Rising Sun Valley and the profit will outweigh the cost

lame intro is lame, sorry D:

Like Mordecai, Andalusia had split from the quartet to peruse the land solo, in search of game or curious nooks to explore. Yet if she was honest, she simply wanted some time alone. After living on her own for nearly half a year, exhaustive interaction was easier said than done. Her fellow travellers proved worthy companions and ones she imagined she would be honoured to name as kin. But the journey wearied her, not in physical expense, but in mental tire. She needed time to herself simply because she'd grown used to the quiet, so when Mordecai's howl reached her ears, she considered leaving him be.

Yet something deeper turned her around. There was something in Mordecai that sparked in her the excitement of a child, a feeling she concealed to the hidden corners of her heart. He was the first and only Ostrega she'd met beyond her siblings, and his company was one of which she hardly tired. He was the enigma of a family that in many ways was not her own, even though their blood ran the same, and no matter the hours she spent with him, the wonder she felt his way never wavered.

The grasslands gave way to thick forest, and soon the scent of fox overwhelmed her. Masked beneath their musk stood Mordecai's scent, along with one clearly wolf, but otherwise unrecognizable. Andalusia paused before she stepped forward again, slower in her approach. Her uncle's call had been one free of distress, but she took the precaution nonetheless. Not every wolf in these parts was a kindly one, and only when Andalusia saw her uncle's form standing tall through the trees did she let her apprehension flee. She cupped her ears to catch their words, then stepped through the low-lying bushes to meet them. She waved her tail in good nature, though she eyed the new male with reserved curiosity. If appearances said anything, he was nothing special, but looks hardly told the truth.

As for quips or clever hellos, nothing came, though they fired rapidly through her mind. It seemed her voice was useless after a long day of talking, and she resolved to greet the stranger with a simple nod and the quirk of a grin she never could quite wipe from her face.