Emberwood I'm too careful and always in a rush

This place had been by far her favorite amongst her travels, a lack of larger predators putting her at ease in the aspen forest. Prey was abundant and varied, the pickings were easy. Had she not been on the search for Bird she might have considered staying there.

The scent of other packs drew her but she was hoping to find Bird as a loner, she wasn't interested in speaking with pompous Alphas unless she had to. 

It was the ever pressing issue of finding her sister that kept her going, she made no pitstops except to sleep and eat and relieve herself. No matter the weather, she plowed on while praying fervently to find anything that would lead her to her sister.

hope you don't mind me!

she had been spending too long among the shadows, and felt her spirit withering. having gathered some herbs and oddities within the meadow days ago, hosannah felt it was time to venture even further; she told no one of her day-trip to the north, and set out upon first light. what she had gathered on her previous excursion had not been enough, and many of the pieces had already shown signs of rot — she needed to find something specific to replace what little stock she had, thus the trip to the riverside.

the clear waters and open space were a relief to the woman, who drank in the sight of the swiftcurrent before supping upon its bounty; then, after an hour or so of following its curving embankment, she slipped across along a shallow patch of stone. it was midday when she spotted the brilliant forest, and upon catching sight of it, her eyes widened. it was like a sign from her god — this embrous woodland painted a line of fire across the horizon, and she was stalled by its beauty. the woman breathed a great sigh of wonderment as she drifted closer, and by the time she was among the first copse of ruddy orange the afternoon had faded in to early evening, and a brisk wind blew strange scents her way.

she chose to ignore the evidence of another being among the trees, and simply basked in their magnificence

Hearing the sound of the other in the forest, Squirrel sought her out. It was a petite female of brownish red fur who was peculiarly enough, missing a tail. In its stead was a stumpy scarred mass which caused her to grimace at the thought of how painful it must have been.

She recognized a pack scent on the other, she smelt strongly of other wolves, they all had a similar tinge to them that marked her as a pack wolf. They were on neutral land as it was, meaning she owed nothing to this other. "Hey,"she greeted as she approached, offering no submission to this woman. Her stance was neither submissive not aggressive, only friendly.

off in the distance was a white blur, but hosannah was too distracted by the many colors and shapes of the light. she was watching the leaves as she passed beneath them, and even approached one small sapling with the intent to reach up and inspect it thoroughly; but the voice that broke the stillness, and her reverie, came first. hosannah turned her head mid-rise, and as her torso fell soundlessly back to earth, a look of surprise crossed her features. it was unlike her to be so mindless — and this stranger was a brilliant gleaming thing, pristine and bright among the woods. how had she missed them?

greetings, she murmured, struck shy by her own ineptitude. after a moment of awkward silence she gave a little nod of her head, and looked around, wondering about the forest. is this place your own? it is beautiful - but the other did not hold the commanding presence of a leader, nor the posture to reinforce such a claim, so swiftly hosannah put that out of her mind. ah, you are like me. a visitor. it is a lovely place, don't you agree?

"Indeed, it is. Tell me, have you happened across a female like myself? Her name is Bird but she could be going by a different name now." She kept it simple, and short. No need to overwhelm this lady with her family burdens.

the woman drove straight to the point in such a blunt manner that hosannah was briefly taken aback. there would be no healthy banter, no chatting, and the abruptness of the conversations turn made her resistant to continue it. for a moment the red woman just stood there - a bit like a deer caught in headlights - and then shook her head lightly, no, i have never met anyone with that name before. if the stranger was in need of help, the best thing would be to ask for it; yet her tone seemed almost demanding of it, inquisitive and direct. hosannah was unaccustomed to such brazen disregard for commonplace propriety, and her features melted in to an expression of impassive boredom.

Squirrel didn't realize she had been rude, it was her common way of speaking. She was brutally honest and blunt when it came to speaking with others. This other was the first she had come across and she saw no reason to dive into her reason for being in Teekon.

"My apologies for disturbing you then. I am Squirrel. I assume you reside in this area?" She made small talk even though this woman seemed dreadfully bored.

no, i do not. which was the truth, and put bluntly, as if to give the woman a taste of her own medicine. hosannah doubted it would have such an effect, but she only answered as she felt comfortable. this area specifically was not her home, nor were any of the territories surrounding it; she did not expand upon the subject of her home or give this woman more information as she did not ask for it, and evidently this was how the conversation was going to go.

then again, hosannah did not introduce herself either. she had been prompted, maybe, by the giving of such information by the other woman. yet she held that detail close. instead of giving her name she concluded with an olive branch of sorts: if i do encounter anyone with that name, i will send her this way. the red woman was more interested in exploring the forest on her own now, and was unafraid of speaking through her own ego.

Squirrel was ignorant to the other's scorn of her, though she did catch that no name was given in return. It was not so much that she was stupid as that she didn't mean any malice in the first place and thus didn't pick up on any hostility given by this unknown woman.

She smiled genuinely at the woman. "Thank you, that's very kind to say. I won't keep you any longer, it was nice to meet you,"she gave one last smile before moving away to continue on her own path. It was obvious the woman didn't wish to linger with Squirrel, she seemed busy perhaps shy.