The little wolf leapt and bounced between the shadows created by her namesake and its brethren. She knew she should not be wandering too far from the moors of Iromar, but her young heart called to her to explore. This time though, things were different. She knew who she could count on, eventually those white paws of the red beast would pick her up again and bring her to safety. Hopefully, it would not come to that this time! This time she was going to make sure she knew her way home.

A little bigger, a little fuller, and a lot stronger than she had been when she first entered the pack land, she was now able to step out of it instead of drag her broken body. Chewing on field mice seemed to have worked wonders on the little orphan. Her ribs had filled out and her body beginning to build itself up once more. Now when her forested eyes looked out at the world they were alight with the fire of life, instead of running from the shadows of death. Though small, now that Pine had been returned to life she moved with the energy of someone who was determined to live it, and defend it.

As she padded through the forest, the pup would occasionally dig just so at the dirt along her path. In her mind, if her sense of smell for some reason failed her, she would be able to find her way back along the trails. At one point, her head titled at her actions and she wondered briefly if there was a better way of doing this. Surely Big Paws would know! She would have to ask him when she returned home. In the mean time, she roamed. Big and old enough now to not need the constant care of adults, Pine was determined to make Maverick proud of her! She stuck her nose to the ground and went on her own hunt for any creatures she could find.

At first, she followed and darted after mice. Above land the rodents were quick and able to escape her pouncing paws. Growling in frustration, the pup dived at a random small hole she had found, digging furiously at it. A small squeak came from the hole, encouraging her to dig faster, her movements accompanied by childish snarls of ferocity. Her work paid off, and she snapped at a vole that had tried to take cover from her ravaging paws. Teeth closed around it, killing it quickly. There was a snap off to the side, the little girl spun with a growl, her prize dangling from her lips. Gaze fell on a log and something moving beside it. Forgetting her challenges, she padded up to the log, head rocking to and fro in curiosity as she investigated.

Finding the hiding pup, Pine sat down in front of her with a soft thump. Who oo? Her eyes narrowed for a second at her muddled speech. Gingerly, she dropped her prize and placed a paw protectively on it. Who are you? she repeated, clearer this time