With the impending arrival of Nina's puppies the Woodlands seemed to become overrun with waiting wolves. Coal was glad that everyone was so unified about the whole deal, and the loss of Hollow and rise of his close friend Miccah hadn't caused too much upheaval, but the crowded territory and constant activity could sometimes be suffocating. He wanted something new, something that would draw his attention away from all the issues going on back home, and that was why he now walked leisurely through the fields without much care at all.

Around the huge wolf the grass was beginning to regain some of its length it had lost over the winter, and was already attracting the browsers who liked to feast on the tender plants. Every now and then a spooked doe would leap from the grass, its belly round with unborn twins, but Coal ignored them. Alone a hunt was hopeless, even considering his great size, and the peaceful beasts had nothing to worry about from the traveling pack-wolf. Coal enjoyed seeing them run though, and paused each time so watch them flash their little white tails and bounce through the fields.

To amuse himself Coal took off after a young pregnant doe, baring his teeth and growling to announce his presence. The deer's eyes rolled back in fear as she ran for her life, and the Bielski chuckled as he slowed to a trot and then back to a lazy walk to let her flee. For a moment he regretted not bringing Aideen with him to make the afternoon perfect, but he was sure the red female would be busy working towards her role as medic. Coal smirked. She was so much more diligent than he, yet somehow it was Coal who held the second ranking position below Miccah. Aideen deserved the spot. No, she deserved better. She deserved everything.

The cracked and scabbed pads of her paws had carried her far, and even farther still they would until Spieden was sure they had put ample distance between herself and that wretched place. She didn't know if they had followed her. She imagined that she wasn't worth anyone's time for that, but would take no chances. Going west had not been an option for her, the bounds of the seemingly endless ocean holding her in. She had considered that within its depths there may have been an end, but it was likely an unpleasant one. Under cover of night she had finally eluded the border patrol, traveling east on little food nor sleep until she ended up here.

All appeared strange, alien and unfamiliar to her. Not only was this the farthest she'd ever been from home, but in years she had not set foot outside the bounds of Salmon River. It was almost overwhelming, so many new sights and sounds for her to pay heed to. Grass swayed at her ankles, her head ducked low amongst the blades, her amber eyes peeking just above their tips. Spieden was much too large to be slithering through the field like a lizard, but habit kept her submissively hunched.

A sudden rustling, then thumping of a noise that took too long for her to recognize as hoofbeats sent Spieden crashing towards the ground, her backside slumping low as her tail curled up under her belly. The whites of her eyes flashed as she snarled at whatever was making its way towards her. As soon as the doe had appeared, it was gone, zigging a quick turn around Spieden and dashing off into the brush. If Spieden had been thinking she might have reached out and snagged the deer as an easy meal. Slowly she stood up, barely reaching her full height as she continued on.

As soon as the tawny wolf came into view, Spieden stopped. Her fiery bright eyes glanced over his figure quickly, just long enough to get a good look at him before she fixed her gaze onto a point at his paws. His coat carried the scent of many wolves, and it was with a sliver of a relief that she recognized none of them.

This was the first wolf she had come across since leaving that wretched place, and she wasn't yet quite ready for navigating interactions with strangers. Spieden hardly waited for a response from the male, and with an irritated chuff Spieden whirled about. Her hefty dark form disappeared quickly into the brush much like the deer prior, leaving the tawny wolf alone to his thoughts.

{Exit}