~Wild Hunt~ (Croal Mountains)

Firelight padded along an old deer trail, weaving nimbly through stands of pine and avoiding sticker bushes when she could. Her smaller size made these tasks a little easier, while her steady, relaxed pace would ensure the youngster could keep up without problem. Even if one of them had spent part of the trip complaining about it anyway.

"If we're going allll the way out here, can't we just hunt something?" Nanshe protested. The months-old pup had gotten a few burs snared in her cloudy gray coat, a fact that she also frequently announced to the others. "Uggh! Wait, this stupid plant is poking me still!"

Instead of offering assistance to her sister, a bright-eyed Astrae squeezed past her on the narrow trail and stepped out onto a small boulder standing out along the sloped terrain. "Hey Fire, is that a grape vine, up there?" Her black and white furred muzzle was pointed upwards, towards a slender vine curling through the branches of a nearby hickory tree. The vine was so tightly cluster with little thorns that it almost appeared to be covered in fur, rather than sharp points.