Private Tales The Cost of Survival

[Isodel]

The freshly fallen snow crunched and partially crumbled beneath the weight of her paws. Despite how delicate she strove to be the latest snowfall was a thin powder that shifted at the barest touch. It made her progress slow and her patience even thinner. The snow leopard knew she needed to leave this area, had scented the smell of another predator and a pack of them for that matter. Wolves did not take too kindly to tresspasses. But these wolves were different from the others she had encountered before. A scent beneath the woody pine that clung to their fur. A two-legged scent. Yet... not. It itched at the back of her mind, of a memory that had been hidden and closed off behind the walls built by a child to keep the nightmares out and survive alone.

The snow leopard had not witnessed her mother raped and throat slit in front of her. The snow leopard could not have seen seen her brothers hacked to death. No, snow leopards were loners who chose the company of epic landscapes and the warm embrace of solitary pathways untrodden by man. Those memories were not the snow leopards and thus the snow leopard had no reason to grieve, to feel pain.

Her needs were far simpler. Food, shelter, survival.

She stopped as a flock of crows suddenly leapt from the nearby treetops in a cacophony of squawks and the flapping of wings. Her eyes tried to track as many of them as possible as they darted into the sky in different directions to determine if they were the threat before turning the thick foliage from which they had flown. Searching. Was that a flicker of movement? Her lips parted and she raised her head a little to try and catch the scent on the faint wind that blew across the landscape. Nothing. Still she held her position for a beat or two longer, one paw raised in the act of stepping, as she weighed up the odds. Eventually paw met snow and she continued on her way.

Food. Shelter. Survive.

Ignore the scent that makes you think of memories you cannot have.

 

[Fallon]

The newly clothed trees rose as white fairytale beings in the wintry landscape, for the grey clouds had bequeathed a fresh bounty of snow, and upon the cherry-glow of the rising sun the forest was cast in a rosy hue. It had a pristine aura about it that Fallon would never tire of, one that begged her to stop for a moment and let the sight breathe life into her soul.

The blonde woman strode bare foot through the narrow paths, enjoying the squeaky crunch of fresh snow fall. A young, grey wolf named Dea padded beside her as always, taking the unrequired role of Fallon's protector and keeping her nose low to the glittering ground in search of prey or foe. Fallon's attention was elsewhere, and though her silvery eyes were on the winding path ahead, her keen ears were on the two children as they played and explored, their little feet writing their stories of play-time over the fresh page, and betraying their hiding places. They would learn to cover their tracks, they would learn to be quiet and still as they hunted, and so Fallon let them make their mistakes.

"Oof! Heyy!" the little girl growled as her brother pounced at her from behind a snowy shrub, and Fallon's eyes were cast heaven bound at the murder of crows their hijinks had disturbed. They looked too, and they knew Fallon's stern gaze would be upon them and so they avoided the scorn of it as they dusted themselves off.

"Anja, Cohr..Come here." she asked gently, and they did, their snow-speckled heads bowed. It was not that Fallon ever had it in her heart to be anything but soft in her teachings, it was that it was now the third time they had made the same mistake. "What lessons am I teaching you today?.." the tall woman asked as she graciously dropped one knee into the snow to reach a hand affectionately to each of their heads.

"Hunting, aunt Fal.." the little girl answered, her foot twisting in the snow.

"And what did you just do?.."

"Upset the quiet, aunt Fal.." the boy answered with a huff.

"And what do we need for hunting?.." the alpha asked, her brow quirking as she looked between their sheepish faces.

"Quiet, aunt Fal." they answered in unison. Fallon smirked and shoved gently at both of their chests, but enough to make them both fall over into the pillow of snow and they laughed.

"The forest, should not know you are here, until you have struck." she flashed them both a smile that faltered when an icy breeze carried a new scent toward her. Dea growled quietly at the same time. "Stay close." she whispered to the children, and helped them to their feet. Their cold little hands curled around both of Fallon's arms, and they glued themselves to her sides as she stalked silently toward the clearing, and into the path of the leopard.

