get wild

After her encounter with Cthulu, Junior trekked east, roaming just beyond the Teekon Wilds' furthest fringes. The endless wilderness called to her, a song heard not by the ears but by the heart and, to some extent, the paws. Junior listened to it as she veered south and considered heeding its needy cry. Instead, she stuck to the outskirts of her homeland, unable to break the tie that snared her, even though it was almost totally threadbare.

After traveling ceaselessly for three days, Junior finally stopped in the shadow of a distant mountain and slept from one dusk all the way through to the following afternoon. She rose, feeling famished and desperately thirsty. She took care of the latter urge via a small brook, though finding food wouldn't prove so easy. As soon as she located quarry, it seemed to elude her, leaving the youth frustrated and more ravenous than ever.

Her unproductive tracking brought her within scenting range of a pack. Junior paused, eyes glowing in the midnight darkness, and sniffed the air. She smelled no more than a handful of wolves. Licking her chops, she slowly made her way closer to the edge of the forest that apparently comprised the pack's range. She deliberated whether it might be worth the risk to raid one of their caches. She could die... but then she would die if she didn't find sustenance soon too.

Junior actually made up her mind to invade and rob their stockpiles, though her courage failed her when she actually arrived at the treeline. Instead, the juvenile stood there, tail twitching and eyes shifting contemplatively over the dark woodland.