Greatwater Lake i was scared of dentists and the dark

*steals* Hello nephew it is time.

Andalusia felt like she'd returned to the Caldera, only to prance a full circuit and shoot right out again, with a momentary pause to catch her breath, gather up news, and keep on running. So their prey had fallen scarce - seemed their numbers had grown too large. The land couldn't hold them any more. The solution raised, to look for food outside the Caldera, was a pleasant thought, but what would they do once they depleted that source, too? The pups needed feeding, but feeding meant growth - something the Caldera couldn't handle now, or ever, unless they expanded or dispersed.

But dispersal would be for those of age, and unless Sebastian left, Andalusia would stay - barring her excursions, of course. And after the fiasco with Nova and Pearl, the Ostrega made doubly certain to alert @Elwood, @Finley, and @Sebastian with a pointed howl of her intended whereabouts, and the projected length of her leave. She had considered taking someone with her, in case she found a wandering buck or doe, but had opted for the room to breathe. Today, she would track, an art rusty from lack of use, but one that stuck enough from her training with the nomads to still be of some use to her today.

Yet in the moment, thirst parched her throat, and she bypassed a particularly promising berry meadow - a likely feeding ground for the likes of what she tracked - to crest toward the expanse of a lake. From her vantage she could spot the lone shadow of another wading a fair ways in the water, and she skirted sidelong in caution not to spook him from coming up completely in his blind spots. But before she reached the bank, she froze, paw half-raised, head tipped to the side. Her ear twitched, and Andalusia stole a squint skyward to catch the sun in her peripheral, only to lower her gaze with a frown. Odd. The skies were clear, far as she could see, but everything looked like a cloud now covered the sun. Or more like, the sun was setting, despite still hanging a fair distance over head.

Maybe something was wrong with her eyes. She was getting older, after all, but she wasn't about to fret herself by jumping to conclusions. Instead, she barked out to the wolf in the water, who had stopped with his wading and seemed, perhaps, as confused as she. "Hey, you seeing this, too?"