Though she could not feel the cold, the bosky winter scene around her made her feel it. Everywhere she looked, there was snow. Thick flurries of it fell from the sky, caught upon the wind and swirling this way and that. A deep chill ran through her bones, though it was one she imagined as her fur was so thick the cold didn't touch her skin, it didn't make her feel any warmer on the inside. The sky above her was dark, but instinct told her it was day time. Though she was used to blizzards back home, it seemed that the land she found herself in was not. It was so quiet, eerily so, as if everyone were hiding from the snow. Perhaps it was her own imagination, or the sense of loneliness she found hanging over her since she woke up and found herself completely alone for the first time in her life. She had never been without her family, but so far she had managed to keep the sorrow at bay. She didn't have time to waste thinking about everything she had lost. She needed to find herself a good meal and shelter. It felt like days since she had last eaten, in actual fact it had been longer, but her timing was all off since she had been tranquilized and re-homed from the frozen lands of Canada.


A loud grumble from her stomach reminded her to press on. Even with her heightened sense of smell and her knowledge of survival in harsh winter conditions, she had yet to come across and scent of food. Not even leftovers were on the menu, with it being so cold any meat would be frozen solid and have such a faint scent she wouldn't notice it unless she strolled right up to it. Her only hope was to find a water source, break the ice and hope that the fish would be lurking in a dull, sleepy state underneath. It was a task she had practiced a few times but generally had left the fishing to her brother. "Oh, Brother. Si seulement vous étiez ici maintenant." she sighed sadly in her soft, French accent. Holding herself together, she pushed the memory aside of the large, fluffy idiot who made her giggle until she could no longer breathe; the last time she had seen him, she watched the life from his eyes vanish after a giant bird shot him down. Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, she locked the memory of his face away and pressed on, hoping that she would soon come across a water source where she might be so lucky as to find a small meal. Though with her current unlucky streak; she wasn't holding out much hope. Still, her father had taught her never to give up, no matter how tough things got (though no doubt he never imagined her to be in such a position) she had to stay strong and be positive. So she was and would remain so until all hope was lost.


Pressing on, deeper and deeper into what had once been in the summer, a beautiful orchid, the she-wolf went. The weather made no improvement, in fact the blizzard was turning into more of a storm. Though she had witnessed many of these freak storms, she had always done so from the safety of her family den. Watching as the world blew by. She had never been caught out in a storm such as this and was finding it more and more difficult to battle against the harsh wind. She had two choices; press on and hope she stumbled upon something to eat, or find shelter and go hungry for yet another day. Neither option appealed to her, and with a rare moment of weakness she let a whine escape from her lips and her eyes lowered to the ground. "Venez sur Raven, ressaisis-toi. Vous pouvez le faire. Vous savez que vous pouvez le faire." she said loudly so that she could hear her own voice over the howling winds. Locking up the door to her negativity once more, she raised her head proudly and pushed on; now was not the time to eat but a time to hide. She needed to find shelter and soon.

It had been several days now since Sagacity had left the pack with Gent in tow, and while it was not unusual for the scout to be out of the packlands for prolonged periods of time in the summer months, Mercy did not like it. She'd said she would be back in a few days, but it just seemed to be taking too long for her to return- and she hadn't called out, either. Though he was an aspiring hunter, Mercy had taken to the role of a guardian, stalking around the pack's border territories in hopes of catching a glimpse of his mother as she returned. It didn't seem possible for her to just disappear off into the snow and never return. It simply wasn't something that she would do- and she had Gent with her. If they fell into trouble, he was big and strong enough to defend her- right?


His patience was drawing thin and he found himself feeling agitated by the fact that she hadn't returned yet. His border patrols became larger and larger until he found himself wandering away from the pack during the day and returning only at night. He found little food and felt his strength beginning to seep away from him, even though he'd regained a bit of his health while living in the Keep after the move. He should have turned back when he saw the angry storm clouds gathering in the distance but he'd hardly noticed them. He wasn't practiced at skywatching yet, and assumed it'd mean just a bit more snow- not a freak snowstorm.

When it fell in large, fluffy flakes, and when the wind began to pick up it was only then that he became aware of how far he'd ranged. He was too far to make it back to the pack by night and would need to find somewhere to stay. He changed his course, but realized that he'd wandered with his head down, paying more attention to trying to track any scent he found rather than keeping track of where he'd been. He knew vaguely which direction the pack was in, but with the snow falling so heavily, he knew his tracks wouldn't be long to disappear.