All three Garou stared at it, as did the grey wolf as her hackles raised. Fallon hushed the creature and it silenced instantly, but took a step in front of the three defensively. The children studied the feline in fascination and Cohr looked up at Fallon.

"What is it?.." he asked, and the Alpha's lips curled softly.

"A snow leopard." .. A rare sight, she thought, and she pulled at the air to study the scent closer. "But not all she seems." she added, and offered a polite dip of her chin to the creature.

"Hello."

 

[Isodel]

Keep moving.

The growl of the leopards voice had issued the same command for years now and it had kept her alive. She knew better than to disobey and yet... and yet that familiarity was scratching at a door she had kept locked within the vaults of her mind for years. It made her hesitate. Her eyes scanned over the landscape to her left and it felt as though she were seeing it in a different light. Sunrise. Beauty. These things didn't matter to an animal but they mattered to someone else. It reminded her of--

Fool.

The sound of footfalls and the brush of limbs against trees were her only warning before her lonely journey came to an abrupt end. The fur on her back stood up on end, purple eyes training first on the wolf and the most immediate danger, before flickering to the woman who did not smell like a woman. Not fully. Again that little scratch, scratch, scratch against her mind. She had never met this two-legged before she was certain and yet she felt like home. Or something as close to it as possible. Then those feline hues dropped to the children.

Isodel took a step back and curbed the growl that had been coming from the back of her throat.

Run.

It took effort to relax her limbs and go against the animalistic instinct. Instead she copied the odd motion the woman made and dipped her head in return before focusing her gaze once more on the wolf.

 

[Fallon]

Fallon reached slowly to Dea, her fingers carefully curling into the bristling fur at the back of her neck, but the wolf made no move or sound to protest. Fallon gently guided the grey wolf to her side and stroked at the ruffled fur with another soothing hush. The creature let out a soft whine, her silver eyes never leaving the leopard, but she calmed and sat herself down in the snow, her ears perked, neither threatened or aggressive.

"Stay with Dea." the woman rumbled to the two children, who each immediately obeyed and shuffled to stand at either side of the wolf, holding onto her fur. The wolf's chin rose proudly in response, and each of the children were given a reassuring lick that covered the closest side of their faces.

Fallon stepped forward, a hand splayed out at her side, unarmed, unthreatening. She carried herself with a pride and confidence that suggested authority but there was a gentleness in the silence she moved with, the soft smile and calm breaths as she oh-so-slowly circled around. She was careful not to move too close, and to ensure the feline still had escape routes should she wish to flee.

When she found herself at a safe enough distance, but close enough to study the cat better, Fallon lowered herself to a knee and her gaze narrowed as her smile met her eyes.

"Are you lost?.." she asked rhetorically, not expecting response but purposefully trying to make her thick accent as warm as she could.

 

[Isodel]

The large cats ears swivelled from left to right in an anxious cycle as it attempted to determine whether the group in front of them were the only ones in the area. She had smelt their scent for the past mile growing steadily stronger which she had taken to mean that they were passing through the heartlands of their territory, but now she was double guessing that assumption. It could also mean a large group waiting in order to issue their kill.

As Fallon dropped to her knee in front of her, the feline swept her tail back and forth against the snow. White, dust-like snow shifted under the weight and some of it was disturbed enough to be picked up by the gentle wind once more to be carried on to another snow pile. Perhaps a pile that would not be disturbed. As that same wind brushed through her fur, Isodel parted her mouth just a fraction to taste better the scents of this woman and this land. They were one and the same in some weird way. There had been another, like this woman, once. She had laughed in a little kitchen and hit a man with a wooden spoon when he slid his arm about her waist and roughly pulled her to him.

Run, Issy.

That had been the last time a human had spoken to her. The words had been said around the pains of death, blood choking the kindness out of her mothers voice. The leopard pressed her ears flat against her skull. Those were not her memories. Animals didn't have those memories. They remembered the kill, they remembered the good spots to sleep and how to step across a frozen river without breaking the surface and getting wet. Leopards, above all, most certainly did not get lost.

