The Timber lady picked her way carefully down into the Pass, her delicate build working to her advantage on the icy slope of the gorge. As far as she had heard, there was only one way across the Great Pass, and that was over the Mountain to the north. Desperate times called for desperate measures though, and scouts from the packs to the West were widening their patrols daily as food grew scarcer. Traveling over the mountain would be suicide; if you weren’t lost in a snowdrift you would die of exposure on the mountain’s rocky face. There was a chance though—a small one, but a chance nonetheless—that Naia could find a new way, a safer way, across the Pass by exploring down in the gorge. As she neared the bottom, she couldn’t help but move faster, her eyes glued to the ground to kee from tripping. She was eager to have four paws on the level surface of the canyon floor.

Reaching the bottom of the gorge, Naia stared in awe of the sight laid out before her. It appeared that a river ran down the south side of the mountain creating a glorious waterfall (who knew?), which was nearly frozen solid thanks to this miserable winter. Naia noticed a faint trickle of fresh water still dribbling down the falls, and she approached the water source feeling lucky indeed. She would need the refreshment it offered if she expected to make it back up the cliffside—licking at the solid ice beneath her paws did little to quench her thirst.

The agouti lady stopped suddenly as she approached the frozen falls, taken aback at the realization that she wasn’t alone. She glanced around until her honey gaze landed on a young male.. a handsome young male at that.. who also seemed to be enjoying the breathtaking sight. It was strange to see another wolf this far down into the Pass, and Naia was more than a little curious as to what his business might be here. Not one to just stand around wondering, she cleared her throat to get his attention. ”Hello there!” She rose her voice slightly to make herself heard. ”Beautiful, isn’t it?” She gave the coffee-colored male her usual easy smile, made easier still by his devilish good looks.

The young male had a sort of dreamy look on his face as he turned to face her, but his features melted instantly into a warm smile that all but turned Naia’s knees to jelly. She became suddenly nervous as his emerald gaze trained on her, and she blinked in surprise at her own emotions. She was not a shy creature—far from it—and yet one look from this handsome stranger had her feeling overwhelmingly.. demure. She swallowed as he stepped toward her, noticing for the first time the scars running down his muzzle. Far from diminishing his appearance, the old wound made him all the more striking—more real in a way, and less like some mirage she dreamed up after traveling all this way without a sip of water.

He spoke then, in a voice that rang just as pleasant as his appearance. Is he… flirting.. with me? Naia’s eyes lit up at the compliment. It was a bold move on his part, especially considering they were strangers, and Naia suspected that the sly male knew exactly just how attractive he was. It was silly of her to swoon over a wolf she had not yet spoken to, and she shook her head slightly in a physical effort to rid herself of the desire that clouded her mind. It would take more than a smile to win her over!

The chocolate male spoke up again, this time to question her about the wolves to the north. Finally finding her voice, Naia answered, ”Yes.. the Wolves of the Pass. Or whatever they call themselves now that they’ve moved out of the Pass.” She wrinkled her nose at the mention of Hollowheart Keep (though she wasn’t aware of the official name), remembering her most recent encounter with a couple of the pack’s thieving scouts. Though she didn’t even know the stranger, she hoped he wasn’t considering joining that pack of scrawny, honorless bandits. She would simply have to convince him that there were better families out there—her family, for instance.

”I am a scout from Cut Rock River to the west…” she hesitated, adding somewhat lamely, ”Well.. I’m almost a scout at least.” Why had she been so quick to claim a title that wasn’t hers? If her first instinct was to impress him, even at the expense of the truth, she was going to have to try even harder to shake this silly crush. Changing the subject, she spoke again. ”Do you realize you’re standing next to the only fresh running water source for miles?” She sidled up beside him, passing just a little closer than necessary on her way to the bank of the falls. The agouti lady began to lap delicately at the puddle of soon-to-be-frozen water that was pooling below the falls. Pausing a moment, she turned to him with a smile. "I’m Naia, by the way. Naia Aegina.” She cocked her head curiously, waiting for him to deliver his own name.

The delicate lady didn’t dare chance a look back as she passed the stranger, but she flicked her tail in a flirty way as she walked by in case he was attempting a surreptitious sniff at her womanly scent. Her ears flicked backward as she drank, and his cocky reply elicited a stream of giggles from her, interrupting her drinking. The musical tones of her mirth were punctuated with a couple of shallow coughs as the water slid down into her lungs gasping with laughter. She couldn’t really say why his remark was so funny; just that it was, all the same. Though she giggled, his use of the word “friend,” was not lost on her, and she glowed with warmth at the intimacy that the title suggested. “Friend,” hmm? She could settle with that. For now.

