The days were getting slightly longer, though, beginning a bit earlier in the morning and stretching on further into the late afternoon. She anticipated long days in which the sun broke over the horizon earlier than her bones begged her to rise, and stayed bright and warm later on until the stars had already begun to come out along the Eastern horizon, begging the sun to set completely. She longed for the days of heat and the buzzing sound of grasshoppers, and the glow of fireflies at night while the crickets sang. For the first night in the spring when the peepers chirped and the robins flew to and fro, forever in search of food for their young ones. She would even go so far as to happily tolerate the pesky dandelion seeds that got stuck in her fur, and the mud from spring as it clung to her coat so long as it meant a promise of food and warmth. This winter had gone on long enough, and she was ready for it to subside.

Having returned home during the eye of a fairly ferocious blizzard only to find that her son, too, had been stuck out in such miserable weather, Sagacity decided that for her own sake, as well as that of her only child, she would stick closer to the pack's borders until the fiercest phase of winter was over. Still, the vagrant found herself meandering along the border and eventually alongside a stream which was frozen too solid for her to break through until she came to the falls. They were frozen, not even dripping- a huge shield of ice protecting the side of the hill, but when she stopped and looked twice, she noticed a faint, dark hole to one side. She wasn't the curious sort, but hunger made her desperate and more willing to search even if she didn't smell anything. Perhaps something had crawled into that hole. Perhaps something had left a meal there- or had died there, leaving a meal for her. She drew closer to investigate.

Even with the mid-afternoon sunlight at her back it took her a moment to see past the hidden waterfall and into the grotto, but there was enough space on the narrow ledge for her to move easily between the tower of ice and the stone and into the cavern. It was large enough to fit an entire pack within, and the air was incredibly still and quiet. The waterfall itself seemed to glow a beautiful blue colour, simply from the light of the sky outside. There was obviously nothing within the grotto for her to eat- she couldn't even smell a trace of scent in there aside from her own, and guessed that very few bothered to look past the falls in the summer when they'd chance getting soaked or knocked down into the pool below. But for now, even though it did not provide her with a meal, Sagacity was content to poke around, impressed with her newest find.

Her name hung on the air and like it, she stayed still for a moment, frozen as a moment in time. She'd frozen in her tracks as soon as she'd heard the sound of paws against stone and ice but hadn't dared wheel around too quick- her flank was still injured and she couldn't risk falling again. Instead, she'd chosen to go still, save for one ear which flicked back, and her black nose which twitched from side to side. She would've moved, normally, had the voice belonged to a stranger or a friend- someone she couldn't anticipate, and thus would merit a speedier response. Had the voice and scent belonged to a pack mate- and these were veritably the only wolves in Relic Lore the woman dared called friends- she would've turned easily, but still with care for her footing. But that voice...Albeit a bit older, darker, and more resonant- she knew it.

For a moment, all she felt was spite; her last memories of him had been tainted by it. Her other ear tilted back toward him and she hadn't realized it, but the hairs at the nape of her neck had bristled slightly. But she told herself not to be so foolish- this was a friend. And he'd never known how much she resented him after they'd parted ways. This fact made her equal parts calm and sour- he wouldn't understand her ire and therefore would have been confused if she'd shown anger, but at the same time she hated the fact that he'd seemed so oblivious. But the past was past, and she turned around slowly to face him, doing her best to pivot on her good hip so that her flank injury would seem less severe.

"Sarge," She said, cracking a wry grin, though her lips and cheeks felt reluctant to do so, as though the muscles had become stiff in the cold. "I should've known you'd come looking for me some day." She teased, and had to restrain herself from sounding too sarcastic. And as soon as she laid eyes on him, saw those bright, sea-glass green eyes and how he'd grown from an adolescent into a man, she softened. Her spite ebbed away, sinking into a gentle pulse of pain in her chest. Her smile became more real and she relaxed her posture, moving toward him with her tail swinging gently from side to side. She lifted her head, ears tilted back, to bare her teeth and clip the fur of his cheek in a congenial gesture, one better suited between yearling friends. "Where the hell have you been, stranger?" She asked, as she sat down, hoping she was still able to let bygones be bygones...Once the memory and pain had faded, she'd forgotten about him, but everything was so real now, as though they'd only parted ways the day before.