But her purple eyes lingered on the woman's face. She yearned to lean into the stability and strength she could feel radiating off of her. She pined for home. For the comfort these children drew from this woman. Safety. Nervously she glanced once more around her surroundings, seeing it in the odd distorted way of a cat and a human being.

The snow leopard let out a low whine; was she lost? The leopard was not but the human... that broken girl who had embraced her other side to survive that night... she was lost. But did she wanted to be found?

 

[Fallon]

The leopard was in the thick of the Garou pack's territory. Fallon and her wolves hunted, trained, played and walked here every day, and so new scents were particularly easy to pick out. This creature had never been here before.

Fallon remained as still and as silent as she could, her quicksilver pools studying the creature with curiosity, a ghost of a smile on her lips in effort to ease the feline's nerves. She didn't feel threatened, but no matter how at ease Fallon appeared on the surface, there was always a readiness, her muscles like tightly coiled springs ready to launch her into action should the tides turn.

As the cat whined, Fallon heard the soft crunch of snow under a tiny foot and her gaze cast toward the children. Anja had taken a step forward, her fingers still curled in Dea's fur. "It's okay.." the child assured hesitantly to the creature. "Aunt Fal won't hurt you.." she smiled warmly and tilted her head, letting her hand fall from the wolf's hackles.

"You are soooo pretty.. Ent she Cohr?.." the child asked her brother, but the boy was still stuck fast to Dea's side and the wolf whined quietly as Anja took another step. Fallon looked between the girl and the leopard, feeling herself tense slightly, but she'd show no sign of it.

"Not too close, Anja.." she whispered.

 

[Isodel]

The leopards eyes darted towards the source of the sound and watched with mounting parts dread and curiosity as the girl approached her. The animal thinking in that rational way it usually did told her limbs to move. Adults were more protective when their young were near and any movement that could be interpreted as a sign of aggression would be met with force. To survive, it was logical to step away. But instead what she did was take a step closer to the danger. Her eyes, the eyes of a predator, fixed on the small girls in a never wavering stare. One step, two steps and then...

"Mamon she is so pretty!" a little girl sighed, staring at the snow leopard leaving their garden. "When will I be pretty like her?" the woman laughed and squatted down beside her daughter, wrapping her arms about her tiny little waist and pulling her close. She smelt of the thin mountain air and cinnamon from the baking she had been doing earlier.

"Soon my little cub, you will change when you need your Dusha," Isodel fell against her chest with a soft huff of impatience. "Do not wish away this time without her though, it is important to know this part of you before you meet her. There is danger, little mouse, if you love the animal too much that you might not return to this body."

... and then she brushed her large head against the child with a deep purr.

 

[Fallon]

There was a brief moment of panic in the back of Fallon's mind. One that made her muscles tense and shudder with the urge to shift, but she held back, and quietly watched the child move closer. She didn't believe there was any threat, but regardless, she'd warned the child not to get too close and if the feline lashed out, it would have been a hard lesson learned. Her gaze remained on the creature as she slowly moved toward Anja, watching for any signs of fear or anger, any notion of sudden movement. But there were none.

"Anja..run.." Cohr whispered, and Fallon held up a hand with a gentle hush to the boy who watched on anxiously.

Anja giggled, and Fallon let out a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding.

"Ooohhh... She's so soft aunt Fal!" the child called over in delight and lifted her hand to stroke through the leopard's fur. "Can we keep her?..Cohr, come see!"

Fallon smirked and her head shook as she rose to her feet, but she stayed where she was. "Shh. Don't crowd her, be gentle. She's not a pet, Anja."

"Do you have a name?" Anja asked in a soft whisper. "What about snowflake?"

Fallon's eyes rolled.

