Overture Downs My friends aren't far, in the back of my car lay their bodies

For @Isleña!

Figuring she ought to become familiar with the territories surrounding her new (albeit temporary) pack, Dianne forewent the meadow she'd already discovered for another one close by. Of course, she wasn't just exploring; she was heading out to make herself useful by ideally catching something to cache for the pack. It'd be even better if she got a snack for herself. She was still underweight, and that wouldn't do with winter coming — especially with her lack of plush fur and massive bulk that pureblooded wolves were oh-so lucky to be born with.

It was midday, sun occupying its highest point in the sky and casting its warmth best as it could to the land below. It was still chilly, but less so than if she chose another time to travel. She moved atop the twinkling white blanket with ethereal yet quick steps, only disturbing it enough to leave indentations of her presence on its once-unmarked surface. Deer grazed what they could in the distance, but those were unfortunately off the menu.

She stopped suddenly and strained her ears to listen for something that caught her attention. They swiveled on their own accord, honing in on the skittering of tiny feet beneath the snow. Her eyes slid downwards, ears perked forwards as the hybrid locked onto her target. She reared back and shoved her forelegs into the snow, feeling the tiny body underneath crush beneath her weight. Quickly, Dianne dug her muzzle into the snow to snap it up. It was a vole. Snack it was. She crushed it further in her jaws with a few chews before swallowing it whole. Hopefully, she could find something more filling to bring back. She wasn't opposed to more snacks on the way, though. Putting her nose to the ground, she continued her search.

It had been a few days since she had last seen her family, and now her nerves were starting to become raw. It was not like them to remain apart for so long, and especially not when their absence was unplanned. It made Isleña believe that their absence was not of the elective type, and something here was forced and unwilling. She worried for her cousins, and she worried for herself. A Luk was not meant to be alone.

Reluctantly, Isleña decided to leave the Cuesta where she and her cousins resided — their scents were starting to become stale there, anyways, and it just made her sad. She deluded herself that she may find their trail if she wandered around these foreign parts, but the lands were as strange to her as it was to them, and not the grassland plains that the runty and stout family was accustomed to. Their trail was never found, and Isleña turned sour.

The banshee darted back and forth, her movement lighted with equal parts fright and intention, for days on end. In her panic, she took no real note of the direction in which she went. In reality, Isleña was becoming more and more lost — but without her family, she was lost anyways. There were so little clues at to her family’s disappearance that her frantic state was becoming palpable and poisonous — and when Isleña came across another that might help her, she clung to the opportunity. “Sən!” she called out and bounded closer to the shewolf without introduction. “Sən kimsən!” she commanded, although this was not the question she truly wished to know. Have you seen my family? was closer to the truth. “Who!” Still, this time in the common tongue Isleña demanded identification first — perhaps this wolf was her enemy.

Her eye was caught by a frantic she-wolf darting about aimlessly in the distance. She looked panicked, and Dianne went on the alert. To her chagrin, the woman got her in her sights and bounded in her direction. Dianne's heart sank in her chest, for the stranger's erratic behavior reminded her of a memory long past: the memory of how she lost her mother and gained the hideous scar across her throat. The chaos, the pain, the screams of her mother came back to her, and adrenaline began to pump throughout her body.

Dianne flattened her ears and widened her stance, lips peeling back to give a peek of her ivory fangs in warning, backed by a low growl. However, the woman never leapt for her upon nearing as she was expecting, instead coming to a stop to yell something foreign at her in a commanding tone. Dianne's muscles unwound just slightly, lips dropping to fall over her teeth and hide them from the world again. Switching to English, the rusted wolfess then yelled, "Who?!" That confused her but did nothing to quell her fear of this stranger attacking.

Still flustered, Dianne asked a question in return: What the hell are you on about? What do you want? Her voice was full of distressed confusion, legs still wobbling as the adrenaline slowly worked its way out of her system. The smallest upset would bring forth another wave of it.

Okay, so this wolf wasn’t going to answer her question. Isleña was quick to forgive forget, because the stranger’s identity wasn’t of true importance here. The important thing was that she had eyes and she had ears and might have knowledge about where he family had disappeared to. It was likely that they were searching for her too, Isleña had 

Isleña was far to involved in her own sensations of panic and despair to notice what her erratic ness had elicited from the strange fae. If she had, the woman might had done something to soothe the other, such as mutter comforting words or explain that she meant not harm — but Isleña did not care, nor did she notice, nor did she have the faculties to explain herself even if she had wanted to.

She drew a deep breath, feeling her lungs expand against her ribcage, and pieced together a few words that might draw forth the information she sought. “Family…” she ground out between her teeth. “ Not now — not here…” Ugh! Could she not explain the seriousness of the situation at hand? It was frustrating to be in a place where she could hardly be understood. Ears flattened, and with a truly forlorn look plastered upon her face, Isleña finally muttered one more word which summarized it all. “Gone.”  

It was abnormal for her to admit to another that she was alone — she garnered most of her strength from her family and their large numbers — but there was no way around it this time.