Morningside Cuesta chalkboard

leaving @Ashlar in @Gannet's capable paws, mona decided to give herself a few hours of free time, the first since her son had been born. once over the hollow's borders, the young mother had loped in an eastward direction, heading for the sloping bowl that in wintertime was a pleasant slide for those daring enough.
today, however, mona merely trotted along its steep edge, breathing in the air as her ears swiveled in response to birdsong. spring, and here she was was in the thick of it, wildflowers beneath her paws and the sun warming the crimson fur upon her spine.

Nunataq had left her self-proclaimed kingdom at Bearclaw valley to have a bit of adventure. A more creative kid would have encountered dragons, witches, warlocks, gremlins and whatnot along the way already. The mute girl however - being down-to-earth kind of person with imagination that did not reach further than day-to-day stuff - had had some curious discoveries that were interesting to her, but might not be too exciting for the general public to read and muse about.

She stopped briefly by the borders of Lost Creek Hollow, to check out the scent marks left by her former pack-mates and left few messages of her own on the dashboard. Then, following a track, left by a rodent that ended up on her lunch-plate, she reached vast fields nearby. There she spotted a familiar face.

Nunataq and Mona had not been particularly close, but the Mayfair lady had been around for all of the girl's childhood and had done baby-sitting duties as well. Therefore she was not forgotten and with a good mood for company, the girl alerted the other wolf with a quiet bark. Then she approached in a friendly, easy-going manner. It had been a while, since they had last "talked".

it was not long before a polite sound alerted her to the presence of another, and mona woke from pleasant daydreams to watch with fond surprise as nunataq approached. "nuna!" she exclaimed, waving her tail in the cool air as she took in the changes that maturity had wrought in the former child.
"it's good to see you," the firebrand chirped, knowing full well that nunataq would not reply, and not minding in the least. she drifted closer to exchange breath with the girl, allow the other to sample the scents upon her pelt while she did the same. mona had expected nunataq and merrick to be together, but there was no trace of the boy upon the yearling's pelt.

Unlike Nuna, who had convenient memory losses, when it came to people she found unpleasant or not worth to remember, Mona greeted her as a good friend. She readily accepted the invitation to do a thorough reading session on the latest news written in a fine print of various scent molecules, and when it was done, she retreated and regarded the adult curiously. The last proper memory of her babysitter of a time, when she had towered over Nuna, now she was within the same level and could look her in the eyes as an adult.

She tilted her head to the side and watched the other wolf in expectant silence. Mona had been up to something, before Nunataq had appeared, and now the mute girl was ready to join, whatever the activity had been.

satisfied that nunataq was well-off, mona turned to continue her parade along the edge of the dip. she had been gathering the scents roundabout, sorting through them for anything resembling prey, and now she returned to it. the spoor of a lone deer soon came underfoot, and mona sniffed at it, glancing to nunataq with a lap of her tongue around jaws.
two of them might have a chance, but if not, a good sport could be had all the same. a smile tipped to the girl; mona pressed on at a trot, ears swept forward and quivering to hear the faintest sound of hoofbeat there might be.

Nunataq was a little slower to find the faint scent trail that Mona had caught. Therefore at first - in good faith that the older wolf had something substantial and useful on her mind the mute girl followed her no questions asked. In her experience her old baby-sitter was the kind of person, who never told people, what to do, she left the choice of, whether they wished to follow or not, for themselves. Which made the head-strong and independent youth easy to comply. Had it been the strict "you have to do, 'cause I say so" she would have shown resistance. Not because the other party was wrong, but that the girl did not like the tone.

After a while she stumbled upon a pile of droppings, which gave her a clue on the kind of animal they were going after. She paused there and with brow furrowed appeared to be deep in thought about something. So far hardly any encounters with deer had been lucky - one herd had mobbed her, the other deer - although dead in the end - had almost fallen on her and drowned her in the swamp effectively. Two very distinct bad memories about the species was enough for her to not enjoy the idea. But - hey - Mona had said nothing about hunting. Looking had never hurt, right? So - with less excitement than previously - she followed the older wolf's lead, keeping eyes open for the sign of the ungulates.