Riddle Heights The Explorer

Light snow — Current Temperature: 29° F/-2° C
Early Evening

Asta had a pack now! She could scarcely believe her good fortune. All her wandering and searching seemed to have paid off. Sure, there had been times she'd wondered if she'd make it through the winter - or even the spring! But she had survived and found herself living in a pass, tucked away in the mountains. It was bitter cold up there, always windy... but Asta didn't complain. She was just glad to have found a place to call home. She wasn't home right now of course - oh no. She thought, instead, she would scout some of the territories beyond the pack for now. She didn't really plan on being a scout - she liked the company of others too much - but it wouldn't hurt for her to know a bit more about the surrounding lands. Traveling through them only once wouldn't suffice, nor twice; she'd come through them only to make her first journey up the mountain and a second time coming back down.

She'd spent the better part of the day doing her exploration and she was finding it was a bad idea as the evening came on. The temperature had dropped somewhat and, while she scarcely felt the cold in her thick pelt, she could smell the snow in the air long before it came. It fell now, light and steady. She didn't know if it'd accumulate or not, but there was a small part of her that wished it'd simply get up and disappear - decamp in the night, so to speak. The wind was a constant, whipping cruelly at any who weren't quite ready for it. But Asta wasn't really bothered. As she reached the heights, the young female nosed about, her eyes flickering to and fro. They seemed more gray today under the cloudy, darkening sky. The weather was bound to be worse on the mountain. She did consider that she might have to wait here for the night... but she didn't like the idea of sleeping out in the open again. She wasn't a lone wolf anymore, and she wanted to take full advantage of the safety a pack could bring. She'd be heading back soon then - back to safety. Back up the mountain! She could make a game of it - see how much time it took for her to return and learn the path. She smiled in spite of herself, lifting her head from the cold, wet snow to observe her surroundings again.

The rocks and hills would become familiar, as would the scents and the faces. Ah Cohen. I wish you could see this place. You probably wouldn't like it, but... well. Her smile became wistful, faded, and she moved onward.