Phoenix Maplewood Hungry like a wolf

hello :3 i wrote this from my phone at work, ha, and also had a failed hunt roll.

If only to bide the time, Thuringwethil leaves her home and moves across the river and down the stream that eventually breaks off and leads her to the Maplewood. No longer does she expect the Phoenix wolves to return, or for problems to arise (she'd been able to deter the dark male from laying such a claim) and the dispute last time she'd been here had been unfavorable. The thought alone is enough to twist her already unsettled stomach, saliva building up in the back of her mouth a mix of hunger and nausea.

She stops by the stream long enough to stare in it, then giving a half-hearted attempt at fishing, but coming up empty handed and soaking wet. She sputters a few times and shakes out her fur, her cheekbones suddenly prominent with wet fur sticking to her and her eyes sunken into her head. Her frame has thinned out over the weeks, atrophy in places, and her strength has been compromised but the young leader doesn't hold herself any less. Heda won't allow it.

Thuringwethil has gotten used to the forest looking desolate but the promise of regrowth peaks out from the corners of her vision. Grass is starting to return and even the trees are offering a little life but it's a far cry from its former glory and a long time before it could support more life. The herbs for the spring and summer season are wasted, not that she knows much, and the birth of their wildlife is stunted for who knows how long. The promise, however, is what remains as she slips through a territory that becomes more and more familiar each visit.

With a flick of her ears, something catches her attention, but the ruckus is long over and she only sees another standing off in the distance, tall and proud. From where she stands, she can't see the blood across his face but the scent wafts in her direction and there's a rumble she can't deny. Curiosity calling her, she takes a few more steps before she reconsiders and, instead of approaching, simply watching. With little to hide the large shadow, she remains an open target, but her silence remains while her presence becomes apparent.