Great Bear Wilderness I'm a child with an animal soul

Wulfwynn never imagined such gorgeous vistas could have existed beyond the dreams she had in sleep. There had been visions that ran wild in her minds eye back at the mill where she was a wolf racing the wind and howling to the moon. In the waking world though, Wulfwynn only had seen darkness and the walls of her kennel. 

She stood on a ledge that gave her an expansive view of the wilderness and inhaled deeply the breeze that ruffled her fur. At last breathing in fresh air that wasn't consumed by the stench of waste, blood and death was incredible to the little wildling. 

Her body trembling in emotion and excitement, of being at last where she belonged made her lift her head up high. She stuck her muzzle towards the clouds and let loose an exhilarated howl.

I am here! Her song said. And here she planned to stay, even if it killed her. She wasn't a pomeranian, she was a mighty wolf!

Her ventures having brought her nearby, Viskani's ears perked at the sound of a howl. The song of the other peaked her curiosity, so she though to return the gesture when she did not here another join the first.

Tilting her head up she let out a long howl, one simulating a greeting. If it was returned she may just move to find the other.

Wulfwynn stood stiff when a howl reached her ears in response, her eyes widening as big as moons. She wasn't afraid however, more so, she was thrilled. Oh, how she had listened to the far off howls in her lonely cage, longing to reach back to them and form a connection. 

She went to leap upon another ledge that took her higher up the chunk of land she stood upon, surveying ever more skyward. She lifted her head and snout up once more, ushering out another song.

She wanted to meet this other wolf, Wulfwynn having lived so isolated yearned for companionship and friends.

A response reaching her ears, Viskani set off.

Following the sound to a ledge she saw a smaller animal in the distance. Unknown to her, this was whom she had been speaking to.

Dismissing the creature she let out another howl; the wolf must be nearby, she thought - however she hadn't realized they were practically right under her nose.

Wulfwynn stopped her howling to listen for a response, the wildling quivering in anticipation. Though no voice sang back yet, something on the wind blew the wild scent her way. Her curly tail wagging in zeal, she saw the lupine shape crest it's way over the hill. 

She was surprised the wolf's keen eyes couldn't see her on her high perch, Wulfwynn staring owlishly down at the she-wolf. When she sang again, Wulfwynn quickly sent a response with her nose to the sky.

The next response sent her eyes directly to the little animal, to her surprise. She blinked, staring for a moment before calling out to them.

"You're much smaller than I expected!"

This odd factor only increased her interest in this stranger. Where had they come from?

Wulfwynn beamed at the stranger once she had her attention at last, heart pounding hard in her chest at the thrill of it all to meet a wolf.

She scrambled down from her ledge to get closer to her. Though Wulfwynn was of course very pomeranian shaped, her coat was strangely wolf-like in its pattern and color. 

"Hope that's not a bad thing!" Wulfwynn called back to the she-wolf happily. "My spirit is pretty big though! My name is Wulfwynn!"

"I can see that." She responded, holding back a polite giggle as she watched the other. "I am Viskani of La Montagne." Despite the attitude of the other she offered a rather formal greeting. It was simply in her nature.

"You have quite the coat - where have you come from?" She asked, offering a smile to the smaller canine.

Wulfwynn's eyes widened excitedly. "Is that a pack you are from?" A true and real wolf pack! Oh, how the visions of her dreams made them so real, of rushing through the woods in a wolven form with others of her own kind. 

Some would call it foolish nonsense but Wulfwynn didn't care what the world thought. "It's nice to meet you, Viskani. Oh, how I've dreamed of meeting a real, living wolf."

At her question, Wulfwynn furrowed her brows in a serious fashion that seemed incredibly out of place on her cuddly face. "A bad place" she said, frowning deeply. "But I got away with my wits. I made it out." 

Her face broke into a determined little grin, feeling proud of her survival and escape. "And now this, all this, will become my new home!"

She gazed adoringly across the expanding wilderness where she stood, eager to explore it all.

She couldn't help but smile at the optimism of the little 'wolf'. "It's quite thrilling, isn't it? Though I'm surprised that you're willing to go about this alone."

It was brave, but foolish. With Wulfwynn's size she guessed that she would last a week, and that was if she was lucky. She would need someone to shield her from the hawks.

Wulfwynn shrugged her little shoulders. "I don't have much of a choice right now," she woofed, turning her attention back to Viskani. "I can't go back to the bad place and it's out here I know I belong. My dreams sent my paws to these wilds, I can feel it!"

She left the ledge she was standing on, landing with a soft little oof due to the height of the drop. "So, I'm gonna make a life out here like the wolf I am. Maybe others will see my worth and I'll join a pack. I've been learning a lot of tricks on my journey here, it's like I just should have known this stuff all along."

Instincts, those were called but Wulfwynn didn't know that.

Viskani saw an opportunity, and decided to shoot her shot. "Why don't you come with me then, hm?" She suggested, looking down to the other.

"Montagne de Ciguë will have a place for you." She insisted. "We could certainly use your optimism."

Wulfwynn blinked in surprise at the she-wolf's offer, not expecting it. It was an offer of a lifetime and yet... her eyes drifting back to the wilds, there was still so much to see and learn. She needed to prove herself to herself, Wulfwynn realized. She didn't know who she was yet.

She turned back to Viskani. "Wow, I'm really honored," Wulfwynn began. "But..." A pack was what she wanted but the wildling also felt the call inside her howling for her towards other parts of the forest. That same call she heard in dreams. 

"I need to find out who I am first," Wulfwynn replied, eyes bright. "There's so much out there for me to discover. I need to chase that call still."

She gave a smile. "I'm sorry, Viskani."

A rejection was always frustrating, however she kept a clean face. "Come to us once you've had your fun then, yes?" She decided, her smile soon returning.

"Where is it that you plan to go next?" She was quick to move on from the topic, tail swaying. She still had plenty of questions for the other, she wouldn't be shooed away so easily.

Where did she plan to go was a good question, Wulfwynn scrunching her face thoughtfully. "Guess wherever the call takes me!" She yipped, so far that was all she'd done since escaping the mill and thus far it hadn't steered her wrong yet. It had helped her evade danger, find food and places to safely den. The dormant instincts of wolves that man sealed away when they tamed them into dogs spoke loudly to her, a hum in her bones. "It's hard to explain, that feeling has just always been here. And I think its the voice inside I gotta chase after."

She could understand that. She nodded, smiling. "Keep yourself safe then, alright?" She said, concluding their conversation.

"Not everyone you meet will have good intentions."

With a wave of her tail she began her departure.

Wulfwynn beamed at the she-wolf. "Don't worry about me, I made it this far and... I understand bad folk exist out here, I lived amongst them once," Wulfwynn woofed. "I know how to identify a snake from a rabbit."

She watched Viskani leave and Wulfwynn got to her paws, intending to follow the call inside her where it deemed her next. "Good hunting to you and fare well for now!"

And with a gleeful pounce, Wulfwynn was off again on her wolf quest.