Big Salmon Lake afterglow

Born from a sister stream of the greater Whitefish River, this turn in the river found its final destination in the form of Big Salmon Lake. Here, snowmelt from the nearby mountains provide for a vast assortment of wildlife including local populations of elk, deer, bears, blue herons and a handful of other creatures. True to its namesake, this lake is a well known breeding ground for salmon. These freshwater varieties are highly active during the summer months only to later migrate upstream during the fall. Due to its size, this lake has been known to freeze over completely during the winter months, but that doesn’t prevent the locals from trying to steal a drink along its edges. This lake is a hot-spot year round as it’s a notable source of water for southern territories.

She didn't know where she was, but she knew that she was just about as far from Great Blue Valley as you could get, and as far as Autumn was concerned, that was a good thing. Everything she had ever known had been built in that forest, and everything she'd ever built died when she left.  She was bound and determined to make this a good thing.  It was time to turn over a new leaf, time for Autumn 2.0 (new release: bugs not yet identified)!

But Autumn 2.0 was just as bad as Autumn 1.0 about being alone — she didn't handle it well, and there were really only so many hours of walking through (more or less) the same landscape by yourself stuck in your own brain before you go stir-crazy.  By the time she reached the edge of the lake she was desperate for company of any kind.  Please, God, someone save me from myself.

She approached the edge of the frozen-over lake and smashed her paws against the edge a few times so the ice broke and fancied herself an ice cold drink of water.  Ha ha.  That actually wasn't very funny, now, was it?  She licked her chops and looked around, letting out a sigh.  Well.  Time to move on, she guessed.

@Cyclone

Bless you for adding in the territory description.
Also my IRL name is Autumn so of course I'm gonna like this toon. ;)

Cyclone continued to roam, continued to hunt her small game, and continued to look for others to join her cause. Spring was going to sneak up them, and she did not want to be left out in the cold (puns are fun!) She returned to the lake where she had come just a few days prior, feeling it out again and trying to decide where exactly she wanted to put roots down. Cyclone knew this was definitely the area where she wanted to be, but she was not entirely unaware of the pack that was just to the west of this lake. The last thing she needed was to start up some bullshit with another group of wolves.

As luck would have it, she spotted another wolf lapping up some delicious aqua not too far from where she was currently perched on a log. Target acquired. Cyclone hopped off the downed tree and made a beeline for the other wolf. Whether it was somebody looking to settle here on their own or with her, she wanted to know what was up. Slender legs took her quickly to the other wolf, and she let out a "woof!" to alert the girl to her presence. Her stance was friendly and inviting. She didn't have the gall to act all high and mighty when it was just her finding her feet here.

A sound catches her attention quick enough — a rush of snow and a pointed bark.  She's glad that she had her face up from the water, because if she'd been caught more off guard than she already was, she's sure she would've fallen straight over into the freezing pool.  That would have been counter-intuitive to Autumn 2.0's carefully crafted image, which was definitely much more refined than that.

She offers an easy grin as soon as she realizes that the dark lady charging at her isn't doing so with any ill intent.  Hey there, she calls back, the tip of her tail bobbing back and forth, come on over, the water's cold.  Summer water was warm and kind of bad, but when it was nice and icy like this?  Can't taste all the various things that make drinking from lakes so repulsive (to humans, anyway).

Ah, good ol' fashioned sarcasm (or at least something like it). Cyclone could get down with that, and she smirked as she trotted closer toward the female. Cold water was good on a warm day, but she wasn't a huge fan of it in the winter. It seemed to chill her from the inside out. Of course, she'd rather drink cold water than none at all. Cyclone dipped her head and took a few slurps from the lake's icy shore, then came back up and shivered.

Cold as butts, she said, licking her lips. She could have sworn she felt ice forming on her muzzle. You live around here? she asked, tilting her head to one side.

Cold as butts, the other woman says, and Autumn finds that it's easy to maintain her small, but genuine smile.  The dark lady reminds her of one of her uncle's children, who she had detested.  It was funny — she could accept this kind of humor from someone her own age, but if it came from anyone younger she found that it drove her nuts.  Lucky for this stranger, the only reason she'd even hated her cousins was because, well, they were her cousins.  

No, she responds breezily, I don't really live anywhere right now.  She says this like she's been doing it her whole life, because she'd found that the only way to break past the misery in traveling by her lonesome was to fake it until she made it.  She just wished it was easier to "make it" than it had turned out to be.  Why?  Do you come from somewhere around here?  Hopefully, for then at least she'd have a point of reference to work from.

Where Cyclone came from was about as hard to answer as what the weeks and months had in store for her. She had been born into the Blackthorn clan, but she had bounced around at least two dozen times since then, each and every time unsatisfied with one thing or another. She had tried so hard with Tantalus (and then Grayson), but they had failed her. She had even given Takiyok a shot, but she had just felt like she was forcing it. Maybe the only one who knew how to run things for Neasa Blackthorn was Neasa Blackthorn.

Not really, although I have been hanging around these parts for a few days. I was thinking I might stay here. Well, here in the general sense. I'm still trying to decide exactly where I want to... make a claim, I guess? It sounded so odd to say it out loud, even though she'd given it plenty of thought since she had left the glacier. Cyclone was definitely fumbling her way through this whole ordeal, but she figured it would come together if it did... and if not, she would float on to the next best thing.

The two chatted a bit longer, but in the end parted ways amicably.