She turned toward the chocolate male as he drew up beside her, abandoning the pool of water so she could instead watch him as he lapped up his fill. If wolves could blush, color would surely have risen in her cheeks as he brought up the little mistake with her title that she had made earlier. She looked away, though in truth she appreciated his attempt to make her feel better. In a moment her honey gaze flicked back to his dashing countenance, unable to stray from the sight for long. He was looking at her too, and his bright green eyes seemed to dance as he introduced himself. Newol.. Fate. Of course.. of course his name was Fate. Naia wanted to roll her eyes at the silly lovestruck girl inside her that was crying out, see, it is fate! It was a name, nothing more.. though it was a rather dramatic, dashing sort of name..

”You speak like a pack wolf, Newol.. but you don’t smell like one.” She sniffed at the aroma that clung to her companion’s pelt, curiosity at his scent being her excuse to draw in closer than might really have been necessary. ”Are you new to these lands?” she spoke again, her voice soft in his ear as her muzzle passed oh-so-close by his neck. She drew away then, trying her hardest to keep a small, teasing smile from playing across her features. She was laying it on a little thick, but why not have a little fun with the newcomer? ”I’m afraid to inform you that you’ve traded a sandy desert for an icy one.” She sighed wistfully, longing for the beauty that bathed these lands in the warm season.

Newol’s subtle correction in posture did not go unnoticed, and Naia simpered as she pulled away from the swarthy male. Perhaps he was showing off for her, but it was a display that Naia couldn’t help but appreciate all the same. Her somewhat coy attitude shifted into one of genuine interest as he spoke of his birthpack, the wandering misfits. This land must call out to misfits, Naia thought, remembering several loners she had met here with similar backgrounds. Heck, she had a similar background herself—her birthpack had been comprised of dissident pack runaways and individualists who all entertained the notion that they could create a functional pack without any sort of leader or traditional pack hierarchy. The result was a disorganized pack that was overpopulated and most of them scrawny wolves like Naia to boot. The Republic had seemed like a fine idea in theory, but many in Naia’s generation saw it for what it really was: total chaos.

He continued to speak, confiding in Naia that he had never been by himself so long before. ”Perhaps you won’t be alone much longer..” she mused, her intention being to sound optimistic and thoughtful as well as slightly suggestive. His comment about the company here being much better elicited a grin from Naia, who was more than willing to let herself be charmed by the alluring stranger. ”I would hope so,” she replied, ”..if the previous company left you with a mark like that.” Concern etched across her face, she leaned toward him once again, her nose nearly touching his as she inspected the scar across his muzzle. She let her comment hang, hoping it might prompt him to tell her the story of the scar’s origin. She wasn’t one to pry though, if for some reason he preferred not to discuss it.

Naia really did need more practice at being coy-- the moment her companion began his story, her coquettish expression vanished, replaced by one of pure fascination. The one thing she loved most was a good story, especially an action-packed tale where the hero triumphs. It reminded her of how she and her friend Silver, the scout from Pitch Pine Trail, used to pass the time. In those days Naia had hung onto her idol's every word, and Silver always seemed happy to indulge her adoring fan. She hadn't thought about Pitch Pine Trail in ages she realized, which surprised her considering how fresh the heartbreak felt at the beginning of winter. The heart rolls on.. Naia thought to herself, sometimes to unexpected places.. Newol's dazzling green gaze brought her back to the present, and he promised her that despite the scar he had come out on top. She laughed with delight-- of course he had won!-- it was his story after all, and the storyteller always won the fight.

”Tell me about it!” she pleaded, head cocked as she wagged her tail encouragingly. He couldn't just leave the story at that, it wouldn't do it justice. How she loved a good fight story! An idea struck her at that moment, and before Newol could reply she interjected,”No! Better yet, show me!” With that, she leaped to the side playfully. I'll be a coyote.. sneaking up.. trying to steal your rightful kill.” She crouched down as she spoke, taking a prowling step forward with every word. She met his gaze with a mischievous smile. ”What happened next?” she prompted, breaking character for a split second with another excited tail-wag.