Snowy white paws made their way across the empty lands, dragging the wolf attached to them along for the ride. The cold, hardened earth felt cold to the paws of ground animals, soil blanketed the white powder, which in turn covered the soggy leaves that had fallen in Autumn. Darkened, fearsome looking clouds hung overhead, blocking out the precious sunlight except for scarce beams in certain areas where the clouds were thinned, allowing the large star to peer. They held the threat of even more snow overtop the previous glaze, forcing the beasts and prey that walked the earth to double their efforts of gathering food before the first snowflake fell daintily to the ground, only to be followed by many others, picking up until the urge to curl up in a warmer den took control. Emerald eyes gazed upward, at the trees on either side of her. They seemed empty, naked now, recalling when they appeared as if they were on fire, bright orange and red leaves burning, flames leaping up and blazing with a crackling and shushing noise each time the wind cascaded over its surface. The sunset would flicker over its coating as the moon began to fade into view, making them shimmer and shine in the light, a silvery aura coming about them. The fire slowly went out as leaf by leaf, as the trees were stripped bare of their means of food. It was a cruel and beautiful thing, a fascinating process that had been since the beginning of time, the first Autumn. And now, completing its run, the trees lay bare and silent, as Chrysis walked among her memories, smiling along with the pleasant ones, and shaking away to terrible ones. Most of all, Callek and her pack was on her mind, mostly memories of her and he resurfacing.

In the darkening of the evening, a black and gray young wolf bounded forward, the multi-hued fae following closely behind. Both Apprentices held freshly killed rabbits in their maw, the furry bodies still warm from the blood pumping through their veins. The pair sprinted over the ground, moon suspended high in the air above them, casting the earth in a silver glow and illuminating their frames. With each shove more leaves flew up from the ground, baffled and sent tumbling through the air, a frenzy of red, yellow and green. Paws pounded against the ground, pushing their way up a hill and away from the vast field they had spent their day hunting and searching. The air was chilled, as winter had just begun, but no lasting snow had fallen to the ground yet, a mere glaze barely tainting the ground as it glowed eerily in the dim light. Ebbony would look over his shoulder to his sister with a playful expression, tail flicking with a devilish grin, before picking up his pace, throwing his body forward to gain speed. Though no words were exchanged between them, she knew clearly what that meant - Let's race! Ears perking up, Nya's teeth would clamp around her kill even tighter, determined not to drop it, as she would most definitely lose the race if she had to go to retrieve it. Shifting her shoulders forward, she transferred her power to her hind legs, adrenaline kicking in to aid her stamina. Pressing her nose forward, she began inching her way past her older brother, landing a light nip on his heels as her legs began really burning, but she was having far too much fun to stop. As the scenery changed from a large, open field, to a more enclosed, tree-ridden place, both her instinctually forced to slow down, so as not to get hurt. Vaulting over a treebranch that lay in her way, Nya used this to her advantage, being ever the slightest more agile than the young brute. Dodging obstacles with precision ease, she was close to her victory, before she miscalculated the distance of one measly root. Her front paw catching on it, and sending her tumbling ears-over-paws, her speed sending her rolling into the pack clearing. Making sure nothing was too injured, besides scrapes and small, harmless cuts all along her body, she whined slightly, before bursting into a fit of giggles, tangled up in her own paws, somehow managing to land with her hinds waving in the air as she awkwardly attempted to right herself. Ebbony was soon beside her, emitting a rumbling sound she had come to know as his laugh, nudging her with his head. Rolling on her back, she waves her front paws in the air, before standing and shaking the debris from her pelt, which was now muddy and wet, some of it splattering onto the he-pup's coat. "Well, I suppose you win, Ebbon, since I'm disqualified!" She commented, with a mock-angry look, though in truth she didn't mind, win or lose. Looking around, she bounded to retrieve the prey she had dropped, slipping into step with Ebbony as they moved to drop off the two rodents.

