The Heartwood forget you, and you, and you

As the days passed since Matty's death, grief had slowly formed a strong urge to wander from the forest. She would always return home but something about the new surroundings and the distraction she got just from moving made everything easier to deal with somehow. She wasn't actually sure it was safe to wander this far given the warning @Mal had given her about the dangerous wolves that might be lurking, and she felt kind of guilty for going against her promise that she would stay close. But she just wanted to get away for a little bit, and she thought Mal would probably understand anyway. 

She paused for a moment as the terrain beneath her snowy paws abruptly changed—or it seemed abrupt because she had been so lost in her thoughts that the details around her blended into the background. Regardless, she was immediately curious and drawn farther into the strange forest. She made her way through the singed trees, pausing again when she caught the fresh scent of a stranger. Against her better judgement, she decided to follow the trail and see who might be on the other end. Tracking turned out to be fairly difficult here, though, and it took her while to separate the scent she wanted from the strange scents around her. 

A bark made her freeze again. It came from somewhere close by, and she moved forward again, intrigued and even more curious. She saw the golden stranger first and slowed her steps until she stopped a respectable distance away. That was when the instantly recognizable scent of Moonspear filled her nose. Simmik tensed and scanned the area until she saw the culprit. She was immediately suspicious. This one hadn't been at the borders the last time she was at the mountain, but there was no denying his scent tagged him as part of the pack. Despite the relatively peaceful nature of the meeting she and Mal had with Moonspear, she still did not trust any of them. She hadn't even been directly involved with any disagreement before, but what Mal had told her had been enough. She fixed both strangers with a shrewd gaze but said nothing, unsure what to do next.