Blacktail Deer Plateau "It is our choices that show us who we really are"

The journey up to the plateau was a quiet one, but that was fine for Rue. She made use of the silence by allowing her full attenion to focus on the unfamiliar scenery. As the Kintla grasses turned into a lovely forest of pine and burch, their footpath inclined and Rue could only assume that they were making the final climb up to Liri's home. Would it soon be a place Rue called home as well?

Rue hesitated for the briefest moment as they passed the pack's scent markers, her lone-wolf instincts taking over. She continued forward feeling silly. Had Liri noticed her little balk? From the leader's comment about finding most of them further in, it seemed like Liri might have noticed her companion's hesitation and hoped to encourage her forward. Rue gave the woman a small, understanding nod. 

Liri called to request the presence of her packmates, and Rue took in a steadying breath. It had been a long time since Rue had been in the presence of more than one or two others, and the idea of an entire pack of strangers gathering around her in unfamiliar territoy put her more than a little on edge. She attempted to hide her apprehension behind an amicable tail-wag and an open, friendly expression. Her muzzle and throat were still coated in blood from the pair's previous hunt, but hopefully no one would find that too offputting.