Naia was dying to see the new puppies. Kisla had yet to emerge from the whelping den, and so far Maksim alone had been allowed to meet Cut Rock River’s new generation. She understood; they were brand new parents and therefore were playing it safe. You couldn’t be too careful when it came to new pups—especially with such a small litter. Even so, Naia was far too anxious about it to sit still. She excused herself for a long walk, telling herself that perhaps she might find some dinner to bring back and share.

The seasoned scout trotted over Cut Rock River’s boundary without missing beat, directing her progress toward the outer edge of the cedar forest. With the marsh barely visible over her right shoulder, she walked until the cedar trees had diminished in favor of shorter, more melancholy looking willows. Naia halted her progress, taking in the scenery with curiosity. She had accidentally wandered into the willows once before, and her mistake led to an uncomfortable meeting with a Willow Ridge alpha. She wasn’t positive how far into the willows the Ridge wolves resided, but from her experience it was best to just keep to the cedars. Angier Lyall was not someone she was hoping to run into again.

A speeding figure burst from the underbrush before her, making an aggravated noise as it slowed to a halt. Out of the corner of her eye Naia saw the escaped rabbit dart away into the cedars behind her. She approached the strange wolf slowly, an empathetic smile on her face. ”I prefer squirrels,” she told him, her voice amicable. ”They’re slower, and you can always depend on them to run for the nearest tree.” She cocked her head at the stranger; a male but similar in stature to her, which was saying something. She rarely met anyone smaller than herself.

The stranger wagged his tail immediately, agreeing wholeheartedly with her comment. Naia’s face split into her trademark grin. It was refreshing to meet a wolf that didn’t immediately confront her with doubt and suspicion. ”You’re right,” she laughed, catching onto his infectious optimism. ”We wouldn’t want the rabbits to get complacent, I suppose.” He then apologized for not introducing himself, and Naia’s brow raised in surprise. Certainly the fault had been hers for neglecting to introduce herself in favor of chattering about squirrels. Lunas Axxya, she thought, memorizing the name. If he was Willow Ridge’s scout, she would definitely be seeing more of him.

”Naia Aegina, Scout and Second to Maksim Baranski of Cut Rock River. “ It was a long title to be sure, but she liked to introduce her leader along with herself. It was a constant reminder of her oath to the man, who she would serve with her life should she have to. His pups too, Naia reminded herself, heart fluttering at the thought of the roly-poly puppies that would soon emerge from the den. ”I must admit, I’m relieved Willow Ridge has a scout now. Dealing with Angier himself was.. intimidating, to say the least.” She watched her companion’s expression, wondering if he agreed with her about the leader. His nose was twitching, and with a short inhale Naia figured out why. A squirrel, speak of the devil! It smelled like it was in the willows, so Naia would leave it up to her new friend to invite her in, if he wanted to hunt with her.

There was a somewhat awkward pause in their conversation after she introduced herself, and Naia shifted uncomfortably. Had she said something wrong? Perhaps Lunas had history with Cut Rock River? Or maybe Angier had said something to him about her? Her imagination raced, and finally he spoke again to invite her to catch the squirrel with him. With a small smile she nodded in assent, still wondering what had caused the male so much confusion. She didn’t have to wonder long however; soon he offered that information as well.

”Oh,” she said simply, her honey eyes blinking rapidly in shock. She was quite taken aback. She had introduced herself to a great many wolves, but never had she thought they might use that information to their own gains. ”That’s odd,” she finally said, ”Did you catch her doing something.. unsavory? Or suspicious? I’m not sure why someone would impersonate me, but it is a little troubling.” The wolves of Hollowheart Keep resided in the northern eden, and they were the first suspects to jump to Naia’s mind. The enemy pack of Cut Rock River might have reason to cover up their activities, especially if they were skulking around close to the River border. There was at least one Keep wolf who knew her name. Quicksilver. ”White as a ghost, with eyes like yours?” Naia asked, her heart sinking slightly. She considered the snowy woman a friend, and she had even helped her out at the border recently. Last time Naia had seen her, she was less than coherent.. perhaps Quick was simply confused when Lunas met her.

He turned the subject back to the Willow Ridge leader, and Naia wagged her tail as well. She was eager to move from away from the troubling subject. There was nothing she could do now, aside from reporting it to Maksim. Even if her impersonator committed a crime in her name, she was highly trusted in Cut Rock River. Maksim would certainly give her the benefit of the doubt. ”Aye,” she agreed, letting his happiness wash over her and chase away her worries. Her nose began twitching, scenting for the squirrel she had been invited to catch. ”It’s not far,” she said, taking a step in the direction of the willows. She looked at her host expectantly, waiting for him to lead the way.

Naia blinked in surprise as Lunas simply glazed over the fact that another wolf had stolen from him. Him—a pack wolf! Naia would have been outraged. There were some things that were meant to be treated with respect, and the scent of a pack wolf was certainly one of them. No wonder Quick had given a false name. Had it been Naia she had stolen from, she would have reported the thief immediately. She would have considered it an affront on Cut Rock River –her pack scent being blatantly ignored-- and surely her superiors would have agreed. Protection from situations like that is one of the perks of being part of a pack; you always have someone to back you up. The fact that Lunas seemed to think nothing of the incident told Naia a lot about her new acquaintance, who seemed to be more passive than even she herself.

Still a little dazed by the realization, she trailed after Lunas, trying her best not to make a judgements about him, Quicksilver, or their packs. The affairs between Willow Ridge and Hollowheart Keep were hardly her business, and if Quick had stolen from someone.. well, surely she must have had a good reason? Like Lunas said, perhaps someone from the Keep was injured. Naia would rather believe that that face the reality that perhaps there was just a lot that she didn’t know about the wolf she considered her friend.

Her partner suggested they split, and Naia took that to mean that he wanted her to stick to the outskirts of the willows. She dropped to a crouch and moved silently around the perimeter of the forest, honing in on the squirrel’s scent. When she spotted the critter, she noticed that Lunas was also approaching from behind the tree that was nearest to the squirrel. A grin forming across her maw, the Timber woman burst from the underbrush, barking and charging her poor stunned prey. She didn’t intend on catching it; her plan was to chase it toward Lunas’s hidden position. Eyes wide with a very primal fear, the squirrel began dashing wildly for the tree—the very tree Lunas was hidden behind.

Naia gave a little yelp of happiness as her hunting partner’s jaws closed around the squirrel’s small body. Success! She closed the distance to Lunas in several ecstatic bounds. ”See! Straight for the nearest tree.” The other wolf didn’t acknowledge her right away, and Naia cocked her head in confusion. He was muttering something over the body of the squirrel.. how odd. Different packs had different practices though, and if Lunas was not from around here then that explained his odd behavior. Others were occasionally confused when she spoke to crows, she had to remind herself. In her birthpack, crows were thought to carry the spirits of the dead to the afterlife. She occasionally held a conversation with one of these birds, just in case her former alpha Shade was along for the ride.

He insisted that she eat first, and she nearly burst out giggling at his chivalry. It was a squirrel for goodness sake; it was a small snack at best for one of them. If she ate, there was no way there would be anything left for the other hunter. Instead of laughing though, she smiled at his kindness. ”No Lunas,” she began, shaking her head, ”Take it to Angier, for his mate and cubs. While you’re at it, please tell him that Maksim Baranski of Cut Rock River looks forward to meeting with him, and he will be along shortly.” She gave him a crooked grin, knowing herself the fire that would light inside him once he had a message to deliver. Carrying messages for the leader was a scout’s greatest duty, and the task always filled Naia with pride and a sense of worth.