 

[Isodel]

This was... strange. This touch. But the more the girl ran her hands through her fur the more she realised she had been craving it to the point of distress. She felt like a creature who had been starved or who had walked for miles with no hint of water. Her eyes were practically closed in bliss when the sweet child found the spot just behind her ear and her purr became a loud thundering thing. Even the leopard, begrudgingly, admitted that this was not the worst thing that had befallen them. But the more attention the girl lavished the more she found herself needing more. She wanted to gorge on it, this, this affection. The leopard dropped to her belly then rolled playfully onto her back.

My name...

The leopard blinked blankly up at the little group then tilted her head in confusion. Leopards did not need names, but if snowflake got her more of the ear scratches she would respond to it. She thought that perhaps there had been a name once... a name that had belonged to a young girl who had lived through a massacre so hor- No.

She gave her tail a flick and butted her head up against the girls hand.

 

[Fallon]

Cohr was hesitant, but his sister's glee over the purring cat had him shuffle closer through the snow. The grey wolf's ears perked and she intended on following the boy when Fallon called her name and she stopped dead and bounded toward the woman instead. The last thing she wanted was the shadow cat being spooked with the children so close to her.

Four little hands smoothed gently through the leopards thick, silvery fur and Fallon smiled, letting them calm her with their joy and affections before she too would wander slowly closer, and fall to a kneel to get a closer look. Her nose twitched and her head tilted, her wild gaze fixed.

"Can she stay with us?" Cohr asked, and Anja quickly nodded.

"Please Aunt Fal? Please please pleeeease?"

Fallon's lips pressed into a thin line and she let out a huff, her eyes lifting to the pleading faces of the young garou twins. "Of course she can stay - But that is her choice to make and not ours. She has our scents, and she is welcome to follow them."

"You can come stay with us now, Snowflake." Anja assured and patted her hand between the leopard's ears. "We will look after you. There are lots of us!"

Fallon smirked, and returned her attention to the study of the feline's face and the intelligence in her eyes. She held out a hand, but did not presume to touch her face.

 

[Isodel]

"It's time to come back, darling," her mother was crouched in the snow, hand tentatively stretched out towards the young and nervous feline. The leopard had a wild look in its eyes, torn between feeling for the snows where its instinct called her and listening to the voice inside of her that told her this woman was safe, that this was safe. The woman smiled patiently but didn't move closer to her. "You are leopard and girl both. Remember and come back."

The memory faded but the leopard was still staring at that hand outstretched. More and more they crept through now, flashes of a home, of the girl she had been and still was. What had she been doing? Allowing herself to fall this deep into the animal and forgetting herself? Panic crossed her eyes followed by confusion, pain and fear before back to panic. How did she even turn back? How-

A silvery glow rippled down the leopards fur disfiguring it for a brief, shining moment. Then just like that it and the leopard were gone and Isodel sat in the snow, the same purple eyes containing that same cocktail of emotions, white hair matted and unruly. She looked awkward in this skin which looked uncared for, too skinny and malnourished for her age.

"I... I can't remember my name," she whispered, looking down at her hands as though seeing them for the first time.

 

[Fallon]

Both children paused as the cat began her into panic, and the rippling glow caused their hands to recoil and Fallon stood slowly as they both rushed to her sides. Her hands settled on their shoulders to calm them and they watched, wide-eyed as the creature shifted. Of course, they had seen such things many times, but although Fallon had expected it might happen, the children had not. They'd only ever witnessed such a change possible with wolves, but she had witnessed it with dragons, with bears and now, a snow leopard.

"It's alright.." Fallon spoke calmly, giving the woman room to breathe and adjust, a warm smile on her lips as she studied her. "It'll come back to you.." she rumbled. Something similar had happened to Fallon years prior, and she'd been trying to coax one of her own brooding wolves to shift back into his skin for weeks now.. She sighed, and could only assume by looking at her that something was wrong.

Anja's head tilted, and she looked between the confused woman and Fallon for a moment before deciding to shuffle a little closer again. Fallon allowed it, feeling no threat, but her brow arched curiously as she watched the little girl untie the thick fur cloak from around her neck, and hold it out to her new friend.

