As Kaya continued her journey into the unknown as the rain soaked her fur, making her small build appear even smaller. She wandered through a muddy field aimlessly. She was used to this, as she has been traveling since her home and pack fell victim to a forest fire 2 years ago. A usual, she did not have a destination. She simply trusted her heart to lead her to a new home. She tried not to dwell on the past, as it saddened her. Instead she liked to live in the present and the future. There is no doubt that she lived a lonely life, however it did have it's benefits as she loved to be truly free.
Kaya was brought back into reality by the dark forest looming over her. She stopped to question the safety of this intimidating forest. Eager to escape the never ending rain, she decided to enter. She ambled carefully through the lush, thick, tall ferns. The muffled sound rain hitting the the leaves of trees was quite calming to her. A bird flew out of the undergrowth when she neared, startling her. She continued for quite a while and came to the conclusion that this was a decent sized forest.
Right when she thought the forest would go on forever, she arrived in a field. Her sense of smell was corrupted by the rain, but she could make out the smell of wolves. Kaya pressed on, knowing very well he risks of trespassing on other wolves territories. She decided the risk was worth it as she craved interaction of any kind. She hoped if she found any wolves they would accept her, but maybe she was thinking too ahead of herself.
The last time she'd wandered this way she'd noticed how lush and full of life the forest was. At the time, she hadn't had the opportunity to collect any herbs or other samples to add to her garden, but she decided to set back out and see if she might find something on her own time. The timing was a little less than opportune. It was cloudy with a high chance of rain, but these northern parts were often cloudy and she hoped the weather would hold out long enough for her to complete the journey.
She had no such luck. She'd gathered a mouthful of herbs when the pitter patter of rain began to fall softly upon the upper canopies. Citali glanced upwards as she hoped the span of leaves would help fend off the majority of the rain. For a while, the woods provided shelter to those things below, but as the rain picked up she felt the drops upon her pelt. Citali's mood soured. It seemed the rain was here to stay and she was stuck in it. Time to find shelter.
Her paws picked up the pace as she doubled back and searched for a place to wait out the storm. No such luck. With her terrible sense of direction, she ended up happening upon a field. That wouldn't do. Wide open like that, there was no room for the cover of trees. She frowned behind her mouthful of herbs and contemplated what to do next. She could make a run for it. Frostfire and it's many caves wasn't too far away... it was just a matter of how long she wished to spend in the full rain.
The sight of another wolf distracted her. Perhaps this individual new a good place to wait out the storm? Citali tried to bark towards her, but with the greens in her mouth, communicating was impossible. With a resigned sigh, she abandoned her herbs and decided to approach the stranger. "Hello there!" she greeted as she neared the female. "You haven't happened to see any good places to wait out the storm around here, have you?"
Kaya stopped to assess her surroundings. As the rain continued to soak her fur, she realized the rain was not letting up. She decided it was a good idea to wait out the storm before exploring further into the unknown. Besides, she was tired from her journey and needed some rest. She figured that heading back into the forest was her best bet to find a suitable shelter. As she re entered the forest she recalled a hollow tree that she passed earlier on. She decided that would have to do.
As she headed back to the hollow tree she heard a bark come from the distance. Kaya turned to see a large female wolf towering over her. "Hello there!" the stranger greeted as she neared. "You haven't happened to see any good places to wait out the storm around here, have you?" she asked politely. As the wolf drew closer Kaya realized just how massive she was in comparison to her.
She lowered her ears and tail in submission as she faced the stranger. "I-I remembered seeing a hollow tree that would work as a shelter a while back." she replied shyly. "I was actually heading back there now."
The question was simple and common place enough. The stranger, withdrew and coward in what would have been excellent submission if Citali were her alpha. She must have been a timid thing, this one. No matter. If the posturing was any indication, it meant Citali would be able to call the shots and Citali was very much a wolf who liked to hold the reigns in any situation. Life was simply easier for her that way.
The female spoke of a hollow within a tree. Citali's ears lifted, excited by this possibility. "Would there be room enough for two, you think?" she inquired as she sidestepped to conceal herself a little more thoroughly beneath the cover of trees. Perhaps the both of them could find this location she spoke of and wait out the rest of this rain. If there was one thing she didn't wish to be it was wet and cold. If she stayed out here too much longer all exposed as she was now, she'd be cold and wet before she knew it.
The female wolf seemed eager to get out of the rain, as her face lit up when Kaya suggested the hollow tree. "Would there be room enough for two, you think?" The stranger asked. Kaya tried to recall the hollow tree. She remembered the tree had quite a large trunk. Kaya was eager to escape the rain too, and figured he tree had room for two.
"Should be enough space." She replied as the rain continued to soak her pelt. It was going to take her a while to dry off. She shivered as the wetness enveloped her. "At least I hope so." she added, hoping the shelter lived up to expectations. This new wolf fascinated her. Kaya had never met a wolf so in charge, even male alphas she had met did not compare to this female. Kaya guessed that this wolf was the alpha of a nearby pack, as she was obviously not a lone wolf, and would not tolerate a non leadership position.
Relief flooded through the medic as soon as the wolf confirmed that the location she spoke of should be large enough for two. Perfect. Then they could both tuck themselves away for a while. Or maybe not? The female seemed unsure now, but there would be no knowing for sure until they reached the location. "Well let's find out, shall we?" she asked as she tipped her nose forward though she had no idea which direction this hollow was.
"Lead the way, then," she prompted. Firstly, Citali had no idea where this hollow was. Secondly, she was terrible with directions to begin with. Both combined meant that if they were to find this place, the wolf would have to take them there. It seemed their might be a silver lining to this rain after all.
"Well let's find out, shall we?" the stranger inquired as she nodded in the opposite direction. "Lead the way, then," she urged. Kaya couldn't help but realize how impatient this female was. Not wishing to stick around in the rain she replied "This way." as she turned to the general direction of the hollow and started to venture deeper into the forest.
Looking back to check the female was following her, for the first time she finally felt important. She stopped to process the events that were unfolding in front of her. Would she befriend this strange wolf? This very moment could change her future. Kaya found herself dwelling on this topic as they walked together.
Citali gave her pelt a quick shake. The drizzling of rain upon her back was starting to become a touch uncomfortable and she decided to rid herself of it sooner rather than later. There. All better. Her brown fur bristled like a porcupine for the dampness, but despite that illusion she was quite content so long as there remained the promise of a reprieve from the storm. She simply could not wait to get out of this rain and she hoped the storm pass quickly. A creature of cleanliness, she did not relish the idea of muddied paths on her way home.
The female confirmed their direction of travel and set off. Citali followed contentedly as she left their way to her discretion and trusted they would soon come upon the hollow she'd spoken of. Since they were wandering it was as good a time as ever to pose a few inquiries she realized she'd so rudely forgotten to ask. "I don't believe I caught your name earlier," she started, figuring that was just as good a way as anything else to get the conversation started. "I'm Citali, by the way. Are you from around here?"