Ravensblood Forest the bigger they are, the harder they fall

Morning found Pied in an unexpected place, considering she'd only just started venturing away from the den again yesterday. Like a pup who'd just discovered the world, she strayed further than she'd intended. Now, black trees loomed at her shoulder as she hobbled along the very edge of the wooded realm known as Ravensblood Forest. Realizing how far she'd unintentionally come, she paused and considered the long trek back. Deciding she'd better go no further, she dropped to her haunches, wincing slightly as her sore body protested the day's exertions.

The Gamma nearly wet herself when a howl abruptly tore through the air, coming from within startlingly close range. Her yellow eyes scanned the nearby tree line and soon enough clapped upon a familiar figure skulking near the boundaries between the forest and the ridge. Pied's ears settled slightly backward as she watched Jinx, wondering what the Kesuk wanted. Although cooped up in her den until recently and barely conscious half the time besides, she'd heard about Jinx's departure, albeit not in great detail.

Although part of Pied wanted to wag her tongue at the other she-wolf, pointing out that she'd abandoned a pack twice now, the compulsion was surprisingly weak. Rather, she felt more curious than anything. She wanted to know what had driven Jinx from the ridge's ranks and Pied knew that, if nothing else, Jinx's take would surely be an intriguingly dramatic tale. She also suspected part of the reasoning for Jinx's desertion and even, daresay, understood it; hadn't Pied herself been contemplating leaving until the orca attack and Akhlut's serendipitous comeback?

Too tired to move closer, Pied sucked in a deep breath—her ribs smarted—and shouted simply, "Jinx!" to get her attention and hopefully prompt the Kesuk to walk over to her.