Northstar Vale Don't Wait

Unfortunately for Ratha, Rian was just wrapping up his patrol of the western rim when a great cry echoed distantly from the rim of the Vale. He snapped his gaze up to find the source of the noise and watched as some dislodged shale and dirt cascaded down the steeper slopes from where they'd been kicked out of place from above. It took him a moment longer to find the girl to whom the cry belonged and almost instantly an alarm went up in his head. His spine bristled, and his tail flagged high as he stalked through the trees with single-minded intention—stop her before she got any closer to the core.

But as soon as he broke the treeline he happened upon none other than Rannoch. The presence of the Alpha male calmed him somewhat and he slowed down to a reasonable trot as he closed the remainder of the gap between them. Rian stood a bit off Rannoch's flank, but offered a rumble of acknowledgement to both him and the strange female. His gaze, however, remained hard and reserved. He had no reason to trust this wolf, despite her apparent lack of ties to any of the local packs.