The Bracken Woods the lost & broken

Chai found herself astray again. Away from Whitebark Stream. Why she continued to slip away for extended periods of time was something she didn't understand. It could be any number of things. Maybe it had to do with the death of those two wolves, parents to young children. Children who now, would grow up never knowing their real mother and father. She felt detached, awkward. Like her head was in a constant fog and she couldn't focus. Often her thoughts drifted to Reiko and how she was doing. Surely, she had given birth by now. Chai contemplated turning to pay the Empire a visit but decided against it. It would be too early, still.

By the time she reached the forest, the likes of which she had never visited before, she was tired. Her glacial eyes lifted to peer up through the canopy of trees. Night had long since fallen, and she had no idea how late it actually was. She stepped forward, a sharp thorn grazing through the fine hairs of her paw, just shy of the pad. A reminder of how unfamiliar she was with this place. Poking around at night, trying to catch a late snack, was out of the question. Delicately she pressed on, in search of a suitable place to hunker down.