After her "chat" with Hexamora, there was no desire to linger by the lakeside pack any longer. Home was an obsolete idea and the prospect of a meal had been eliminated with her first failed attempt. It was time to move on. She couldn't stay to wait for Desideria... assuming the woman would even try to find her. Clearly things had changed for her and Noble wasn't sure how things stood between them now. It wasn't a very heavy heart that she carried along the mountain range. Certainly Desideria would understand why she'd left, after all, hadn't the woman been the one to teach her?

She skirted the lake, staying just close enough to glance down and catch glimpses. It was easy traveling. There were no other wolf scents to avoid and it was cool under the shade of the hardy evergreens. Clear streams ran down from the peaks above, headed for the wide lake below. Noble stopped frequently to quench her thirst and to wash the scent from her pelt. She had no way of knowing how close the next pack would be and she wanted to be ready. Eventually the lake began to fade from view and Noble put a dark nose to the ground as her pelt tried in the warmth of the pine forest. Unlike over the winter, there was no desperation to her quest now. This was not her family that she searched for (a hope since given up on). Her pace fell to an easy lope, unaware she was being followed.

The slow, singular hush of her feet over a thick bed of evergreen needles and twigs. The quiet scratching of small birds as they removed the seeds from a million pine cones. A warm breeze stirred the points of her ears and a dark muzzle dropped to sniff at the ground. Only the humid musk of the forest met her nostrils, the neighboring pack was several miles away yet. Noble told herself over and over again it was peaceful here, not lonely. It was best not to dwell on what she didn't have (for it was such a long list), but it did make for a boring journey.

"Wait!"

The dark yearling spun like a top, toes digging into the ground as she rotated sharply. It wasn't the direction she expected company from, but that was irrelevant now. Ears flattened and tail lifted out the way before she realized it was Desideria. Her eyes flicked to the left, then right of the woman, before settling on the lone Cove wolf. The pose changed little beyond a slight lifting of her ears, Noble was still not sure this was a conversation she wanted to be having. Finally her eyes narrowed, lifting hesitantly from the offering. "I been chased before and I been hungry before." And then she stopped poignantly, letting the Barreda woman fill in the blank for herself.

Noble was just like any other teenager; she didn't like being told what she was or wasn't supposed to do. Black ears folded flat as Desideria critiqued her, glaring back obstinately. Of course she knew that! The tawny woman's instructions might have been brief, but Noble had managed to deduce that for herself, thank you very much!

She stared to inch forward, letting the admonishments fall on bony shoulders till the very end. Noble didn't understand how alpha's were. Her own mother and father had been alpha of the only pack she'd been a member of, and as a young pup at that. Her head flung up and mouth opened involuntarily. "Hows' I supposed to know that?!"

"If it mattered, you shoulda said so!" Tail flicking in agitation like a cat's, Noble stalked forward and sank her teeth into the fish to draw them back. She watched Desideria while she ate, ears flicking with obvious interest. It was true; Noble had been hungry, and clearly she did need a little help in adjusting to her new profession. Grudgingly, she accepted the apology. The girl drew a dark paw along her muzzle to clear the stray scales and stepped closer to Desideria, tail swirling appeasingly. "You know where the nearest pack is, then?" She turned to look at the horizon, squinting at the expanse of evergreen forest and the ominous slope of the mountain. Noble thought for a moment, head cocking, then looked sidelong at her partner-in-crime. "How's it work if two wolves work together to steal something?"

She looked southward, a pink tongue cleaning the last trace of fish away. The fishy meal hadn't made much of a difference. It was simply a taste of what she was missing and her stomach twisted, still hollow and empty. The news was received impartially, there wasn't any past experiences to cloud the yearlings impression of this forthcoming pack. Noble glanced away from her matter-of-fact perusal of the southern forest to see Desideria's discomfort. The last bit of anger towards her fellow thief faded away. Had they been mean to her?

Noble didn't like that image. The tall girl took a step forward, ears sweeping back in sympathy. It was bad enough when things happened to her, even worse when she couldn't protect the only friend she had. She nodded quickly at the remark, settling beside the agouti to listen. Deep gold eyes fixed unseeing on the ground as the yearling committed everything to memory. She gave quiet noises of understanding at the new bits of advice. In the absence of a "socially acceptable" livelihood thievery had taken it's place and Noble was determined to master it. At Desideria's question, she gave a quick smile and rose to her feet.

They'd best get started, then.

The plan was followed to a tee. It was late morning and the sun was caking the mud to their pelts, when they approached Silent Moon Plateau. Noble followed Desideria as the borders were checked. She said nothing, simply kept pace and watched. Her watching was not of the passive sort, even now Noble was studying and learning. Every area the older woman took extra time to examine, Noble made note of.

Finally though, an entry point was selected. With a deep breath Noble stepped over the territory line into Silent Moon Plateau's land. She moved on soft feet, nose sampling the air as she went. Speed and stealth were a balancing act, too much of either was deadly. The girl loped along quietly, intending to not give them time to notice the company. The cache was easy to find, a pungent stench in the current heat that a pup could have followed. She crept up to it, ears rotating like twin satellites. Her muzzle hovered over the larger prey animals, but eventually selected two snowshoe hares. The taste was tantalizing in her mouth as the starving girl turned to make for the borders.

Noble didn't need the gentle urging. She'd already started back when the quiet shifting of dirt caught her attention. Her gaze swung back around, a rabbits foot dancing at the edge of her vision, to see. Oh, the lifted eyebrow seemed to say, I understand. It was to further hide what they'd just done. Noble nodded quickly to show her acknowledgement and filed the piece of advice for later use. They moved as one, the youth just a step ahead of her mentor.

She fought the urge to run. Every part of her was buzzing with the need to get back over the borders, but she knew not to rush. Not being discovered was crucial. If they hurried, they might make a mistake. They were already moving in the right direction, they were almost there. They just had to stay quiet a little longer. She gritted her teeth, taking all her anxious energy out on the rabbits, and continued a steady lope.

Every hackle rose at the high-pitched voice. She cast a glance over and confusion made her stumble. A pup was the last thing she expected to jump out and cut them off. This was was an interesting mix of amusement and wariness, but her lips lifted just the same. He was in her way and she was bigger than he was, it was warning Wren should heed. Even before she'd come to a complete stop, Noble was surging forward again. A low growl rumbled in her chest as she dashed around the child. Once past, she looked to Desideria. She wanted to know whether she'd done the right thing, but more importantly she wanted to know her friend was still right behind her.