"W-we can still take care of you." the child told her hesitantly, and Fallon smiled proudly.

 

[Isodel]

Everything was so much colder, crisper, clearer out of the skin of the leopard. She could still feel her clawing at her mind and coaxing her to come back into the warm embrace of ignorance. As Fallon spoke the wild child looked up sharply. Despite her change of bodies her mannerisms were still almost animalistic in their nature. The tilt of her head, the way her eyes focused like a cat watching a mouse. Even the way her head half turned at the sound of every little noise. Purple eyes with the wildness of a leopard turned to the child as she stepped forward and held out the cloak.

The girl realised only then, dully, that she was sitting naked in the snow and that might be the reason she were cold. Slowly she reached out and took the cloak then threw it about her shoulders. It took time to do, her hands awkward with these human movements, but eventually it settled around her. She didn't even attempt at trying to clasp it together but rather let it hang and gripped it instead as though it were a life line.

"Thank... you..." she said slowly as though remembering the words. "Something happened... to my... I can't..." her nose screwed up in anger at her gaping holes of memory.

 

[Fallon]

Anja flopped down onto her knees in the snow as the cloak was taken and the girl thanked her. Fallon's gaze narrowed softly as she watched her clutch hopelessly for shreds of memory and she couldn't help but wonder how long she'd been stuck. Questions were probably not the best idea right now, and Fallon offered a warm smile.

"It's alright. Your memories will find you. You're safe.." she assured her, for that was all that truly mattered in the present. "We.. were just about to do some hunting lessons. Perhaps, the children might learn from you also?.." her brow quirked in attempt to give the girl some focus.

 

[Isodel]

Fallon's offer was a branch towards Isodel as she battled against a raging river of emotions and memories. They came at her in a haphazard fashion out of place in time and some she thought might have even been dreams and not real. They were from her younger years. Those odd fuzzy things children recollected but which faded with the years. So she lunged for that lifeline and pushed them aside to focus on something she did know. Hunting had been the main focus of her life for... for however long it had been.

"Yes," Issy lowered her eyes from Fallon to the girl in front of her and offered a shadow of a smile. "Hunting I can help with."

It was almost a relief to go back into the thick coat of her leopard though it felt stranger than before. Her two halves were not one any longer but two separate beings. She shook out her fur and then picked the cloak up from where it had fallen in delicate teeth and offered it back to the young girl. She cast the wolf a wary look once and then began to trot off in the direction of game she had been following initially.

 

[Fallon]

Fallon let out a breath, a silvery plume on the freezing air and she nodded, feeling the tension crack like thin ice. "Wonderful." she answered, and crouched to bring Anja and Cohr into her arms. "Now remember what I've taught you. Stay low, stay silent, learn everything you can from watching. Perhaps I'll learn something too." she smiled warmly.

The children grinned at her and nodded, "Yes aunt Fal." they whispered in unison, and turned to head off after the feline with Dea following closely behind. Fallon followed in silent wonderment until they came to the meadow where she had so often caught deer and rabbit, and she leaned up against a silver birch and folded her arms to watch her pups learn.

 

[Isodel]

It was too easy to fall back into the ways of the leopard. As she stalked her muscles rolled and her fur bristled then lay flat as though she were shrugging into a coat. By the time they reached the little meadow where the scent was the strongest she moved once more like the feline she had become in the past few years. Purple eyes the colour of starrynight flowers in full summer bloom flickered over her shoulder towards the children who followed her. She motioned with a quick look to a snowy outcrop where the children could watch from before stalking forward to a bank of snow.

From the grey skies above them the clouds split and showered down upon them a flurry of thick white snow. Every now and then a flake landed on a whisker of a sensitive part of her ear which would cause her to absentmindedly flick an ear or twitch her nose, but otherwise the cat became so still she was lost in the white winter wonderland.

A keen eye would be able to see on the other side of the meadow where the trees began to thicken a young doe. She cautiously stepped from the protection they afforded her and leaned up to reach the icicles which she would use as a source of water whilst the river was frozen.

