Neverwinter Forest Through gutters filled with black debris.

Simmik was in a foul mood today as she made her way along the borders. She hadn't slept in—well, she wasn't sure how long. Every time she closed her eyes, she was tortured with the memories she was trying hard to forget, and if she did manage to sleep, her dreams became an instant replay of one of the worst moments of her life. So, she tried to push herself past the exhaustion, which made for a very irritable Simmik. 

The smell didn't help her mood any; she hated that damn smell, and she didn't understand why it was here in the forest. It started off faint, but then grew stronger as time passed. The odor was so strong now that it had the Beta stomping through the trees, trying to figure out where it was coming from so that she could get rid of it. She wondered if some animal had wandered in here after visiting the hot springs and died or something. 

What she found was not a dead animal, but a heap of wolf—a stranger she didn't know, sprawled out under the trees like he was allowed to be here. With his smell so different and her anger clouding her judgement, she didn't realize the stranger was the wolf she had sparred with on the mountain. All she could think about was attacking the intruder. 

She heard Miriam's voice, and that only fueled her need to protect. With no warning other than a piercing snarl, Simmik launched herself forward, breaking into a sprint and aiming her punishing bite for whatever part of the stranger she connected with first.