Down below Quail Cliff point where the mountains and the plain meet, there’s a large lake in the shape of an Eagle’s wing. And that’s exactly what it’s called;Eagle’s Wing Lake. A small stream flows from the lake down into the river a few miles north, salmon and trout sometimes swim into the lake, and that’s when it’s easy for Fisher’s to hunt. It’s not hard to miss the pink colouration of the salmon, along with the red streaks and dots of the trout unless you hunt at night. Most likely a Fisher would get eel and giant salamander if they did.

      The morning sun shimmered across the glass like lake, a fish broke its mysterious look and ripples were sent outward and bounced back when they met the bank.Though recently, Birch had stood perched at the edge of these sharp cliffs, she'd never ventured down the dangerous inclines.. until now, of course. She’d been surprised to find at the southern edge of the Mountains that it was possible to actually make her way down into the valley. Was it safe? No, not really, but what in life was ever rewarding that was super safe? Not much, as far as she was concerned. Interested, Birch started her descent down the icy cliffside - she was pleased to find a way down and wondered how tall the larger-than-life cliffs would look once she reached the bottom. Surely it would be a sight to behold..

      But instead of walking and climbing down like a normal animal, she had skidded, fell, and rolled down it. The wolf had managed to make it down the mountain with very minimal injuries, the worst she had gotten was a medium sized gash in her left leg. Birch let her ears fall to her sides as she walked carefully out onto the plain, the unknown was a scary place, and quite frankly unnerving. Something very bright shot right in her eyes. Birch, who felt as if she was half blinded now, moved out of the way and was able to see again. A lake! She ran over to the sparkling water, and her eyes widened. What she saw was a sight to behold, and she cherished every second.

      Birch dipped her raw, swelling paws into the water. A sigh of relief escaped her muzzle , she pulled her paws out and shook them off gently. She twisted her head around, the cackle of a Woodpecker caught her attention and in very little time she was up on her feet, looking around. What a strange bird, she thought. If only I could see it close up… oh never mind! The wolf  shook her head to rid the thoughts, her hair a peachy coloured mess. It had just occurred to her that she hadn’t shaken out her fur, nor had she scraped her antlers in moons passing or so.

    Ugh, she felt disgusting… Her hair was mangled, her skin was greasy and felt as if it was oil. The wolf’s fur was matted and dirty, and scares covered most of the her body. She needed to clean herself, she needed shelter, and she needed space. Well, space was all that was out here. Shelter,this wasn't stressed. The large forest behind her would provide Birch with enough wood for many, many moon passings, so it would only take her a day to collect wood and a day to actually make the shelter. Until then she would lay under the oak tree that stood off to the side lonesomely next to the lake.

Nothing was every simple or went according to plan, and by now Genim should’ve known to expect something to screw up his plans. Oh everything had started out nice enough (sunshine and a bit of a breeze and all that good stuff) but practically without warning the weather had taken a drastic turn for the worse. Thunder began to rumble only moments before the first streak of lightning struck off in the distance and then, because again his luck, a veritable downpour released before he could even think of getting to cover.

"Go outside, I thought, it'll be a nice day to collect some new materials," a harsh snort toward the sky and it's stupid, evil clouds would follow the boy's muttering. Ugh, lying sunshine and argh! An ineffective snarl would be thrown toward the clouds as well before finally he would sprint toward the closest bit of safety he could find. Not that it would do much now all things considered, but maybe he could wait it out and at least attempt to start drying (a soft curse of his thick fur was muttered under his breath then).

Despite what he considered evidence to the contrary there was at least a small bit of luck on Genim's side, even if it was only that the castle he liked to try and forage from was near enough that it wouldn't take much time to get there at all. And so maybe it wasn't where he wanted to look today, but at least it was somewhere that might have a bit of cover to offer along with whatever else he could find. You know, providing even more bad luck doesn't decide to strike and the place collapses or something.

Well shit.."Totally not tempting you by the way, Fate!" Please no, he did not need that added to his already bad day.

