Jade Fern Grove alright, my brothers, listen closely

1 JOINER ONLY, PLEASE

Peace and stability seemed to be returning to Redtail Rise, but it seemed to her to be a thin veneer. The cracks remained below, factions formed, and finding she could not stomach the tension and uncertainty of her home at present, Watcher took once more to wandering.

An enduring lope carried her miles away across frigid taiga and rolling hill, over treacherous moraine and through the forest Ulfhedinn and his kin frequented. She slept the nights between out in the open, nose tucked under tail and body coiled tight for warmth. She hunted when her belly growled, but otherwise she pressed on wherever her paws might take her, heeding her need for distance while things settled out properly at home.

Now she set a slow pace through a sparse woodland that glimmered gold and green and housed many creatures in the height of summer, but was open and barren in winter's grip. A cool wind sliced through her coat without remorse, driving her into a thicker copse near the southern edge, where she found an old scrape and began inspecting its scents with a searching nose.