Astrid rose early, the heat of the day already penetrating the confines of the small cavern they had claimed for the evening. She bent down in to a deep bow of a stretch, each of her toes reaching forward as if grabbing hold of the ground before pulling herself back up and giving a solid shake. With a huge yawn she made for the mouth of the cave, sure to give her brother a swift paw to the head as she made her way out. He always was a lazy bag of fleas she thought with the barest glimpse of a smile on her features. Family. She strode in to the sunlight letting it wash over her bright coat, only in this light could you see the light cream colors that banded her pelt. Blinking her two tone eyes scanned the area around them. It had been late when they made their way here last night, the rocky terrain may have been a burden to some but she knew it would hide shelter. It was in this environment she flourished.

She had just lowered her nose when her ear twitched indicating her brothers approach. She spared him but a glance over her shoulder. He shook from head to toe before exiting the mouth of the cavern, his dark coat absorbing the sun’s rays as surely as her repelled them, it was he who would suffer most from the heat of the day. He sidled up beside her, nudging her cheek in the a simple ‘good morning’. Her lips rose slightly exposing yellowed teeth. It wasn't often she allowed him to touch her, but he was still her blood and it was served only as a warning.

He glanced away some ashamedly ignoring her response. “So what today, sister?” he manages, not even attempting to stifle the yawn that grabled his words. He jumped down to the rocks below her, sniffing around in the loose dirt before pawing between the rocks in his lackadaisical manner. “That is yet to be seen,” she rumbles, her voice a deeper tone that most females but it somehow worked with her thicker figure. Alternatively to her brother she raised her head to the sky, her nose searching much more purposefully for the tell-tale scent of others on the wind. The lack of any one strong scent in the area had marked it as a safe resting place for the evening but she was not inclined to stay here. Prey would be harder to catch amongst the rocks, but that would come later. “Today we will get the lay of the land,” she determined finally, that was the first step always. You couldn’t be prepared if you didn’t know where you were.

“Do we have to?” his tenor voice responded, the barest hint of a whine in his words. He could think of so many more amusing things to do than simply walk around all day watching her sniff every errant leaf and tree in a hundred mile radius. “There’s a lake over there,” he said, gesturing with a flick of his two toned head, “we could go cool off.” He didn’t harbor much hope of her accepting this alternative, but it was worth a shot. She was much more business oriented than he after all. “Fine,” she said with a touch of annoyance though not enough to convince him she truly objected, “We can cool off for the morning, but later we must get to business.” They had been traveling for the last few weeks and a break might serve them well she conceded, if only for a moment.