Sequoia Coast I Didn't Fall, The Ground Attacked Me

OOC Note: Winter, Light Snow, 25°, V: 9 miles, H: 95%, W: 5 mph W

The fog that had settled on Isabeau's island had disappeared the further she trotted from her old home. In the few days that followed, she could smell bad weather coming on. She didn't know exactly where she would go once it appeared. She didn't know the mainland or what it held. It was night when she came upon a curved rocky edge. Snow had fallen lightly and crunched beneath her paws. It was a clear night with little wind. Isabeau felt odd not being completely concealed by fog on nights like this. Her island home had been very good at producing copious amounts of fog. It was the rain, she thought. Rain always brought more fog. It was so strange not having it now.

Isabeau paused at the arc of rock. She couldn't decide which side to take - the inner edge or the outer. It was too dark to tell exactly how far it went and where it led. In all honesty, she wasn't particularly in the mood to decide. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that the berries she found the day before were not enough to keep a bird alive. She really needed something a little more  substantial.

The prospect of a hunt enlivened her. Any excuse to hunt was a good one! Isabeau lifted her nose into the air, but the breeze brought no clear scents of food. She dropped her nose to the cold ground instead. Maybe, just maybe, she could pick up a tiny hint of rodent. She never was very good at figuring out all the smells when it was snowy. The bitter cold always numbed her poor nose. She much preferred no snow, but it couldn't be helped. She didn't control the weather. So, grumbling in her mind about strange Unknowns causing snow to fall, she sniffed in circles for traces of food. After several moments, Isabeau thought she picked up a stronger scent of... mouse perhaps? She began to follow it, concentrating on nothing else.

Havelock’s stomach grumbles and her tired paws throb, willing her to come to a stop and take a break.  The girl only listens to her stomach, driving her forward to find something to eat.  The water is much too cold to fish in and the sand is hard to run on, causing the ability to snag a bird that isn’t injured highly unlikely.  The rest of the land she’s unsure of and she’s never far from the shore for long. When she finally finds ground a little more steady than sand, she quickly settles herself for a walk.  It’s a little easier on something solid and the ache in her paws turn a little dull.  It’s enough to give her time to concentrate on the pain in her stomach.

There isn’t much luck for the girl but there’s another distraction as she spots a wolf up ahead, nose to the ground in a similar fashion she’d been in.  The other seems to have the same idea as she.  A growl rumbles in her chest and she narrows her dark eyes, bending her legs so she’s barely a contrast against the white snow on the ground.  With another wolf in the area, her chance at finding and catching something dwindles.  There isn’t enough big game nearby for them to share and their best chance is some rodent, scavenging for winter. 

Continuing in circles, following the wisps of scent, Isabeau began to enclose on a stronger scent. It definitely wasn't mouse after all, but vole, her favorite. She used to try to hunt these the most on her old island, but she was never successful. They were cunning little critters with their tunnels. As Isabeau mused about the strange habits of the underground rodent wondering how it was to live underground so often. She didn't notice the white wolf crouched not too far from her, blending well against the lightly covered ground. More importantly, Isabeau didn't notice that she was slowly making her way into the inner arch of the rock formation.

Nose busy twitching and huffing, she slowly climbed up the ridge of rock. In the dark, she should have noticed the edge as she came upon it. Unfortunately, poor Isabeau did not. Before she knew what was happening, her nose had left the ground. This was followed quickly by her feet. Tail over head she went! In the span of a few seconds, as she flipped over, she thought she spotted something in the near distance. Was it a wolf she saw?

Though the ground was just a few feet from the edge she'd fallen from, Isabeau landed hard. Her spindly legs and big paws became entangled. She landed with rear up in the air, facing the abominable projection that caused her trouble. A deep, frustrated grumble issued from her muzzle. She angrily unscrambled her limbs and snapped at the rock wall in front of her. Stupid thing! Just imagine what my old pack would think if they saw that mess! Not even noticing a lack of ground! No wonder I never catch anything!

She turned and remembered possibly seeing something on the way down from the top of the rock. Isabeau's eyes scanned the snow, trying to remember where exactly she thought she had seen something. She took in the air as her eyes settled on the low laying wolf watching her. Isabeau shook the snow and dirt from her fur, scratched her nose with her paw and sniffled.

She called out, "Having fun watching me make a fool of myself, then?"

Havelock stays quiet while the other wolf moves around, scouring the ground for something in particular.  The young wolf crouches down into the snow to better remain unseen, at least for the time being.  To find what the other wolf finds will determine what she’s got going on for her here.  

However, as the other continues to move, she manages to lose her footing and spin head over heels onto another ledge.  She gasps, jumping forward but stopping herself once she’s reminded the other doesn’t know she’s here. Though her cover isn’t safe for long, Havelock doesn’t dash when she’s spotted.

“You could say that,” the wolf says with a flick of her tail.  She takes a few steps forward to close the distance but the other remains on a different level. She hadn’t been watching for a mistake but when the other toppled, it would be difficult to say it hadn’t been amusing.  At least once Havelock realized the other hadn’t really hurt herself. “Thanks for the show, cutie,” she tells her with a grin.

Isabeau huffed. She wasn't sure if it was better or worse to fail in front of a stranger instead of family. It was the failing again that was the worst. Now sitting upright, she looked around for other watchers but didn't see any immediately. She brought her eyes back to the wolf in front of her.

"Are you a lone wolf? Or is this your territory? I am unfamiliar with the area," said without malice or threat.