Oh, how Cessair wished it were spring!  She shifted a little so she could lick the fur on her chest.  Cold temperatures had never been a great concern for her, since in full health her winter coat was thick and warm.  But starvation in autumn had prevented her winter coat from growing in properly this year, so even as she enjoyed the relative warmth of a ray of sunlight, she found herself wishing for the insulated warmth of the infirmary.  Cessair curled more tightly around herself and began tugging at the fur on her tail.

Spring also brought more food, which meant a healthier pack and a healthier Cessair.  Once she grows healthy enough, she could learn to hunt with her packmates and make some attempt to give back to the pack that has already given so much to her.  The process of learning worried her, though.  What would she do if she is not good at hunting?  Surely there are other roles for a pack wolf, but Cessair fretted that she lacked the skill to serve in any of them.  The only thing she was good at was traveling, and she doubted such a skill would be of any use to a pack.  She licked her rear paws.

A scent caught her attention.  A few moments passed before Cessair realized that it was an approaching packmate.  Her senses were still a little foggy even after several months of recovering from her starvation.  Would she ever heal completely?  The growing scent and approaching sounds were still bouncing through Cessair's mind as she tried to process them when a pair of golden eyes emerged from the nearest blackberry bush.  Cessiar hastily stood up, then remembered herself and allowed her posture to sag a little, tail low and wagging.  She was in a pack now and didn't dare to appear more authoritative than "lowest-of-the-low," despite the encouraging friendliness in her packmate's greeting.

"Hello!"  Her voice was soft and steady, but it faltered as she considered what she was supposed to say to make a good impression.  She wanted to explain herself -- who she was and why she carried the scent of a Black Thorn Downs wolf -- but in her hesitation she managed only to stammer out an introduction.  "My name is C-Cessair..."

Cessair allowed herself to relax a little.  Luz claimed not to care about her submissive display, and while she worried that Luz's statement was a test, the cinnamon wolf's affable words and manner seemed too genuine to disguise any such intention.  Even though Cessair was a stranger, Luz took care not to give her any reason to feel uncomfortable.  In asking how she came to Black Thorn Downs, the younger woman also gave Cessair the chance to explain herself, which would hopefully satisfy her self-consciousness and allow her to relax more.

But where to begin?  She became a member of Black Thorn Downs because its leaders had allowed her to stay on their land and eat their food as she recovered from starvation.  She was starving because she had been too committed to finding her lost brother to join a pack sooner.  Her brother was lost because he fell in a partially-frozen river trying to save her from the same fate when they were pups.  Luz asked to know how Cessair came to join Black Thorn Downs, not her whole life history.  Boring her acquaintance was no way to make friends.  Besides, her past no longer mattered.  It was time to leave behind old ways and forge a new identity as a pack wolf.

“I came by Black Thorn Downs because of the kindness of Mrs. Lagina.  I was starving and very nearly dead when she found me a little ways outside the pack territory last fall.  Lugh cared for me in the infirmary over the last few months and during that time the leaders allowed me to join the pack.”