---

It was hard, pulling himself from the ocean's edge, out of fear that as soon as he did, he would miss the rest of his family and companions swim out of the currents just as he had. But that had been days ago, now, still there had been nothing and Huiren, well... He was hungry. Whatever morsels he'd found along the rocky beaches wouldn't have sustained him for any longer. So he traveled east along the coast, towards the scent of green.

He tried not to allow the antsy feeling in his gut to travel down to his paws, keeping his strides long and steady. Truly, he was in over his head. Was he aware of wolves as a human? Yes. Had he seen them traveling in packs? Also yes. Did he know the intricacies of their lifestyles and how to be one? Certainly not! He knew they hunted the deer and small creatures around his homeland, and that he would likely have to do the same to survive in this new world. But, surely, he would have to learn how to do so before trying it. Like learning a new art, failure was inevitable if one tried from simply watching once and without doing proper study, not to mention the risk of potential injury.

So, Huiren picked his way through increasingly dense foliage as he neared the foothills of tall mountain spires. He hoped to find some plants he was familiar with and knew would be safe to eat, to tide him over just until he could find someone willing to teach him. Assuming he could communicate with them in the first place.