He picked up a faster pace so that he could at least cover most of the distance in case the storm got worse, and possibly bunker down when he found a shelter in which to do so. His stomach ached with hunger and he lifted his head, mouth watering almost instinctively when he caught a scent- a wolf. He licked the saliva away from his lips, though, disappointed that it wasn't something that he could hunt down and eat. But she wasn't far away- in fact, a dirty-looking snow drift had risen from the ground within his vision and had begun to move. It was her.

Her pelt was off-white, more beige in some places so he taunted himself silently, having thought that she'd just been a dirty snow drift. But she was walking in the same direction as he, and he felt somewhat protective...Not of her, but of his homelands. What if she made her way toward the pack? This was obviously a different female than the one who'd tagged along with them on the journey from Nomad's Pass to Hollowheart Keep, but that didn't mean she wasn't just another loner who wanted a home because they needed one. They only took in the strong and even then, they were choosy.

He cast her a sidelong look as he caught up with her, and slowed his pace so that he could travel alongside her- in a parallel journey, albeit a good stretch away from her. {b}"Nice day,"/b] He called out, above the wind. His teeth were gritted against the cold but there was a trace of smile on his lips. Mercy was not nearly as stoic and unfriendly as his mother, and had not yet learned to distrust strangers.

The snow continued to fall, causing her eyes to squint and shield her vision as best she could. Though the cold did not reach her skin, she knew she needed to find shelter; if the storm got worse she could get snowed under. She'd heard about it from her father in one of his lectures about life. Unsuspecting wolves who didn't think they'd meet their end in such a manner. They'd wander out in a storm and be found months later frozen beneath the fluffy flakes, having been snowed under and simply unable to escape their frozen tomb. It was a fate she didn't much fancy and judging by the onslaught, the storm was not a kind one.

With her head lowered she didn't take in her surroundings, so when a male voice touched her ears she stopped short in shock. Since she had woken from her deep slumber, she had not found a trace of another wolf. Her family had left her behind, thinking she was dead after she would not rouse from sleep. When she finally came round, their scents had long vanished leaving her all alone in a strange world. Keeping a positive head meant she didn't allow herself the time to mourn their loss, or her lonely fate, but she could not help a smile forming upon her lips as her warm eyes found the silvery coat and cold eyes of the young boy. A pup meant a back must have been close by, perhaps the might help her find her family. Having been brought up in a social, friendly pack she had no reason to believe that any other pack might be hostile or dangerous. Like him, she had no reason not to be trusting.

Within moments he caught up with her, standing alongside her. She stopped her movement and allowed their gaze to meet and her smile to radiate. He had spoken not in her native tone. Though she knew his language, she was not the most fluent. She knew enough to get her by; the various packs which lived next door in her first home spoke the language they called English, so she had the basics. In response, she nodded and allowed her smile to grow; fortunately the sarcasm was not lost on her. "I've seen far worse." she said in her girlish voice, warm and airy. "My name is Raven." she then offered him, with a curt bow of her head as her traditions told her was right. "You?" she then enquired with a twitch of her ear.

Though he'd already done his best to dulcify his approach with a neutral spine and a small smile on his features, he found himself even more inclined to show a bit of his friendly nature when she turned to look at him. She was surprised, but seemed to relax when she saw him. Though he was large for a puppy, he was aware that he still had a youthfulness about him that he probably wouldn't completely lose until after he'd become a yearling- it frustrated him, knowing that time and biology would be against him, in addition to the fact that in not knowing the build of his parents, he'd have no idea of how big he could possibly get. So for now, he accepted the fact that he was unimtimidating by default- how terrifying could a pup be, afterall?

She smiled back and he sidled forward to catch up with her, noting the illustrious way her eyes lit up when she smiled. Though her fur was somewhat unkempt, she was very pretty. His ears perked when he heard her speak, returning his joke with a bit of fire of her own- but while she spoke the same language, there was something soft and gentle about her tones and the way she pronounced the words- an openness of her vowels and softness of her tone. Mercy was immediately impressed by how much this seemed to lend her poise and confidence. He wondered how bad these winters were she claimed to have seen that were worse than this one- she didn't look that old to Mercy, but perhaps she'd come from a different region where the weather was much worse. The surprise showed openly on his features for a moment, but it was soon thereafter replaced by a smile as he nodded. "I'm Mercy. Are you alone?" He asked, guessing that she was a lone wolf.