corinna shoved her hindquarters into the air. Her front half lowered into a bow and with more than a little satisfaction the leader stretched her back. Slowly she rose up, kicking out her hind legs to stretch them as well. The tension from her muscles fully released, she stood up and surveyed the forest around her. The sun was hidden overhead by dark, murky clouds that were dropping light rain drops onto her face. The semidarkness was more comforting than not, and it had the added benefit of keeping most creatures confined to their dens.

Most, but not all, apparently. Gray ears perking on top of her head, she tilted her head upwards at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. A generic message, calling for a pack member - presumably a lone wolf. Perhaps they were hoping that a quick acceptance would earn them a dry place to rest their heads tonight. Grunting, the leader rolled her shoulders and set off in the direction of the howl. They would be sorely mistaken if they thought that was the case.

Corinna was thankful for the rain; it kept her cool while she ran. Weaving in and out between trees, no mind was spared to the soggy ground. This was her home, and she ran as surefooted as a goat despite the mud. It splattered against her stomach and lower chest, and her normally creme colored paws were stained dark with mud, but Corinna hardly cared about appearances. She was in no mood to deal with any eager loners, and was fully prepared to turn them away with little discussion.

And so she did. Slowing to a walk as the borders neared, Corinna pulled herself up - tail arching over her back and her neck straightening to lift her head up. Green eyes narrowed, she found the silhouette of the stranger among the shadows and made a beeline for it. Stopping on her side of the invisible line, she called out, "What do you want?" Blunt and to the point; exactly how this meeting was going to go.

Gone Tomorrow

Staring down the stranger with cold, hard eyes, Corinna remained silently. This one was too well fed to have been on her own for long, and the overwhelming aroma of multiple scents indicated to the Oak Tree Bend leader that she was not dealing with a lone wolf, but of a pack. The realization caused her eyes to narrow further in suspicion - what did another pack wolf want with them? Before the answer could be given, though, a familiar scent caught the leader's attention. Turning her head to the side, she watched as Kisla came forward, and her eyes softened in familiarity. Her daughter took up position beside her, and together the mother-daughter pair stared down the intruder.

It was a different day, indeed, when Corinna felt the need to leave her borders behind and venture off into the woods. She had rarely done it in their new home, and the only times she had left Swift River she had done so with a heavy heart. Despite having made Relic Lore her home for over three years, she knew relatively very little about who else resided there. Her concerns stopped at her borders, more or less - or at least, it stopped with those that she cared about. So when the she-wolf, Narime, introduced herself, Corinna's expression remained blank. She had no idea who this wolf was, or who her pack was.

"Corinna Donata, my daughter, Kisla, and my borders you've found instead of your friends," cold, swift, to the point the Oak Tree Bend leader didn't miss a moment. The emphasis on the last word was apparent, and hopefully made clear to the stranger that she had come inquiring to the wrong place - some friends she had, if she had no idea where they were located. "To the north is Magnolia Glen, led by my sister Borlla and her mate Phineas. Their's is the only other pack in the region that I know of." The leader fell silent and looked at Kisla, indicating with a dip of her muzzle to add any additional information, if she had it.

Gone Tomorrow

Corinna had been naive once, and in certain respects, still was. But her life had been hard, and her patience had been worn down to virtually nothing; she cared naught for the inquiries or curiosity of others. The fact that here before her was a pack leader who had left behind a pack and a family was enough to make Corinna's lips curl upwards in displeasure. Indru had done the same - claimed he needed to scout out and leave his pack behind because that was his duty. There was little excuse for it, and a search for friends was not a good enough reason to travel so far from home and duty. Not to her.

But the pack leader said nothing, instead turning her head to the side to listen to Kisla speak. Apparently they were not the only ones who had decided to leave the Western part of Relic Lore and seek out new beginnings. Grizzly Hollow were the last of Kisla's words, and despite the new information such as the pack's new leader and name, it was these two words that grabbed Corinna's attention and would not let go. Grizzly Hollow. Jayseyek. Borden. Aiyana. Her heart tightened, and her posture visibly stiffened. But she said nothing, interrupted from her thoughts by Narime. Her scowl returned, and the leader didn't say anything, but merely watched as the Whisper Caverns leader retreated back into the woods and eventually out of sight.

Only when Narime had gone did Corinna turn to look at Kisla again, her scowl replaced by a sad confused look. "These Grizzly Hollow wolves...or Darkwater Rapids wolves, did they mention Aiyana? She went with Borden...he led Grizzly Hollow for years with his mate." Even as she asked, she had to mentally force herself to ignore the hope swelling in her chest. Surely if Kisla knew anything about her younger sister, she would have told her mother immediately. But if Corinna's youngest daughter was here, the pack leader wanted to know.

Gone Tomorrow

The stranger had slunk away from sight, leaving the mother and daughter pair well enough alone to discuss the matters of the heart. Kisla's mere mention of Grizzly Hollow had spiked a yearning in Corinna's soul. It had been several months since she had last seen her dark furred @Aiyana. Once she had left them to travel with the Grizzly Hollow patriarch, Aiyana had well and truly disappeared from their lives, no longer even gracing her family with the comfort of her lurking shadow.

But Kisla's answer depleted what little hope had been stirred. The Tainn girl had not thought to ask, and even if she had, it appeared that the wolf Kisla had spoken to was not a good source of information anyway. Gray ears flattening against her head, the Oak Tree Bend leader merely nodded her head in acknowledgement. Pressing her forehead against her daughter's cheek, Corinna merely sought comfort for a moment, but also to reassure Kisla that she had done nothing wrong. "That's alright. Borden and Jayse were good, genuine souls. I'm sure Aiyana is doing just fine with them, wherever they decided to go," she said, pulling back as Kisla stepped away.

Her daughter glanced along the borders and the leader followed her gaze. "Let's go," she encouraged, brushing by Kisla as she stepped up to the imaginary line and began to walk along it. "You can tell me what you did learn. Your old mother is out of the loop, it seems," grinning, Corinna led the pair off along the border, to talk and to defend.