Chickadee found the female's laughter to be quite captivating. There was something so warm and splendid about her, which Chicky greatly admired. The sound of those giggles rushing toward her over the roar of the falls was enough to put her a bit at ease.

The stranger, it seemed, was not put off whatsoever by Chickadee's lack of finesse. Chickadee smiled up at her, tail waving enthusiastically. She liked the nickname she'd been unexpectedly given -- it made her feel as if they were friends already.

Chicky sat back on her haunches, tilting her head this way and that as she contemplated the great vertical distance between them. She had been pondering the possibility of attempting to climb the steep slope, trying to measure out the route in her mind. But before she could make a move, the stranger surprised her yet again -- this time by leaping right down off the precipice and landing gracefully near where Chickadee stood.

The auburn female whirled around, eyes widening with astonishment. She could not hide the fact that she was impressed by such an agile move -- clearly this girl knew her way around the cliffs.

Jagger. Chickadee liked the name; it suited her. The smaller female eyed Jagger shyly, noting for the first time the battered state of her body. The fresh cuts and old scars were enough to remind Chicky that not all strangers were friendly, and she felt her heart flutter anxiously. She was twenty pounds lighter and several inches shorter -- not to mention she lacked the grace and agility which Jagger had already so expertly displayed. Should this encounter turn sour, Chickadee would not be well off...

But she did not want to think of that, now. Jagger didn't seem like the sort of wolf who would want to cause her harm. Chickadee had found that loner males with hackles raised were generally more dangerous than strange females who wagged their tails and smiled. Chickadee sat back once again, her tail wagging softly against the stone, and smiled timidly up at her new acquaintance.

"I'm new here, yes," she answered. "I came from the Northwest a few days ago."

For a moment she hesitated, seeming to work her words over in her mind before letting them free. Her eyes flicked bashfully up at Jagger from a shyly tucked head, and her voice was soft and sheepish. "So you... you're new, too?" It would be the first time Chickadee had met anyone new like her. Everyone else seemed so sure of themselves, as if they had wandered these lands for an eternity.

---

CHICKADEE
^{you're not alone}