Ravensblood Forest Chaser

dice roll gave her a successful sneak away  

 Another day found Asara in the same spot just outside the caverns with her siblings once more. She was able to play with her cousins sometimes but she really just wanted to run, but she had to stay within sight of the adults. Boring! She had tried to just run off so many times just to get brought back over and over again. She would invite Vale or Violante but then the authorities would notice sooner. 

She casually wandered away from their gathering until the forest swallowed her. She enjoyed the new feeling of being alone. She was excited to see the things she wasn't normally allowed to. 

A gleam caught her eye in the distance, something floating to the ground. She darted towards it, stirring a group of birds. She jumped instinctively trying to catch one. She was chasing one before she knew it. Asara blindly ran through the forest after the bird until it flew out of sight. 

The flying pattern had led her to a clearing in the forest. She looked up at the clouds in the sky before wondering if she should go home. She decided to wait for now, maybe she'd meet someone fun to play with.

Violante was on her way home from patrol, the last stop being the circle; it was so close to the edge of their borders, as well as the caverns, that it would be stupid not to patrol it. She lifted her dark muzzle to the air, nostrils flaring as she inhaled deeply. Nothing was amiss, until she caught one of her daughter's scents far too close — what on earth was she doing out here, without an adult? Violante let out a snarl and sprinted into the small clearing, eyes raking it. Then, there. "Asara!" Violante's voice came out rougher than she meant it to, and she growled lowly, "You're not here, alone?" So close to their borders, or even the river... what if she had fallen in? Her chest tightened, and she forced herself to exhale slowly.

"Mom! There was this thing and it was super fast and I was running and it was so much fun!" Forgetting completely that she wasn't at all where she was meant to be Asara's body wriggled excitedly as she saw her mom and she rushed towards her. She stopped as she got closer.

"What's wrong momma?"

She could not hide her concern from her daughter, it seemed. "You mustn't wander this far without an adult." She scolded her child gently, despite how her brow furrowed and her frown deepened. "You are too close to the edge of our territory." Just past the circle was the nearby keep, which they did not control. She sighed softly, then pulled Asara closer with a paw, pressing her muzzle to the girl's forehead. "What... what were you chasing, little dove?"

Asara frowned as her mother pulled her closer. "I wanted to run, sorry I worried you." At her mother's query she bounced around excitedly. "It was a bird! You should seen how fast I was running, it was going through the trees and everything!" 

Violante looked down at her daughter, smiling softly. "Well, once you're a little bit older, I'll take you out on your first hunt. We can chase all sorts of things — how does that sound, little dove?" She gestured through the trees, telling the girl, "All sorts of birds come in the forest, eating the wild berries that grow. I can teach you how to hunt them."

"I'm ready, let's start now!" Asara couldn't stop a yawn from slipping out. Her solo adventure had been more than enough excitement for one day and she had earned a much needed rest. "Well, maybe not, right now, maybe like later, after a quick nap" She had a rather fleeting sense of time and she was rather exhausted. "Hey mom, where's home?" Asara was completely unbothered that she didn't know where she was, she was rather smug about it actually.

Violante chuckled gently, and she nosed Asara's flank, swinging her about to face southward. "We are near the circle, little dove. It is just north of the spring, so now we must go back south." Perhaps it would be a benefit to show the girls their borders as well; she hadn't yet simply for fear that they were too young, or that she would accidentally overtire them with her own restlessness. Smiling, she brushed a kiss across Asara's forehead, then turned to lead  the way back towards the dens.