Silver Moraine I wonder about the worlds inside us all

A lone, wooly figure picked its way along the bottom of the moraine, pink tongue lolling in an exhausted pant. Skraeling's coat had already begun to thin for the warmer months, but even with a fresh layer of snow on the ground, the day had been hot and miserable. She was sure that if she stopped for a rest her body would cool down at once - the day was overcast, after all, and she was not a machine - but her sojourn from her birthplace had stopped being fun several days prior, and she was anxious to find herself a pack to stay with.

There seemed to be a large one on either side of her. She wasn't sure if she was in their territory or not, but it seemed like a good idea to keep moving until she could smell them no longer. As much as she wanted to join a pack right away, she was worried about her reception, and unsure how to go about joining in the first place.

For now, she simply soldiered on, trotting at a fast clip toward the mountains.

The moraine had been a novelty at first, but that had quickly worn off. Now, Clary's paws felt hard from clambering over the forest of rocks, and she'd soon realized that being invisible wasn't nearly as fun when there was no one around to spook or surprise. But her aunt insisted to stay here just a few hours longer - even though they'd been here a week already. She had found a fascinating formation of rock or something, and seemed bent on the idea that another afternoon would satisfy her need to study every corner and crevice of the mound, even though Clary had tried to argue that a week hadn't sated her yet.

Clary figured she must have pulled some dreadful face when Nanook had tried to get her to study the rocks alongside her again, because for once, her aunt had let her venture out on her own, with the promise she would stay away from all foreign wolves, and return to her if anyone strange came around. Which Clary had promised, of course - with no real intent on actually following through.

Especially not now that a dark shadow covered the rocks with a hasty step. The girl just about sank into the rocks in a puddle of relief. Thank the stars - Clary hadn't seen another wolf in what felt like forever, and as interesting as rocks were, they didn't do a lot of talking, and they didn't do a lot of listening, either. Wolves were so much more interesting, and glancing once over her shoulder as an instinctive precaution, she turned back around to scramble after the stranger, a broad smile on her face and her nerves a jitter with the excitement of it all. "Hey!" she chuffed, youthful and friendly, and in a struggle to keep her voice low enough so her aunt wouldn't hear her, "Wait up!"

If her pawsteps had not been so loud - fresh snow and loose rocks tended to cause this - she might have heard the other wolf's approach. As it was, the voice startled her out of her thoughts and had her whirling around in alarm. But it took little time to determine that the girl was about her age - maybe a bit younger - and clearly friendly. That sounded like a good time to Skraeling.

"Hi!" the darkling chirped, bouncing toward the other girl with her tail wagging high over her back. When she was only a few yards away, she dropped into a playful bow, eager to break the monotony of her days with a bit of carefree frolicking. "I'm Rae - and you're it!" she said with another pounce toward the greyling girl. Skraeling aimed a jab of her nose at the other's shoulder, but took off at breakneck speed whether or not it landed.

Clary eased when the stranger met her with a sharp and fearful turn, not wanting to scare the other - but she chose to give the stranger the benefit of a doubt, and kept herself warm with invitation. Sure enough, the darkling settled to a playful bounce, and Clary perked back up. "I'm Clary!" She said, and she grinned broadly as she quickened to cover the ground left between them.

She didn't know what to expect, honestly, but half the fun came in the time of not-knowing. She'd already decided the darkling was a friend, anyway, and the first sign of play touched Clary with a skip as she fritzed into a mirrored bow, her eyes bright and tail unable to keep still. When, even, was the last time she'd played? With Steph, back in Easthollow? Her chest ached to be home, but the tap of a paw against her snout jerked her thoughts back to present, and the mission set before her.

A wily grin stole her face and the bright bark of a laugh rose from her lips as she sprung forward, quick to dart after the dark girl's heels. The ground proved harder to cover than the stretching fields of Easthollow, but she'd been living on the rocks for a week already, and leaned her confidence in the hope that, maybe, that was longer than the time that Rae had been here - and that maybe, that could give her an upper-hand in the chase.

Skraeling scrambled away as quickly as she could, kicking up pebbles in her wake. Her paws scrabbled against the loose stone, but she kept her legs underneath her until she got to a particularly icy patch. With a high-pitched yelp of alarm, the dark girl slipped and slammed chest-and-chin into the ground, legs splaying painfully on either side of her.

