It had only made sense for her temporarily depart from the borders of Asteraia once more. In the past, she had done so at the cusp of spring too. After all, mothers were not the kindest of creatures to any but their own children during the first season of motherhood and Starshade had no intention on being the receiving end of frustration or territorial instincts. Instead, she had once more moved her den to the western outskirts, dug into a sturdy base of roots and dirt. Her new home backed neatly onto the forests beyond, a suitable place for her to welcome spring by any means; already, prey had begun to emerge from the burrows and fields beyond. She had taken an early fill of young rabbits, and though she felt obligation to take them to their leader, she had refrained from doing so. It seemed that even now, her instincts to survive trumped the arbitry standards enforced by pack life. At her core, she had always been a nomad and though her feet had found a territory to call home, she still found solace in a more primitive lifestyle. She fed herself, and she kept herself warm. She had no need to do so for others at this point. Besides, she had lost weight during the winter, the fields of Asteraia having mimicked the emptiness of the northern tundras once again. She had to remember herself in spite of her apparent pack lifestyle.

And so, she had taken to the free lands out of curiosity for the most part. She had grown curious of what now existed beyond the borders of the plains; what wolves had made this place home now? What had become of the plains' former leader? She had many questions and yet, she doubted she'd get all the answers she wanted if she remained restricted to the borders. Instead, she had to seek them out for herself, though she had little idea where to start.

It seemed logical, then, to begin following the faint trail of blood that had etched its way through the bramble and slushy dirt of the forest floor. It was predominantly fresh, see, and unmistakably lupine; for a moment, she had grown suspicious of the wolves in Asteraia and questioned herself whether or not they would perform such acts of aggression so close to their borders. She had been close to the borders for some time, after all, and not once had she seen any wolf attempt to cross without consent. It made her weary to believe that they would direct their aggression to another without explicit purpose. Yet, the blood had been clean from the scent of another wolf and so, she dismissed her concerns quietly. Instead, she simply followed, her nose low to the earth as her small body slipped across the terrain in near silence.

Eventually, her ears picked up on the sound of another; or rather, the sound of grooming. It was a distinct sound despite its quietness, the grating sound of a tongue across fur having driven her to temporarily slip behind the form of a large tree trunk. Curiously, she slipped forward one tree at a time, her fox-like body darting behind the wood each time she poked her head out in an effort to discern the source. Soon enough, she had been able to watch the pale form of the male atop a rock, positioned behind him as he seemed to continue on his task. So, she supposed he had been the one bleeding and yet, it surprised her to find him so eerily calm. The blood had not been plentiful, and yet it had been enough that she had expected to find somebody wanting help.

After a moment, she finally let slip a gruff bark of greeting, her ears pressed forward and eyes wide with curiosity. She remained tucked behind the tree, however, with her head and neck simply peering out at the stranger. She did her best to appear accommodating, if not entirely curious and a little bit concerned. She had her suspicions, after all, that the blood he had spilt might just end up attracting somebody other than her and so, she felt a sense of obligation to ensure a fellow nomad did not fall to such a ploy. It seemed her time in a pack had at least given her some compassion, if nothing else.