Firefly Glen Big bird in a small cage

@Fox

A light snow had fallen, not touching the ground within the Neverwinter Forest, but as he left, he looked up into the mid-day sky, grey and dreary, to see not rain but tiny, sparkling crystals of snow falling to the ground. It was quite chilly, too cold for big, fat snowflakes and instead the ones that felt were like glitter, tiny little shimmering specks that fell to the ground and disappeared, at first. By the time he'd reached the Firefly Glen, the ground had been dusted by a very thin layer of white, too thin to even measure, but enough to tell that winter would be on its way soon. With the slightest breeze the snow was flicked into the air, and writhed along the ground like silver strands before settling into a wavelike pattern. 

Shrike had found a little stream running through the glen before and had taken a particular interest in the rocks that lined the stream- they were more colourful than most rocks, and there were a great deal of white ones. He could have sworn, though, that at one point, he had seen something blue in the water, and he had returned to try and find it again, if there was any such thing to be found. He'd never seen a blue rock before, but he roved along the stream's bank, silver eyes searching keenly for any sign of a rock the shade of his beloved's eyes.

Pregnancy note: She's definitely preggo, but it's probably not outwardly obvious.

She was, without a doubt, pregnant. Fox had already started eating more, consuming everything in sight. It was for that reason that she had strayed away from Redhawk Caldera, despite the extra bodies she was carrying. She didn't know how many, but she did know that they would be strong. They always were. Fox wasn't sure if she should thank Kaizer for potentially knocking her up or not. She wasn't sure if he would claim the children as his own, or if he would become possessive of her, too. Now that her hormones had gone in a different direction, she wondered if he was even worth keeping around.

Her hunger drove her north of the forest, then north of the lake, and her thirst drove her toward a stream. A familiar scent—Shrike—was noticeable here, and out of pure curiosity (certainly not remorse or regret), Fox approached him. She kept her distance, unsure what his reaction would be, and allowed him to make whatever first move he so desired.

There were plenty of pretty rocks in the water, and he scuffled them around with his feet occasionally, but he had his eyes peeled for the prettiest of them all- something with a bit of blue in it, if such a thing existed. He'd found one that was a nice shade of pale green- matching the colour of his grandfather's eyes- but it wasn't quite good enough. Still, he'd set the green rock aside in hopes that it might suffice if he could find nothing else. He wouldn't give up, though, until he found what he was looking for, and he was quite invested in doing so- head down, ears pricked forward toward the ground, so he did not notice the reddish figure approaching him until the wind picked up and he caught her scent. 

Shrike wheeled around in the water, sending a splash up his flanks chilling him right where he didn't want to be chilled, and flattened his ears in surprise. Sure enough, there was his former alpha, striding toward him. He backed up a few steps, not sure what to do- he was in plain sight and still she approached, so she obviously wanted to see him. His ears remained turned back, and his posture stiff, though his limbs were bent, showing tension but not dominance. He regarded her with surprise, and an almost sad, slightly offended look, like a dog who's accidentally been stepped on in the middle of the night.

He didn't say anything, but he also didn't run away... or run toward her in an attempt to attack. In fact, he stared at her looking like a hurt pup. He smelled of... of worlds past. There were smells lingering around him that she could not quite place, even though she knew they were from somewhere in her past. It didn't bother her enough to ask, nor did she really care. Shrike was nothing but an outsider at this point, even if he had been a part of Redhawk Caldera for some time. Gone was gone was gone.

Perhaps a nicer wolf would have asked how he was doing, explained that it had been nothing personal, or otherwise made pleasantries, but Fox was no nicer wolf. She never had been, and she never would be. She had always acted on instinct over emotion, even with Peregrine and her own children. She had always done what she thought was best for the pack. The matriarch, finding she had no motivation to start a conversation with Shrike, began to slowly back away, intending to find somewhere else to quench her thirst.