Late Afternoon. Overcast.
How long had it been since that awful day? Weeks, maybe months? Not that it mattered, for all concept of time had escaped the russet coated female. She reverted back to her old ways, focusing on living from a day to day existence. It was how she got by when she was forced to live alone, with only herself to look after. And in a way, a small part of her preferred it like that. Only now, carving out a living was made challenging. Not due to a lack of skill or knowledge; that she had plenty of. It was her very body itself, that was proving to be hindrance. Searing yellow eyes draped closed in a moment of remembrance, images of the recent past flashing behind her eyelids. It had been raining in torrents that day, so much that the keen eyed wolf could only see but a few inches in front of her nose. She remembered how she had gone out on a solitary hunt, to test a herd of mule deer for weaknesses. To see what both they, and she was made of. What she hadn't counted on, was how swiftly and suddenly the storm had rolled in, catching both predator and prey off guard. She had been in the thick of the hunt by the time the heavens opened up, thunderous growls emanating from the clouds. Alongside the herd of mule deer, which she had managed to panic, she had been running, hoping to separate an inexperienced yearling. Out of both foolishness and the inability to see through the sheets of rain, Jynx had not been able to spot the sharp, downward plummeting embankment until it was too late. The herd of mule deer had somehow been more instinctive, managing to avoid the drop off at the last second, while she had not. The terrain was muddy and slippery, already compromising her footing. With a panicked twist, her legs had given out beneath her, sending her body careening down the rocky slope, ending in a harsh landing below. For the most part, by some stroke of luck, the vital areas of her body had escaped injury. But during the fall, Jynx had somehow twisted her rear left ankle.
Thoroughly pissed off and ashamed at herself, she had gotten up to limp away. She had been a great deal of pain, a red hot flash searing up her leg whenever she tried to put any weight on it. With the storm refusing to let up, she wandered to the nearest source of shelter she could find, unable to distinguish one direction from the other. Unknowing that she was headed away from home. Now, back in the present, any signs of the rampaging storm were long gone. Save for that of her injury. Jynx had blindly found her way to the Fireweed Rise, a place she had visited once before. She considered it a sanctuary...a peaceful place, even if she was back in Southern Eden. Against the gentle slope of a hill, covered in the flame red flowers, she rested in the shallow recesses of a half heartedly attempted burrow. The cool soil was hardly enough to keep the heat of the sun at bay, but for the moment, the sky was merciful in providing a healthy layer of clouds, but no promise of rain. Curled up in a pathetic little ball, her fur still dirty with dried mud, her leg laid useless. The ankle swollen nastily around the crucial joints, even going as far as to affect her toes. Refusing to sleep or move, Jynx merely stared ahead with muted yellow eyes miserably. She would wait this out...allow her body time to heal. She snorted softly. She didn't need the help of no healer! She had gotten by just fine on her own before, who was to say she wouldn't pull through this as well? She was beginning to think that she really wasn't cut out for pack life after all. The River wolves probably hadn't even sent someone out to search for her.With a healthy dose of bitterness and arrogance now running in her blood, Jynx's body posture itself told any passerby that she wanted to be left alone. Even if her injured leg insisted otherwise. The turned back ears on her head, and the cold glint in her eye was an indicator of her mood. She was not happy. Downright volatile was more like it, if the wrong wolf happened to come too close. But even she knew that she would have to get up sometime and attempt to catch what she could. And if that wouldn't work, then she would have to lower herself, resorting to stealing from others. Anything for survival. That was the name of this game.