Wolf RPG - Pam, please. . .I have Country Crock.

Hansel and Gretel left bread crumbs. Lilitu left little scarlet droplets of blood in her wake, hobbling along on three weary paws.

Her first alpine adventure had been disastrous. She'd ascended the foothills of the valley, intending to get back by dark. By the time she reached the crags, she was utterly lost, and night had fallen. She had no semblance of direction and no skill for navigation. When dawn broke, the girl forged on — going the wrong way. On her descent, Lilitu had dashed her left forepaw against a jagged rock, ripping the pad open.

She was hungry, tired, and scared. And ouchy. She approached the forest, whimpering. Upon first sight of the willows, however, she froze, falling silent.

I've been here before.

It was a preposterous thought. She'd never left the valley. But seeing this place gave her the same feeling as when she had viewed her mother's face for the first time. Sudden familiarity. A dance of little icy feet up and down her spine.

Shivering, she reclined back on her haunches just outside the edge of the trees and examined her injured paw. Ooh. That was gnarly. Kind of stunk, too. And God, it hurt!!

Lilitu didn't know what freaked her out more — the inexplicable knowledge of this forest, or the gash that was beginning to fester.

That night did not bring comfort for Sundance who, plagued by thoughts of an uncertain future, ventured from his resting place to seek solitude. He moved quietly on careful paws through his beloved willows and toward the outer edges of court territory, hopeful of finding distraction.

It came in the form of something most unexpected, and the silverwhite paused in his tracks to peer through the weeping branches a moment longer to confirm that his mind wasn't playing tricks on him. A young cub sat alone on the outskirts of Sundance's home, an observation that roused a flurry of concern in his chest. He lifted his muzzle to look around, keen to seek the pup's parents, but he was unable to source even a sniff of anyone else.

He stepped forward with a low whine as powder blue eyes sought the girl's face and offered a soft wag of his feathered tail to communicate that he was friend, not foe. "Hello," came his gentle greeting as he paused some distance away, hopeful that his approach wouldn't spook her, "uh..." Sundance, only a yearling, was inexperienced in how to deal with kids, fumbled awkwardly. He didn't want to leave her out here, but didn't want to seem like some creep either. "My name's Sundance. What's yours?"

From out of the willows came a stunningly beautiful wolf, cloaked in silver and shadow. Lilitu stared at him for a moment, his words going unheard. At the sound of 'Sundance,' she shut her open jaw and burst out, Hi I'm Lilitu. I have an ouchy.

She lifted her paw even further off the ground and turned it, trying to show him the wound. Look, she said, prompting him to take a glance at the ugly sight. She had no idea that this went pretty much against all wolf decorum, her standing on the borders, helpless and loud-mouthed.

Even if she did know, she probably wouldn't care. After all, you know, desperate times. . .

Where am I? Lilitu asked him, cocking her head. Her eyes wandered off toward the trees, staring at the silky, droopy leaves. So familiar—as if she'd seen them every day of her life.

The pup did not turn to flee, which was a good start. After a long moment of her gawking in his direction, some invisible "on" switch seemed to click and from her maw came a more confident response than Sundance expected. He blinked down at her, unprepared for this interaction and not sure how to deal with a child by himself.

"Oh," was all he could muster as a tiny wounded forepaw was thrust into his face along with the demand that he examine it. Silver ears twitched awkwardly atop his crown and he looked briefly over the youngster's head in one last desperate search for her guardian, but no one came to retrieve her. "That's, uh... yeah. Ouch."

Sundance lowered his muzzle to the girl's level so that he might seek her gaze, test the scent she carried. At once the aroma of mountain pine reminded him of @Teya, but he dismissed it as his budding fondness of her and cast the connection aside. "We call this placed the Hushed Willows, and it is my home," the yearling answered, and grasped at the opportunity to gain further information: "where is your home?"

She didn't have much else to say, probably too distracted by a new face in a new environment to answer any questions. Sundance lingered there for a little while more to be sure that no guardians were nearby, before he gently encouraged the youngster to join him among the willows while he figured out what to do about this newest arrival.