Tiny as she was, compared to the rest of the world around her, Matini did not seem to notice the deep snow under the ice at all. At least not until the ice had melted in places and she fell completely through the soggy ice shelves. That was when she found herself in trouble. Snow drifts that towered over her tended to randomly swallow her as if she were sustenance that would somehow keep them strong and cold. Not one to allow a wall of frozen moisture to stop her, the little warrior plowed through her capture and continued to race along the trails as if the brief setback had never happened. She was determined to find her friend. Not only to make sure the princess was okay, but as always to chew her out for not keeping her up to date on her whereabouts. It seemed as though they both had that nasty habit. It just so happened she had come across Aster’s scent once when she was visiting Glorall and she had made a note to come back again.

True to her bad habits, the young woman stepped right over the boundary between the beach pack and the freelands. She knew she was being rude, but she did not care much. Nothing about her was recognizable. Dirt and mud clumped into her already earth-toned fur. The silver and white patches had been covered the best she could. Even her scent was a mixture of a dozen different wolves of Taviora, the mucks of the thawing freelands, and mixtures of herbs Inanna had been mixing for her in the dens of the pack she had been visiting. The girl was nothing. She looked and smelled like everything and nothing, so easily able to be erased by enough scrubbing and water.

Nose to the ground she purposefully followed the trail of her charge. On a mission, she still kept her body relaxed and tail down. If she did run across any pack wolves, she was poised for surrender. She wasn’t stupid. Still, as she drew closer her excitement started to grow. When she finally came across her friend, her princess, her charge, she barked happily! Tail high in the air, wagging bits of mud and slush from its fur, she at once fell into a playful bow. Aster! Aster! It’s me! I found you! She gazed up at the other wolf, a wicked grin on her face, their terrible circumstance momentarily forgotten. She looked up at her with a spirit and a gaze that could only be one being: Pine.