The Sunspire Fear nothing

Having grown up in a relatively flat stretch of land, mountains were a new experience for Spine—and one she had grown immediately fond of. Her muscles ached after a good, long climb in the best of ways. Besides, the Blackthorn was convinced the creature she had seen mere nights ago made its home in these parts, and she was determined to catch another glimpse of it—if not an actual conversation. Being late summer, Spine wasn't too eager to find a new pack to call home and opted to enjoy her "freedom" for as long as she could stand it. So, despite the fact that the mountains seemed to be empty of any other wolves, the Blackthorn decided to call them home for the time being.

And although she hadn't quite explored every single mountain in the range, yet—that adventure would take some weeks, she imagined—a single peak swiftly became her favorite. One side of it sloped gently, all green and calm and peaceful, with small rivers and streams glittering down from the snowy summit... but it was higher up where the true adventure and beauty began, for it became hard and stony. Spine imagined it like a castle, riddled with caverns and overhangs; a fortress, begging to be ruled by a brilliant king or queen. "If I were a mysterious creature of the night, that's certainly where I would go," she mused.

A peal of thunder interrupted that thought, and Spine's ears went back with indecision. Having never been in the mountains before, she wasn't entirely convinced it would be safe to continue her attempt to reach the higher, rocky sections of this one—but she didn't quite have the heart to leave it, either. "Well, shit," she commented, not yet noticing the descent of another nearby.