Greatwater Lake i got my ticket for the long way round.

Tendrils of the coming winter crept over the lands in the cold winds that came by night, the crackling layer of frost that encrusted the fields in the early morning light, the urgent calls of migratory birds that beckoned their brethren to prepare for departure.  Tehama greeted each warning of the coming cold season with a silent gratitude that she had found a place for the winter in Moonspear.  She did not yet know whether warmer weather would see her remain on its slopes; the whims of pack leadership, and the bonds she might yet form throughout the winter would determine that.  Yet the lady had grown so fond of Moonspear already that she considered it home in her mind, and had hardly seen fit to depart from its security in the weeks since Dirge had accepted her into their midst.

Today it was the prospect of a change in hunting venue that led her for the first time away from the mountain.  The early riser left her mark upon the borders, reaffirming Moonspear's claim as well as Firefly Glen's.  It was her understanding that they were inextricably linked, two feathers belonging to the same great eagle's wing, and that they were an extension of the family bonds that made Moonspear stable and strong.  She had heard the familiar voice of her acquaintance Bronco among their claiming song, and as she skirted their borders she silently wished him well.  He had seemed a dutiful young man and likely would be a boon to the newly-founded pack.

The lake where Tehama had met Tahoe glistened silvery smooth, mist rising in tendrils from its glassy surface in the early morning's grey light.  Tehama found her paws carrying her further as the world lightened, the pale glow of sunlight transitioning the dark blue hues of night to the mauve and salmon tones of morning proper.  An open stretch of grassland gave way to another expanse of water, and Tehama was pleased to find a selection of waterfowl skimming along the lake's surface, bobbing and diving amongst the rushes that lined th lake's banks and drooped heavy with the weight of a thin layer of frost.  Duck or goose or grebe or gadwall, Te wasn't particular, but she wanted to hunt a fine specimen to take to Sialuq's homestead as an offering of thanks to the budding medic and her family.

Only at length did the woman, focused on her potential hunting prospects, notice another wolfish shape at the water's edge.  A taller, silvered wolf, black-spined, lithe.  Tehama approached silently, drawing to within a few paces of the other as she trailed along the lakeside, and offered a slow tail wag of greeting.  "Hi," a soft-spoken greeting, voice gentled both from the cold air and remnants of sleep.  A flare of her nostrils told the Moonspear that this was no packmate, but that didn't mean she couldn't be sociable.