Viola had been cautiously exploring, every so often she would return to check in with her mother before bounding off again. The ground was cold, much colder than she was used to, and the sky was clear, unlike the dense fog that enveloped Mistveil. Wherever this place was, the young girl found herself enjoying it quite a bit.

It was the sudden flash of brown fur that froze Viola in her tracks, ears cupped forward listening to the crunching of snow. Was it Bella? Or maybe a bunny? Or squirrel? Amber eyes lit up brightly as her thinly furred tail began to rapidly swing back and forth. Mama wouldn’t mind her going a bit further, right? With so many wolves around, it sounded impossible to get lost.

Fueled with wonder and curiosity, the blue pup began to bound forward. The random pockets of slightly-deeper snow would pose some issues as she stumbled into them due to her small size, but Vi was quick to jump back to her feet each time. She was used to having to get back up after being pushed down, it was normal.

Eventually, she spotted them—not Bella, not a bunny, not a squirrel—a girl. Not the girl she had played with in the tourney either, this was a new girl. And she was chewing on a tree for some reason…?

Hi! Viola called, her tail still frantically wagging as she stumbled closer through the snow.