Cricket Creek Bog the monkey and the toucan were there

@Vasa, but anyone is welcome! 

It had been ten days since her sister had left, and while initially, Bat had stubbornly refused to go -- loyalty to family and all that -- the idea had lingered in the back of her mind, itching her like a thorn stuck in her coat.  She had never been apart from her parents before, and the uncertainty of such a thing was a little scary.  But at the same time, it was that very uncertainty that appealed to the bold and adventurous yearling.  It wasn't enough to simply explore around their home anymore.  She'd been there, done that enough times now that it was actually getting pretty damn boring.  Mom and Dad were creatures of routine, and the wild-hearted Bat was tired of the "same shit, different day" sort of life.  

So in the days after Vasa's departure, Bateleur stewed on it.  She didn't really want to leave home, but she really kinda did.  

And so finally, she just...did.

She couldn't remember where Vasa said she was going, and even if she did, she certainly wouldn't have had any idea how to get there.  Mom and Dad had mentioned something, but you know how a teenager's memory is.  In one ear and out the other.  They did give her some directions which turned out to be pretty helpful, but Bat's dumb ass still ended up lost more times than she could count.  Nevertheless, she ended up fumbling her way into the general vicinity of her birthplace (not that she really remembered it much).  There was a literal freaking ocean of scents mixed all together around the place, and if Vasa's was in there somewhere, it was drowned out by all the other olfactory voices clamoring for attention.  Good freaking grief, she thought to herself as she sat down and looked around with frustration.  There's a heck of a lot of wolves around here.  I better watch my ass.

Note:  Changed the location of this thread from Golden Glade to Cricket Bog -- she's wandering around. :P

She sat for a while, uncertain what to do next, hoping she wasn't inadvertently trespassing on another pack's territory.  She didn't think anyone actually lived here, but there were so many scents.  Feeling uneasy, she got up and began to roam, wishing she could find her sister but knowing she wasn't going to do it sitting on her ass.  The woods she was in were really quite lovely, and some parts of it actually were the vaguest bit familiar.  She stepped lightly, keeping quiet and attempting to avoid the areas that her nose told her were the highest-trafficked.  She was a headstrong, know-it-all yearling, sure, but she also wasn't stupid enough to think that a young wolf caught alone by a larger group sounded like a good time.

After a while, her wary wandering brought her to the fringes of some great lowland, and as the trees thinned out she began to notice that it was a swamp.  Flies buzzed and pestered her, driving her away from the muddier areas and forcing her to stay up near the trees.  No longer sheltered by the bright verdant canopy of the glade, she felt the hot summer sun beat down on her back and for the moment, she felt pretty good.

Date of first post:  August 21.  It is now September 7.  Bat has been in the area for two and a half weeks.

She had wandered around the vicinity for some time now -- she lost track of how long, but a lot of days and a lot of nights had passed.  She had crossed paths with a few wolves, some had bristled suspiciously as they'd gone on their way, but most had either ignored her entirely or had taken no notice of her.  She had been hesitant to howl for her sister out of fear of attracting hostile attention.  While she was pretty sure she wasn't trespassing on some pack's territory, the scents in this area were still pretty strong, and the presence of a lot of wolves in a place meant there were a lot of opportunities for her to get her ass kicked.  Young and dumb she might be, but she wasn't stupid.

But there came a point when she was getting tired of waiting and searching.  She either wanted to find someone she knew (Mom had said something about there being lots of family around here??) or she wanted to throw her hands up and go back home.  Mom had told her a lot about @Towhee and @Phox, and had mentioned she might find friendly faces in her aunt and uncle.  And so, swallowing her nervousness and casting caution to the wind, she turned up her nose and howled for them, hoping that they were nearby and might have time to respond.

Phox didn't recognize the voice, but it was a direct call for him and Towhee. He knew that Towhee wouldn't hear it, so it was going to be up to him. He thought it might have been a messenger sent by Niamh, so he veered off from his current course and headed toward it. As he drew closer, Phox noted something oddly familiar in the wolf who stood near the Firebird's claim. He had only spent a month with the Frosthawks last winter, when she'd been an adolescent, but that was definitely Raven's daughter. Those markings were unmistakable.

Bateleur? he half-asked, half-greeted. What brings you all the way up here?