Wapun Meadow through it all

There was a twinge of pain from deep within his gut, a stabbing hunger settling where sustenance was absent. How long had it been since he’d been turned away from his sister’s pack? Since he’d last seen those few that he still knew? It was before the tremors started, before the prey had vanished. A large part of him still wanted to return, to try again to right things, even after the failure he’d been awarded for his last attempt. He lingered in the area for that reason, refusing to leave even when the earth itself tried to chase him out; he remained, though a coward he’d turned.

Something akin to the scent of a deer crossed his path, the temptation irresistible. He trailed after it, uncertain if the smell was real or simply a figment of his imagination—a lonesome, hungry mind could be the most convincing, after all, but he’d made himself the fool so often already that the thought of doing it yet again just seemed right. And a fool he was made once more, unable to follow the scent to fruition; he backtracked and searched, altering his course, but there was nothing to find.

Nothing that he was expecting.

Then he caught wind of another wolf—it was familiar and triggered feelings that he couldn’t quite comprehend, but absent enough that he couldn’t exactly place it. Despite this, Alexander followed it, pace increasing right before coming to a sudden, dead stop. Because across the meadow, he saw someone he knew, someone he’d wanted to see again for what felt like a lifetime but she was there for another reason. He followed her gaze, finding the same distortion in the field, and his stomach twisted; while he couldn’t make out what it was, there was a nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach that it wasn’t good. Swallowing hard, he padded forward, his own gaze now trained on the lump and his heart rate increasing with each step.