Somehow she had survived. The summer had been stifling, even for her. To roam the hills invited danger, and after an initial intervention by one amarok, she had gone in to hiding. Avoidance came naturally to her more-so than any other primal skill; but now, with autumn flooding the senses of the lost girl, she knew she had to make a decision. To live in this wilderness, alone, without Man to guide her... The thought was heart-wrenching. But to live among the beasts and allow herself to drift from the teachings of Man, to lose herself, that introduced terror in to her soul.

To live in solitude, then, became the only option. Wandering the hills, picking away at the dead, avoiding the living... It was barely an existence. Aupa had thrived for a short time. A time of adjustment wherein the fat of her body was stripped away. Now she was lean - her muscles were more toned, stronger.

The clouds had cleared from the sky - she had watched, pensive but alert, drinking in the thin scent of rain which hung in the air. It was gone now, or almost gone. The past few days of rain had not dampened Aupaluktok's spirits. She was hardened, resistant. The river babbled before her - a tempting whisper, calling her close for a taste.

With a sly glance towards the trees, to the hills beyond and back again, the dog carefully lowered herself close to the river's edge and began to lap at the fluid. As the water quenched her thirst, so too did it ease her apprehension. Water could only fill the void in her empty belly for so long, though. Soon she would be off again, seeking something dead and lost to pilfer from.

There was nothing lively about Aupaluktok. Nothing to indicate she was a living thing, save for the slick manner with which she drank. The sounds of her were covered by the subtle sound of the river.

When her thirst was sated, she lifted her head once more and watched. She did not know what she was watching for, only that the action was vital. A breeze rippled through the trees around her and she listened. Her mind drifting with the white noise while a thread of fluid dripped from her snout, sprinkling absently across the surface.

There was nothing here. Or, if there was something, it remained hidden. This secrecy of the wild was what had her on edge. And then, as the breeze shifted, Aupaluktok caught upon a strange smell. Within moments she was made attentive to that familiar note upon the air.

Amarok. She knew it, deep in her gut.

A stirring in her deepest parts told her brought forth a simple warning: beware, and so she took to pacing upon the bank. Her pride had been worn thin, starting with that first encounter with the Wild Thing. As small as she was, there was a desire to become smaller, as if making herself insignificant would save her from the wolf's bestial nature. She did not know where the creature lurked, but in knowing he was there, somewhere, Aupa grew restless.