Even with all the miles her tired feet have trudged, her eyes hadn't seen such an odd place as this. The smell of saltwater had lead her here, full of sodden foliage and something curiously foreign. The gnarled branches of trees overhead captured moisture from the bog, creating a salty sheen that clung to the air. The roots of the mangroves claimed what bit of ground she could see, so Heloise stuck to the shallows as she waded further into the marsh. 

A bird, or at least she assumed it was a bird, screeched from somewhere deep within. The wolf paused to reconsider her path. Did she really want to walk further into these misty waters? She glanced over a shoulder, searching for the sun. It might set within the next couple hours. Already, the fog was starting to choke the light from the air, fading day to night faster than she'd seen before. If Heloise got lost in this bog, there wouldn't be a dry spot to rest (nevermind the fact that she'd been wandering for the better half of a day and hadn't seen an end to the marsh yet). But maybe she'd get lucky? Perhaps there might be a patch of sand up ahead, or a bit of dry grass to bed down in for the night, if only she searched a little more. She could collect her bearings and figure a way out (not that she didn't know it or anything) after a quick nap. Once the sun set, she could follow the stars of course! ...If the tangle of trees didn't snuff them out too.

The wolf huffed and forged onward through the murky depths. Gradually, the water grew shallower, and her paws felt more mud than sand. She thought her luck might change as the inlet gave way to soggy ground, but the upcoming roots convinced her otherwise. If the waterway had been tough to trudge through, then the grove was sure to take some fancy footwork to maneuver. "Can't believe it, but I'm starting to miss the water." Twist after turn, the poor wolf shimmied and squeezed her way through narrow gaps between both trees and roots before she'd finally had enough of that. It took her a while to manage and required a slower pace, but Heloise found it was easier to travel by balancing on top of the thicker portions of the roots. While looking for her next foothold, she spotted something large beyond the leaves. A rocky end to this maze of a jungle? With a renewed sense of optimism, she pressed forward suddenly, misjudging the distance between one knobby root and the next.

A hind foot caught in a tangle of vines, and down she went with a thud. "Gah!" She yelped, floundering and shaking the branches the vines were anchored to. Flopping in the mud, Heloise scrambled to find her footing but in doing so, wrapped the vines halfway up her left hip. She tugged and pulled, leg stretching and body straining. The vines were thick and young, green and hopelessly attached to one of the larger mangrove trees (it would be difficult for her to reach and gnaw through them without working any past stints as a contortionist). Panting, she squinted at what appeared to be a large cliff up ahead. If only she could make it there, she'd find somewhere to rest among the rocks- Anything but this mess of mud and brine that she now had plastered to her backside as a souvenir. 

A trio of monkeys suddenly chattered nearby, harsh and jarring, laughing. Mocking her. Of course. Her ears pinned tight to her skull.
Heloise growled, impatient and irritable, soaking and haggard- But nonetheless determined. "Gonna drag this whole damn tree with me-"

@toby

       The sun was high in the sky when Vanessa decided to go out and explore the territory of the clan she now called home. She set out with her white cloak clasped around her shoulders and stomach and in and in all of the jewelry she usually wore. Her hood was pulled down as always - the thick fur around her neck being like a scarf for her - with her hybrid hummingbirds hovering around her. The fawn-colored femme padded through the former prarie, now made a snowy plain in the grasp of winter. Her white cloak gave her a semblance of camouflage but her fawn legs and head stood out from the winter background.

       Vanessa was feeling more at home here than she ever had in her home town. No more strange looks, no more bad feelings whenever they spoke to her because the didn't use her dead name. The felines of this clan were accepting - or at least the few she had met - and the girl was glad to call this place home. But at times she wondered how she could thank them, she wasn't particularly skilled at hunting and fighting, only cooking and painting. Most felines - from what she had observed - ate their meat raw. What could the butterfly-marked fae give to the clan?

       A loud chirp from La Nocha pulled the blue-eyed belle out of her thoughts. The birds spoke in chirps, trills, and other sounds which the girl had learned to speak and understand. The darker-colored female wanted to know if they were going anywhere other than wandering and then L'Carema demanded that they go somewhere interesting. She chided them to be patient and Vita backed her up. Warren as per usual didn't add much to the conversation being as quiet as he was. But the tri-colored maiden decided to see what she could find in the endless-seeming expanse.