Redsand Canyon The world was naught but sand and wind

It was noon when she found the canyon. 
Minna had set out wordlessly, her emotions wild and needing time outside the territory. First there had been the girl, Lilith, that had come with her to the border only to be attacked by Aaron. How was she to know the alpha harboured a deep dislike for the creatures? Her ignorance of this had led to her being demoted to Omega, though Amara assured her that is was but for a short time. Then there had been the horrid coyote, and the illness, and Leto. But worst of all, the takeover, and the horrible danger the whole pack was in. So she had vanished, not telling anyone, wishing to be free of her constraints for a mere day.

And now, she gazed down and twisting rock, red and orange. The colour was striking, the twisted shaped even more so. Never had Minna seen such things before, and it amazed her. She paced the steep drop, searching for a place to get down. When she found it, a single narrow path that included many jumps and precarious edges, she took it, and soof found herself at a higher end of the canyon. She paced downwards still, gazing at the twisted shapes silently.

Once banished from home, Reiko had taken days to overcome the grief of losing the entire pack, the family and friends she had grown up with all gone in a matter of seconds as her own twin sister chased her out of the borders and ordered for her never to return again. The tears had stopped flowing after hours and days had passed until she had found a smile on her lips once more. The once to be queen was nothing but a loner now, and although it was lonesome; she had finally found joy i the adventure that was now reaching out before her. 

She had climbed the mountain and now was on her way down. With bounds and leaps, the gentle snow covered angel flew her way down the mountain with river like movements. The breeze in her face, perhaps being without a home wasn't all that terrible as they made it sound. Despite the hunger in her belly, it was pleasant. 

Her movements came to an abrupt stop however, cyan eyes gazed down at the form crossing her path down the mountain. A nother female. It was the first individual she had seen since the banishment... A gentle wave of the plush tail and a soft smile graced her lips. She waited to see how friendly this new face would be.

Her ears perked as a sound reached her ears- paw steps. The agouti girl spun around, fearing the worst- but it was another female- a loner, friendly, not a threat. For a moment, she had thought it had been Kierkegaard, that brute, and fear flickered in her eyes. Her ruse needed to work, her plan, to end this with as little bloodshed as possible.  

But it it was not he, and she could step out of the charade she played a little while longer. So she offered the girl a small smile, her tenseness vanishing. Perhaps she would have word of what went on outside the packs. Minna chuffed in greeting, taking a few steps to meet the girl.

No words were exchanged, but a silent greeting was being passed from one female to the next. The other seemed friendly enough and as she approached, Reiko sat. Curling her tail over her toes and smiled warmly to invite the other to come as closely as she was comfortable with. The fear that glazed over the other's eyes did not to ignored and concern filled those crystal hues of the snow cloaked princess. "No harm will come of me, I'll sit right here and not move if you wish to speak." And she would keep her promise too even though the wariness left as quickly as it came to her new companion. 

But if Reiko was naive, which she was, she still believed she could read others rather well and knew that something terribly wrong had happened to this young damsel before. Something that Reiko had somehow reminded her of - which pained the young princess to think she had brought up such memories already. 

"I'm Reiko, and you?" She continued to smile. "I don't have the power to harm you anyways, even if I wished such things." She teased with a giggle, hoping it would alleviate the mood a bit. She was so tiny, famine had struck her too despite it going unnoticed. Thankfully her fur hid the bones that would be palpable through the skin, and so strength to fight off anyone was a joke in the least. She could barely hunt, let alone fight. 

The girl seemed to think she was intimidating. Minna offered her a smiule, forcing a chuckle down her throat. Her appearence, and words, painted a rather different picture. She was sweet, young too, by the look of it, and her melt was unmarred by any obvious scars. She did laugh with the girl, though, and stopped a meter or two from her. "I'm Minna" she said, kindly incling her head in greeting. The smell of pack did not cover this female's pelt, a loner, then. "No, it's okay. I thought- I thought you were someone else." she did not elaborate, not going to dump her pack's upsuring on the sweet girl. 

This female was almost the same size she was, Minna noticed. So, she wasn't the smallest wolf, though being dwarfed by others simply made it feel that way. The girl reminded Minna of a long lost sister, and her pale pelt reminded her of the little one Minna had cared for in her youth, her true sister. Alliea had been adorable, and sweet and mild mannered, too. If the fates were kind, perhaps Minna would gaze upon the face of her little sister again, one day.

The other relaxed and made the snowy femme smile, someone else? A mile shock hit her unexpectedly, thinking that perhaps her sister had come looking for her - or perhaps thats not what this female meant - perhaps it wasn't purely by looks that she reminded Minna of someone else. A wish that Hime had come looking for her to bring her sister back home and relieve her of the banishment had come and gone. How could she want to return to such a tyrant? But then again, home would be home and she did miss the family.

"Well I am happy that I am not that person! I'm Reiko, Rei if you'd like to shorten it up."  She chirped finally, tilting her head to one side and allowing her eyes to wince as the smile grew. Taking in the sight of the woman, she was no larger than Reiko was, legs were a little shorter than the glacier princess, but she seemed less of a fighter just as the Izuka girl was. She had an idea. "Say, if you aren't busy with pack business - would you like to play with a stranger?" She offered a play bow, lowering the front half of her body toward the ground and lifting her hind quarters to the air. Her feathered flag waved behind with glee, waiting for a response. 

"I bet you're a runner, like myself. Care for a race?"

The girl reminded her of a bird. The cheery way she spoke, her body language...it was all a welcome relief from the politics of the pack at the moment. So Minna grinned, eyes glinting excitedly. So this girl wanted a race, did she? She crouched excitedly, her tail waving in the air, and Minna thought she had a pup's bright innocence around her. "Well, if you feel you can keep up...you're on!" Minna laughed, wrapped in competitive spirit. She immidietly spun on her heel, racing deep into the canyon. She twisted her muzzle and shouted over her shoulder, "First one to that big red boulder wins!"

It had been a while since she had had any fun, a race, far too long. The wolves of the Izuka clan were too old or too busy when she was back home, the only one who would play would be Hime, and she wasn't all that fun all the time. Mostly she was too tough, and the games would end with Reiko in pain. But this seemed much better. Her tail lashed in excitement as the stranger accepted the challenge, quickly starting the race as she ran off in a direction. Calling to  where the race would end; a giant boulder off in the distance. 

leaping down the rocks and joining on where the female had gone off to, Reiko could feel the wind on her face as she could barely feel her toes touching the ground. Both wolves seemed to be runners so it would all depend on how lithe they were avoiding the obstacles in their way, Reiko danced her way around anything that blocked her path, slithering through the pass. 

Idk how we determine who wins, i dont care who does |D

She ran; a red streak through the red canyon. It had been a while since she had run, just run for the spite of it. It was delightful to race like this with another, with a stranger she probably would never see again. She dodged rocks and other obstacles with the same nimble footing of a mountain goat, smiling all the while at the new challenge, this fun she had not experienced in so long. The two slipped like water through the pass, that is, until Minna's shoulder glanced off a rock she had twisted to avoid. Her should burned, and she faltered, wincing at the sudden, unexpected pain. And so close to the finish line!