Emberwood restlessness

Bazi did not know it, but Scarlett was far from home - Bearclaw Valley was further south than even Swiftcurrent Creek, and the Nova Peak Alpha rarely strayed further than the edge of the Dawnlark Plains. "No," she lied without any real reason to, studying the other wolf as discretely as possible. There were tell-tale signs that she was still nursing young; subtle markers that only a fellow mother would spot. No doubt Scarlett would know this same fact about Bazi if she chose to scrutinize her.

"My name's Wilder. I'm .. from Neverwinter Forest." Scimitar had spoken fondly of it and Bazi had vague memories of being there. "Not any more," she added hastily, layering her false timeline with more detail. "There was an invasion. We lost." The pale wolf blinked, and returned the other girl's cautiously friendly gesture. "Now I'm .. " Just enjoying the freedom? Hardly the words of a traumatized, recently bereaved widow. ".. tracking them," she finished with a hard nod. Yes, that sounded good - Wilder the Loner was tracking down the wandering ground that had decimated her family.