Smile still curving her black lips up, Chrysis would regain a small spring in her step at the memory of the Eldest of the litter of two. They had been the best of friends throughout childhood, up until then - Banishing the rapidly darkening thoughts, she gave her head a firm, orienting shake, she pressed forward, this time with a slightly more aggravated, determined pace, shifting her weight so she wouldn't sink so deeply into the snow. Holding her head high, but not proudly nor in dominance, she strode forward, long lean body appearing as if she already had a place. But even as she reached the pack's borderline, the place to cross from being an unknown, uncared for Rogue, to a hopefully valued and respected Pack member, her stance would waver and falter, lowering herself into submission, hunching her shoulders over as she struggled to even fake confidence in the presence of other wolves. She was not one to back down when she knew she could take what was coming, or it was for a family member, but only high-ranked wolves came to the border. Most likely stronger, faster, more intelligent wolves, no matter if they were supposed to be the 'nice' pack, all had their faults. Before she could spook herself into shying away, she took a deep, rather calming breath, jowls forming an 'o' as she emitted a high toned, announcing howl, to herald her arrival. Note wavering and falling after a few sufficient moments, her tail would flick, and she bowed her head, ears roving for the tell-tale sound of crackling, that was present even if one wished to hide their coming. She focused on her breathing, rather than everything that could go wrong, ignoring the hazy instinct to simply leave rather than make a fool of herself, once again holding herself in a fairly confident manner, ears pinning though.

All around was white and grey. White snow, white breath, grey trees, grey skies. The trees were bare and barren, no life grew upon them, nor even on the ground around them. There were no leaves, no grass, no flowers. This was the dead of winter. The final silence before the horns of spring would sound. Soft paw prints trailed behind her in the snow. They were neither small and precious, nor were they large and rough. They were average and precise. No snow collapsed into them, no creature in sight disturbed them. She was alone in this part of the forest, surrounded by complete and utter silence. No wind bestirred the trees nor birdsong pierced the air. She breathed in the silence, revelling in the cold bite of the air in her lungs. A run in this weather would do her good on another day. But not this day. This day a slow walk with intervals of a soft trot would be enough. She couldn't afford any strenuous activity at this time of joy. If she ran too hard and injured herself... she couldn't bear to consider the outcome. Within her womb grew her litter. Of size and gender she knew not, only they were hers and her beloveds.

Her belly had not yet rounded to display her wonderful news, it had not been long since their coupling. Nonetheless she was cautious. A motherhood later in her life such as this left her little room for a second chance. She had waited so very long to be a mother - it was her fondest wish. There were no obvious signs of pregnancy about her and she wanted to be entirely sure before presenting the wondrous news to her mate. She had so much to consider, so many things to prepare. She pressed on through the forest, spying a silhouetted figure ahead. The shadow was a familiar one, that of a wolf with its head thrown back in howl. A wondrous song greeted her ears moments hence, finding her in the right place at the right time. The proud fae trotted forth to greet the shadow with a cheery smile. "Welcome good friend!" Striking blue eyes fell upon a wolf with a very long coat coloured in greys and creams, though softer markings than her own. She circled the new fae once before sitting perfectly straight before her. "My name is Nnlya, if you please. Might I know your calling and your purpose here?"

Chrysis sat in silence, both eerie and wonderful. It covered the whole land, only broken by the odd bird's chirrup, or the distant low caw of a predatory bird. Her nose twitched, picking up the scent of a snowshoe hare, as the creature hobbled into the right distance for her to take notice of it. However, she did not flinch, not making a move to run after it, as she had eaten before she had come. Even as thoughts came and went, her wait was merely momentary, barely a blink before she heard a friendly voice call out to her, immediately detecting the authentic joy in her tone. The young, barely adult fae's head would turn, blinking and struggling with not shrinking away. For no particular reason or memory, but her experiences with wolves as a loner were not pleasant ones that she wished to repeat. Her head bowed in respect automatically, abandoning her previous stance, to make sure this female was kept in her evidently good mood. "H-hello there, Nnlya. I'm - My name is," She frowned as she began stuttering like a pup who had just learned how to speak. Trying again, this time her matured, crystal voice rang out clearly. "My name is Loner Chrysis. And I wish to have a home within your ranks." She finally spat the words that had been lodged in her throat out. As she did so, things became easier to say, and after a small pause, thinking through what she was to say, what she would admit, and the pasts that she would rather keep in the past, she continued in the same voice. "I do not wish to bore you with my whole life story, but I offer some of my background, so as not to waste more of your precious time than necessary. I was born in a pack, to the Lead Hunter Male, and the Caretaker, in a pack named Kyrios. But it is far North from here, and likely long gone, so I do not expect you to recognize it.

I Apprenticed as a Huntress, along with my only brother, at the age of five months, and trained as that my whole life. When I was perhaps a year or less, I became a Loner, along with my brother... and another adult wolf." She halted for a split second when mentioning the one named Noble, but quickly smoothed it over and continued, thinking it best to not go into more detail on that. "And so, I have at least basic knowledge on fighting, enough to allow me to be standing where I am today. And so, I present these skills to you, though mediocre, in hopes of being accepted into your pack." She finished with a dip of her head further, her eyes resting on the fae's paws, not daring to make eye contact with her. She waited anxiously, as a pit of uncertainty settled in her stomach, wind scattering her fur to point in various different directions, to her disapproval.

