Bearclaw Valley j- shut up and dance with me

Everything about the shift in seasons seemed magical at the moment. After a bitter winter that threatened to never relinquish it's crown to spring, even the slightest elevation in temperature was appreciated. The Teekon Wilds seemed to drink in the changes eagerly, and already evidence that warmer, brighter days were eminent flaunted themselves as the young wolf found herself more lost in the endless territory. Her mocha dipped nose and ears worked overtime, as awkward feet carried her faster than sensory receptors could process her surroundings. Following her nose, before she knew it, she was lost. The spring thaw revealed so many overpowering scents, she had absent mindedly gravitated towards the scent of other wolves. A scent she enjoyed mentally analyzing until a sudden realization ran her pale with shock. She had wandered to the doorstep of claimed territory.

Blinking citrus eyes at her own naivete, the pup tried to reason with herself that this was exactly where she had intended to be. Really, it was. She hadn't known it setting out, but this was the secret mission she had planned for herself today. Too stubborn to admit to herself that she wasn't as prepared for life as a lone wolf as she thought she was, Honi clung to her independence and stroked her own childish ego, reassuring herself that it was just the right time to try and prove herself to a pack she might call home. Like a teenager planning their life away from those pesky parents, she had reveled in her solitude as long as survival skills would allow. Now it was time to finally try her paw at becoming a part of something bigger. She was a very safe distance from those who used and abused her in her birth pack. She was safe, she told herself. Far safer in these strange lands than in the plots and sick intentions of her family. She would make good on her word of a brighter future for herself.

Today was the day, and now was the hour. Pausing a moment, as large eyes rolled around to scan the scenery one last time, the pup gave a hearty shake, her still oversized ears flopping with a child's grace as she rid herself of anxiety over requesting an audience with the residents of the valley. She had overcome worse. Finding the strength in her own chest, Honi threw back her strawberry-blonde head and howled as evenly as her adolescent voice would permit, crackling a bit at the end with an excited squeak. Clearing her throat afterward, she licked her lips and snorted in attempt to cover her embarrassment and awkwardness. Y'know...in case anyone was watching.

She stood patiently, unsure of what to do with herself in this situation, and paced a bit when her young attention span began to stretch beyond it's limits. Her nose never quit, and it found a thousand new and thrilling scents to catch and ponder as she pawed a bit anxiously at the thawing ground, ears perking at every slight noise. She tried hard to keep her cool and act older than she was. Nobody wanted a dork in their pack. She was only mildly aware of her beauty at this point, and put on a front with others, but alone she enjoyed her awkward personality. A bird called out nearby in the late afternoon sky, and another bird answered. The feeling of belonging.