Firefly Glen a minty fresh death breath

A wraithlike shadow materialized and drifted forward. His words punched through the gale, delivering the brusque greeting. Lane nodded in response to his first question, and she adjusted her posture to the most nonthreatening stance she could muster while still bracing herself against the weather.

It stood to reason that any wolf wandering this frozen hellscape was either insane, or up to no good. This Firefly Glen patrolman was probably already wary of her. 

"What are you doing out here?"

Straight to the point, of course. It was not the time or the place for niceties.  "Lost," Lane admitted, her gaze cutting away to hide her shame. "Lost, alone, starving, and hurt" would have been most accurate, but Lane had already swallowed more dignity than she could bear. 

"I can pay for lodging." Like many her age, Lane had more pride than sense, and she couldn't bring herself to stoop to begging. Even so, she was painfully aware of how empty-handed she would appear to the Firefly Glen representative. 

"Toad Amelia can vouch for me," she added. "Lane. Herbalist and Medic." Lane's voice was hoarse from shouting above the wind.

Holy fuck, it was awful out here. Lane hoped the man would just take her word for it, and he wouldn't leave her waiting as he went to verify her identity.