The Elite lowered herself to her dark haunches, tail sweeping about to rest at her side. She smiled at the young newcomer, who seemed nervous. She bowed respectfully before the superior, aware of the correct protocols. Good, she thought softly, This should help us save some time. The girl stuttered a greeting and eventually introduced herself as Chrysis. Nnlya looked upon the female with a contented gaze, speaking softly. "Rise, child. You should fear nor danger from me. Come, be seated and tell me of yourself, Chrysis." And the fae did as such, discussing her parentage and apprenticeship as a huntress. As expected, her skills had been translated into a basic level of combat, giving her greater ability to survive. Her eyes were soft upon the fae. "You have no need to submit further to me, you have shown your courtesies and have not yet disrespected me. Let me see your eyes, for in them are the truth of your words." Her voice was gentle, like a mother speaking to her children. "I was also a lost child, befallen a difficulty upon the conclusion of my first year." She said gently, sympathising with her. "I cannot make you a Warrior if your skills are not up to par. If that is your wish, you might seek training from some of our many other fighters. For now, I may make you a huntress, to feed our masses will be your duty. We will be having pups coming in the spring and we need hard workers to help feed the hungry new mouths. This rank, our packs protection and shelter is yours if you can swear yourself into the loyalty of our Alphas. Their names are Quinn and Fenris and they will treat you kindly if you serve them well." She took a steadying breath, having spoken for longer than she had expected. It was up to the child now.

[Ooc - sorry it's short)

Chrysis lay, belly to the ground, tail twitching anxiously as she tried her best not to fidget as a nervous pup would. True, she was little more than a pup, but once reached two years of age and over, wolves were typically expected to act as perfect adults did. However, Chrysis hadn't much time to worry about that, with how little she spent around other wolves as a Loner. As the other female spoke in response to her own words, she could hear the kind, motherly tone in her voice, reminding her of her own mother. It soothed her, putting her slightly more at ease, as after a brief flicker of uncertainty, rose to her paws, legs stretching as she lifted herself to her full height. Muzzle lifting, for a brief moment, dazzling emerald eyes met striking blue, the fae's gaze falling on Nnlya's bright orbs for a few seconds. However, she soon averted them, looking at something to the side of Nnlya, her luminaries still visible, but refusing to stare a high rank in the eye, as a challenge. Her ears perked as Nnlya spoke of becoming a Loner in the beginning of her first year of age, a questioning look appearing on her features. "I'm sorry that you've had to suffer the same fate I did..." The girl would murmur, sympathy in her orbs. That soon flickered out of existence as the Elite continued, as she contemplated how she would answer. There was no going back. But, without hesitation, she gave a firm nod of her head. "I swear to provide for this pack, and all in it,  remain loyal to and to serve the Leaders Fenris and Quinn to the best of my abilities, and then try even harder. I will be the best wolf I can be for this pack." She answered, her sincerity crystal clear in her enthusiastic, heartfelt tone as she spoke. She spared a hopeful look at the female before her, inhaling slowly and holding her breath in anxiousness. This was it, it all came down to if her answer made her seem worthy of the honour of joining the pack.

Nnlya sat, soft eyes looking upon the female. Please rise child, do not bow to me, she wanted to beg. She didn't feel she was worth bowing to. She was a soldier, an officer simply following orders. She wasn't so sure she'd done anything great or anything worthy of being showed this deference. She was still childlike in her own mind. She relished in the opportunity that would come to play with her young. She would love to teach Drogo to play as she had once intended. That conversation seemed so very long ago now. The day of the accident, one that separated them for nearly three seasons. She thought she'd lost him, that she'd failed him and failed to find him. She had thought if she could just recover his body, she could give him a burial, preserve his memory and give herself closure. But she'd failed him. In the end he'd returned to her, but that didn't diminish the fact that she'd given up. He never gave up on her, not once. He'd healed himself, forced himself to live and built his strength so he could return to her. She'd searched for him for a mere few months before giving up on the search as a lost cause. She'd sustained injuries of her own, forced herself back out there and reopened those wounds trying to find him, but she still gave up. She loved him with all her heart, but was her love enough? Was she good enough? She knew logically she should speak with her beloved, air her concerns so he could allay them with sweet words, but she wasn't sure when the opportunity would present itself. She could only focus on the child before her, who wished to prove herself a loyal member of the pack. "Your words warm my heart, dear child. Cross these borders with me as a Hunter of Helidos. Welcome home, Hunter Chrysis." She smiled, turning to guide the fae into her new home.