Her stomach, loud and unruly, grumbled with annoyance for some kind of substance. It had been a month, much too long for any carnivore, since she'd eaten a proper meal and her body showed tell tale signs of being largely malnourished. Her fur lacked the luster it once held, seeming dull mostly around the points of her face and the prominent area of her hip joint, which were sharpening each days passed. Her ribs showed on occasion, especially when her lengthy limbs paused long enough for another to study her closely, but her narrow chest concealed her slender stomach well until one looked at her pointed hips, the bones showed easiest when she sat on her haunches by means of conserving her energy. This morning she laid curled beneath the snow she buried, relishing the heat that radiated from her undercarriage and preserved her from the harsh element of winter--the icing on the topping was her dense tail, which covered her wet nose perfectly.


She shifted when she heard the chirping of birds, a signal that morning had finally arrived and the temperatures were once again safe to roam around in. Shaking her pelt free of snow once she got on all fours, she gazed around Cut Rock River pack for signs of anyone, and finding none, made her way toward Lachesis's den. He was her only friend in the pack, not only because he was her savior and healer, but because he was the only wolf that tolerated her presence despite meeting some of the locals a day or so back. The fact still remained that she was foreign on these lands, and was possibly overstaying her welcome in the pack. Since food had become scarce she reverted to scavenging what she could find, and with so little energy, she traveled just shy of Cut Rock's borders before she rested, deciding to go searching for food another day when her energy was restored. Glancing to the skies, in which light flakes of snow littered her face, she puckered her lips into a circle to howl, it was a desperate plea for the heavens to bring her anything to kill the pangs of hunger in her stomach.

Her song ended abruptly, teeth clicking together softly as she braced herself against a strong gust of wind; with it came a swirling mass of snow that stopped almost as quickly as it came. She shuddered, feeling for the first time how bitterly cold the weather was despite her winter coat, she couldn't recall temperatures ever being as low as it was this winter. Her intuition told her that something was different this year. Though she could not read the heavens, she could sense that food had become extremely scarce lately, even for those who were scavengers without a pack. Even while living in Cut Rock River pack lands, a security blanket for any loner, her endless search for food left her feeling slighted for she constantly came across savaged remains from another carnivore or frozen meat beneath layers of snow. What ever live prey that remained were so few and far between that she feared she would never get back to a healthy weight to survive this winter, her only hope was that someone, or something, would answer her prayers for sustenance.


She was so deep in her thoughts that the approach of company hadn't reached her ears until he was upon her, looking her over beyond the borders, and he too looked hungry for food. She lingered a moment, letting his words come to her, mulling them over, before speaking finally to the dark stranger. "Yes, unfortunately I think we all are." she sighed, pushing herself from her haunches and to her full height, "this is Cut Rock River land, it will be wise if you stay beyond the border, we don't want any trouble..." the words sounded foreign coming from her own mouth but her position lied with Cut Rock River. Her statement to the stranger were words of advice but served as a warning if he found himself brave enough to come any further, "where are you from?" she wondered, guessing he was without a home but she was never one to jump to conclusions. If this male had no home she was sure that he could seek refuge with the River wolves, but her decision didn't matter, in the end it was the leaders who accepted loners, and at the moment, she was awaiting her own judgement.

She caught sight of Lalani the same instant Jessup gave a response to her questions. Distracted between both wolves, having been off guard to another wolf's approach, she heard only half of what the dark male had spoke cocking her head when his statement trailed off into silence. It was rare for Bastet to feel so off put by an encounter but she instantly warmed up to the woman's presence when she mimicked her question to Jessup--surely, she was apart of Cut Rock River. The scent she carried had that of some members she had met previously but they were faint, as if the woman barely interacted with her pack members and Bastet found herself wondering why but left the question to disappear with her thoughts. She was sure that with time she would hear this woman's story.


She waited with patience for the lone wolf (how ironic) to answer both herself and Lalani's question, only settling onto her haunches once more when she felt her head grow weak. He answered with slight hesitation, nervousness evident in his voice but she dismissed these cues to digest his response to their questions, he said he was from the mountain pass. Such a pity being that winter was most cruel high up. "Ah, what brings you so far out? Is your home in danger?" she wondered, sensing once more the lack of pack on his pelt. Surely he had been separated from his pack. She could sympathize with this male considering how horrendous her own case was, suppose Lalani could be the passage he needed into Cut Rock River?


Absentmindedly she sensed the smell of rabbit in the wind, her stomach grumbling with anticipation of a meal. Could food really be that close by? Shifting her gaze toward the horizon she searched for the source of wafting scent, knowing full well she would need to track it to find it first hand.