How long had it been now, since Nimueh had fled from her homeland? Or... at least the place she thought of as her homeland. She had been born an orphan, naught more than an unwanted and abandoned ball of fluff stained with her own blood. The first time that her mother had picked her up to move, gentle incisors had grasped down on Nimueh's delicate flesh and to their horror had torn that very flesh away. Nimeuh's tiny form had screamed in agony, her deaf ears and blind eyes doing nothing to hide her from the terrors of the world, even at but a few days old. Eventually the blood had clotted, giving her a red cape of scabbed blood, but the loss of so much blood - in truth but a small amount but relatively a lot for so tiny of a pup - had left the newborn weakened and lethargic. In comparison to her littermates, she was the obvious runt, and now with this abnormality... They made the logical assumption that the pup would not survive to adulthood and had abandoned it. Neither had had the heart to kill their own pup, however, and so they had left her in their den with her crimson cape, mewing for attention and sustenance.

Fate was feeling compassion on that day quite definitely, for who would be crossing across the land and hear her cries but a pair of elder wolves, a mated femme and varg who happened to be masters of herblore. The femme had grabbed her scruff, thinking to carry her to their own den before realizing her disfigurement. But they were not like Nimueh's parents. They saw her disability as a unique trait, and saw no reason for her to die. They were wise, not just in their old age but because they had each of them studying under many such shamans as they now were. They had not ever seen anything of the sort, but they had ideas about how to get around it. Thusly had they rolled her over onto a large leafy and carries her between them in that green sling. They had just left their friend's place and were travelling home, so they were far from their destination. Perhaps they took more stops that they normally would have, both because they tired more quickly because they were carrying the pup and because they needed to feed that same pup. Finally they had brought her to the land that their den was within and within the labyrinth of their caverns, she grew up. Eventually she had become friends with the other pups that grew up within that terra, but her best friend had been the Alpha's own son. Cynbel had been kind and handsome, and had included her in all of the games that the more important pups played. They may have otherwise snubbed their noses at her, as she was less than a peasant, but he kept her close and protected from their criticism. The tales of their adventures were innumerable... but Cynbel had ruined it all.

And to digress to the original question, how long had it been since she had fled from her homeland? Cynbel had exiled her, threatened her with execution because of the Queen's death and so Nimueh had abandoned everything she had ever loved and called home. Her masters' mysterious caverns, her place in the royal dens, her garden of rare herbs - all of it. her flight had been in the night out of necessity... that had been months ago. Or perhaps a year or more? Nimueh was unsure, as she had not kept track of time. But she had not forgotten his betrayal. The look in his eyes when he had said those few little words... Fires had been lit within his pools, full of contempt, of hate, of anger. He had always been so calm and level headed that it shocked and scared her, and she had not doubted for one second his claim. So she had ran. But here she was now, an Alpha herself, though her pack was very nearly dead. She had raised it from the grave and could boast a few pack members even so early after its rebirth. For today, her goal was to try to track where the river that wound deep in the crevices of the torn apart terra led. She had thought perhaps to the lake, but she could find no evidence of underground caverns, and obvious had no desire to fall into the trap that surely awaited her if she tried to swim into the underground caverns that the river disappeared into.She was quite nearly about to leave, when she heard a splash within the water. A smirk and a coy smile planted themselves upon her facade, her natural state of flirtation ebbing thickly from her, but when she turned around, she saw the one beast that she had ever loved... had ever hated.... upon the beach. Her smile fell and a look of horror took over. It lasted but a moment as she pasted a cold, stoic mask on herself. With a swipe of her paw, she sent silt and gravel skittering toward his laying form. "Cynbel, you have no power in these lands. You need to leave." Her vocals were deep, husky, and icy and held no question or opening to further the conversation . It was an ultimatum... only she had not offered a second option.