Big Salmon Lake Moon rocks

Time away from the Redhawks had eventually soothed the pain of her mother's passing. She felt guilty about it — her dad probably needed her, and Towhee was pretty haggard looking last Alyx saw her, too — but they just weren't what she needed right now. Everyone knew she was a touch selfish, and this was no different. Their sadness only amplified hers, and on top of that, she didn't want to be around their kids.

Alyx could never have guessed that she would dislike children. Growing up, she had pined for her older siblings to spend time with her, but now it made sense why they might not have wanted to. Now that she was a bit older, she found kids really annoying. Towhee's crybaby son was the start of it, but having met several pups on her travels, she'd concluded that it wasn't just him. Between that and the thought of bridging an impossible gap with her actual little siblings, Alyx simply wanted nothing to do with any of them.

Knowing she could not pretend, she hadn't returned home. Unbeknownst to her, there was no longer a home to return to. She wandered here and there throughout the Teekons, and today she just happened to be wandering closer to the Caldera than she had been in a long time.

Alyx smelled greenery on the wind and, curious about its source in winter, found her way to Rye as he was cleaning his wounds. She felt a little weird about walking up to some stranger without a reason — she couldn't just say she was lonely and wanted some company — so when she spotted his medicinal pouch, she decided to improvise. Hey, that's pretty cool. What is it?