"Yikes!" she complained, struggling to her paws on wobbly legs. She could taste blood in her mouth, but aside from some bleeding gums and annoying bruises, there didn't seem to be anything else wrong with her. She turned to Clary with a pitiful expression on her face, hoping the other girl would take a moment to feel sorry for her as well. (And also waiting for her mom to come and kiss her better, but she quashed that thought as soon as she realized it was there.) "I guess that makes me it," she said with a weak chuckle.

Driven by the rush of the danger she felt with every fresh kick of the ground, Clary laughed a gasp of a giggle and dodged a stray pebble sent flying by Rae's sprint. She hadn't felt this alive, in forever, even though the rough terrain prooobably wan't the safest, and probably made them both a lot slower than if they'd run on solid ground - ooh, but just wait until they raced each other there!

And maybe they should have waited till then, she realized, only when she saw the dark woman lurch - and suddenly disappear to a downed sprawl of fur and legs. "Rae!" Clary's breath hitched, but she found herself far enough away to slow herself down without slamming into Rae or her icy patch, yet her heart continued to pound. Her friend looked intact - she could at least stand, so far - and Clary returned Rae's glance with a toothy grin and nervous slick of her ears. She chuckled with her friend, but her eyes sparked with concern. "Are you okay?" Clary certainly wasn't thinking of tagging her anymore - her nose picked up the sting of blood, and she took a hasty step forward, brows pinched. "That looked like a real nasty fa-aahhgh!" Her paw gave way to air, slipping on that same patch of ice, and she found herself careening right toward Rae, if the darkling wasn't quick to shuffle out of the way.

Skraeling sniffled a bit, determined not to cry, and braved answering her new friend. "Yeah, I think I'm  - oof!" Clary slammed into her, taking a fall of her own. "Careful!" Skraeling urged, struggling to her paws so that she could sniff over Clary, searching for injuries. "Are you alright?" she asked. It seemed like she should try to help Clary to her paws, but she didn't know how helpful she would be.

This place was a death trap. Skraeling didn't want to hang out in the weird gully anymore, not now that it was claiming victims! "We should get out of here," she said to the other girl, glaring around at all the snow-covered rocks. "I don't wanna hang out in a ravine that's trying to have us for supper!"

She hit the ground at more of a slow slide than anything, as her new friend shouldered some of the fall. The motion didn't hurt as much as it stunned her, and it took her longer than what was probably normal to fully register what her friend had asked. Mentally, she patted down her body. Everything felt fine - kind of zingy, but fine. Her panic subsided. "Yeah - yeah, I think so." But as she spoke, her thoughts finally caught up with her, and she broke with a sudden giggle. How silly she must have looked, with forelegs splayed to either side and hind-legs trying to keep her backside crooked high in the air! There was something distinctly ungraceful about it, but the girl had never cared to keep up appearances before - and she had little inclination to change that now.

Clary had to admit she shared her new friend's sentiment, even as she rumbled a laugh. There were much better things to be eaten by than ice and rocks. "I know! But - I can't." She groaned when she remembered. Nanook. With more caution this time, she moved to scrape herself off the ground and steady herself on a less slippery rock, stabilizing herself before she turned to Rae with an apologetic glance. "My aunt doesn't want me to go too far. According to her, I'm not even supposed to be talking with strangers." Not that that's what Rae was - but Clary knew Nanook wouldn't understand. "Buuut... if we just go to the trees, I don't see how that could hurt. After all, we wouldn't be going far, and she probably won't even notice me gone. She's already been studying these rocks for ages," she rolled her eyes to the sky with an exasperated sigh, but her eyes held their affection - for as much as her aunt perplexed her, she still loved her deeply, "and I can't see that changing anytime soon."

Skraeling blinked at the other girl, wondering if she'd heard that correctly. "Studying rocks?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. Rocks were... well, they were rocks! What could there possibly be to study about them? It didn't make sense to her at all - but then again, she sorta had rocks for brains.

"We can stay down here if you need to," she decided, not wanting to get Clary in trouble. "But maybe we should play any running games."