It was strange how a meeting like this could transport you back in time. As soon as he touched her cheek, Sagacity remembered how much she had enjoyed the time they'd spent together- ruffians, loners, a team. She, Newol and Jackdaw. She'd been the eldest of the three- she was a year older than the boys- and remembered with a soft smile how she used to think of herself as being superior because of her age. Because she was an adult- when she was actually anything but that. They'd run, laughed, rough-housed, learned and experienced freedom together, and she recalled the exhilaration with ease when she looked at him. With a few added nicks and scratches here and there, he was still very much himself- albeit a bit taller and more mature looking than the yearling he'd been when she'd seen him last. That spark was still in his eyes, the overt friendliness that transported her back in time to a place when she'd been wilder, unbound.

And look at her now. She imagined that he still saw the old her- the way she really only saw him as the young man she remembered him to be...And she liked it that way. What would he think when she knew he had a child? Of course, like everyone else in her life, he would be told the same story- that Mercy had been adopted...But it made her a mother nonetheless. Sagacity had been one of the least maternal creatures in the world when she'd been young- and it surprised her now, feeling like she had a year ago, to think that that was what she was. A mother. But he didn't necessarily have to know.

He spoke, but was obviously distracted by her side, and the attention brought a daring look to her face. I used to fight you, once, She thought. Even if they'd only ever fought in play, she didn't want him taking pity on her now because she was older...But she knew it wasn't that. He was protective- he'd always been that way, even when they'd been young. It was how he'd earned her respect, and tamed a girl who might have otherwise become a firebrand.

She shifted slightly under his gaze to draw his attention away from her injury. She wasn't ashamed of it- nor did she think it would leave her with a limp. "Told you it'd be boring," She said in jest, though in truth she was impressed by the fact he'd gone the whole way across. She still thought it'd been unnecessary, and wished he hadn't taken it on as a challenge, but there was nothing to be done about that now. He offered his help, but she didn't want it. She couldn't open up or be vulnerable- she didn't want him to see that there was a soft side to her. "Can you make the winter end?" She asked, "I'm kind of sick of it." She said with a dry laugh. It was so much easier being sarcastic than honest.

The moment Newol laughed caught Sagacity by surprise- but she very quickly realized that it pleased her to see someone laugh so openly and freely. It seemed that most of the wolves of Hollowheart Keep were unsmiling and serious, and she felt a pang of regret for the wolf she'd once been, to see Newol so easily enjoying something she'd said. It caused her to smile and once more lose the sharp, anti-social edge she generally carried about herself. With him she felt young, in those moments where she was able to forget who she'd become. He made her grow into what might've been a very different wolf, had she stayed with him and gone through the desert- but she'd been unwilling to risk her life, as much as she wanted to go with him. She nodded empathetically when he admitted that the desert had been exhausting, and chuffed amusedly. "Told you so."

She blushed beneath her fur as soon as he mentioned Jackdaw- for at first, she thought he'd been asking how far she and Jacks had gone in their relationship and even for a moment she'd thought about telling him off for asking about her personal business. She quickly stopped herself and caught herself up in what he'd actually meant and rolled a shoulder, tilting her head to the side. "Not too long, really," She admitted. "You know Jacks. We didn't get along well without our mediator," She said. She hadn't cared for Jackdaw very much- in truth, she'd only ever wanted to travel with Newol, but Jackdaw had been a part of the deal until they'd split up. "I always thought you'd catch up with us," She said quietly. It had been the only reason she'd stayed with Jacks so long- because she'd figured that maybe Newol might bail on his desert trip and rejoin them again...But a point had come where she couldn't stay with Jacks any longer and had, in frustration, given up on her hopes of Newol.