The Heartwood Well, nobody's perfect

OOPS, I completely forgot that this territory's been fried! Updated my post accordingly. :)

Wildfire knew her parents' feelings on leaving the territory, particularly when it came to them (the pups). She knew how much they mistrusted the north in particular. She did not want to go against her parents' wishes, nor deliberately disobey them, yet the juvenile had really begun to develop a mind of her own lately. Furthermore, her inner Outrider was veritably screaming for release. It would be a while yet before Finley could accompany her and she just couldn't bear to wait anymore. It was time to act independently for the first time in her young life.

She moseyed to the borders, peering around and trying to play it casual. The coast was clear, so Wildfire suddenly broke into a gallop, skedaddling away from the caldera. Because she knew she was breaking the rules—something which she did very rarely, if ever—the youth's haunches remained low and her black tail tucked between her legs even as she fled. She did not adjust her posture until she was well out of sight of her homeland.

Forcing herself to relax, she kept moving quickly, retracing her footsteps to Big Salmon Lake. She wrinkled her nose as she hastened around the shore. She knew the way back to Phantom Hollow, the place where she had surfaced after the storm, but she hooked a slight left instead. Wildfire crossed a shallow part of the stream that wound through this region and found herself trotting into a sleepy summer woodland. Well, that was her first impression... until the trees suddenly thinned and gave way to an enormous plot of scorched earth littered with the charred remains of flora and fauna alike.