The Sunspire [I.C.J] fall hues

Loose pebbles tumbled from the male's pawpads as he fought for purchase on the grassy, boulder-strewn slopes. Straggly pine trees clung to the dry dirt, their roots arcing over the earth. All the thin wolf could see was the ground rising to a ridge that streaked the starry night sky, it's rocky helm faintly outlined by the moonlight. There was nothing unusual about a wolf traveling at night; their eyes were more than suited to refract faint night-light. But Cuan had dispersed from the lands around the Blacktail Deer Plateau and wandered for most of the summer, his meanderings leaning in a southerly direction.

The lanky, tan creature was tired of eking a living on his own. Cuan may be an easy-going creature, but his mood depended on the surrounding packmembers. And there was no one to run, jump, and play with, to expound his tireless energy upon. Even the rabbits weren't up for a chase, instead bolting straight to their burrows as the wolf's large paws smacked the earth in gregarious pursuit. He had grown more and more wary, and now Cuan's narrow chest flexed with each breath as he worked his way up the slope.

Cresting the ridge had not been in vain. The candid's rounded ears immediately perked, their black hairs outlined in silver as the starlight twinkled, seeming to shine brighter on this new land Cuan had discovered. The grass, green and sweet, coated rolling hills that fell from Cuan's toes and spread into a wide valley, encompassing large swathes of coniferous forest and along small run-off streams that ran towards the bottom of the earthen bowl. Along the ridge that the wolf stood on, inspecting the land below, ran more and more rocky terrain and ledges and eventually joined one of the arms stretching out from the mountains. His yellow eyes spied the massive bearing of rock that towered like a giant above the valley, a silent, massive protecting force.
There was the exuberance again, and he was swept up in the moment as he ran full-force down the slopes, his tongue lolling out. He could almost taste the smell of pine on his lips as trees came into view, bordering one of the edges of the hills. He veered left and his paws almost skidded on the cool grass, and with a yelp, Cuan came to a halt at the edge of the stand of trees. It was apparent now that the pines weren't the only thing that was providing aromas to his nose. The spy creature dropped his nose to the pine floor. There were wolves here, and a lot of them.