Fear gripped her and froze her more in place than the ice that had covered the mountains. Pariah had all but gone underground, saving herself from the cold and saving others from coming into contact with her cold. Every day she tried to whisper to herself the comforting words Malina had told her. There were no ‘almosts’ in life. She could make the choice and it would be her’s. Things could happen by accident, but those were no fault of her own. As sure as she had been, she could not control the weather. The blizzard, the fire, and the ice were not curses for crimes she did not commit and the boy she had gotten lost with still survived to live another day. She had harmed none despite what every fiber of her being screamed at her, what her puppyhood at screamed at her.

Constantly trying to apply what Malina was telling her and heal the wounds carved at birth, the stony girl stepped from the hidden caves of Spirane. The flesh under her skin twitched and she cringed in guilt. She had been hiding within the borders of Spirane for two years. The resource was intangible and infinite, but still she stole it. Coming into the light she knew they had to know she was there. Red eyes looked into the sheltered hole she had resided in most of the winter. At two years old she came to the conclusion it was time to move on. As scared as she was, it was time for her to begin to take her place in the world which meant leave this one. Turning her bloody face away from the familiar she started down the path to the unknown.

She reached the place the inviting call had come from. Smothering her fear, she painted a smile on her face, red tipped tail wagged behind her. This was something new and a new beginning for her. She knew she could always have ties to Malina, but she also felt the woman would be better off without a whelp tagging along, no matter her words to the contrary. It wa time for Pariah to step forward and make it on her own. Face the world fearlessly.

Mirage stepped further into the clearing. Each inch brought her tail curling higher over her back. Attentive and eager, she was excited to have a new face to show to the world and to start new on a life she had already been living.