Issy stalked forward slowly. Being a mountain predator she preferred to use height to her advantage and it was what she sought to do now. Steadily she climbed the snowdrift until she crested the top. Her back end wriggled slightly as she adjusted her position. Everything was calm, silent. Then suddenly she leapt. It was a common misconception that snowleopards were not fast given their size and she put that to rest right now for the onlookers. The deer below barely registered the large feline before she was on her. She landed on the creatures back, one large paw on the does head forcing her down and another on the shoulders. Fangs pierced the jugular and the sweet smell of blood filled the air as the doe trashed once then grew still.

 

[Fallon]

The children crouched low, their little heads peeking over the outcrop, and they remained as silent as Fallon had taught them to be. Fallon watched the way the leopard moved, appreciating her stealth as she stalked with far more grace than a wolf ever could. Wolves were pack hunters, they tracked and flanked their prey, they took them down and it could be long and messy, but Fallon's lips curled as her silver gaze flickered between the leopard and the doe. The creature was oblivious, it's keen senses uninterrupted, and Fallon's brow quirked as she struck so perfectly.

"DID YOU SEE THAT AUNT FAL?!" Cohr exclaimed, and the children jumped up and down and rushed into the clearing, arms in the air as they practised their own pouncing at each other, giggling and falling into the snow.

"I saw." she laughed quietly and pushed herself from the tree to wander into the clearing. "Beautifully done." she praised with a respectful dip of her chin to the feline.

 

[Isodel]

Isodel sat back and licked the blood from around her mouth as she watched the children pouncing on one another in the snow. Her head listed to the side and there was clear amusement in the depths of her wisteria eyes. Those same eyes moved to Fallon when she spoke. Her tail flicked and a small purr rumbled in the back of her throat, looking very much like the cat who had got the cream in that moment. The leopard knew she was a good hunter. It was a point of pride.

With a flash Isodel was back in her human form, wiping the remaining bits of blood from her chin.

"We share?" she raised a brow and motioned from the deer to the group.

 

[Fallon]

"It would honour us." Fallon nodded gratefully, a hand pressed to her chest as she did so. The children were growling, screeching and laughing loudly as they played, but as Fallon's throat cleared they stilled and silenced. "Wouldn't it, pups?"..

"Yes aunt Fal.." they both mumbled and as Fallon stared at them, her brow quirked expectantly, they took heed of her meaning and turned to the feline woman..

"Thank you Snowflake." Anja said, and dipped her chin much like Fallon did. The alpha wolf smiled and stepped forward to grab each of them into her arms, only to deposit them in a thick pile of snow, laughing as they giggled and flailed to get out.

"There are more of us that I'd like you to meet, if you wish to, that is. You'd be welcome to join us at the Caern.. it's not far, and I'm sure they too would be grateful of breakfast.." she smiled softly.

 

[Isodel]

Isobel returned the nod with Fallon respectfully but when the small girl did the same she only smiled curiously. Was this little one the next alpha? She could smell potential on her but she was young and had many paths yet to cross on her journey. Her eyes lingered on the young ones for a while as they played and tickled more distant memories of brothers and sisters until Fallon spoke once more.

"That would be.... nice," she said slowly. Also wise. Perhaps even helpful - it might jolt more memories from her. Slowly she stood in the snow and stretched in a feline manner, uncaring of her naked form. It was their way after all. Then she bent and picked up the deer with the inhumane strength that set them apart from humans even when in this form. Blood trickled down her shoulders and chest where the deer flopped across her mantle but she didn't batter an eye. With her bony body and matted hair it only added to the feral look.

"I will follow."

 

[Fallon]

Fallon's eyes creased as the warmth of her smile reached them and she nodded.. "Alright.. Let's go, you two.." she smirked. She had intended on helping to carry the kill, but the girl seemed to have no trouble with it, and it was her offering, her prize. The Garou turned on her heels to trek back through the thick snow and forest until the terrain grew rockier, and soon they were heading up into the mountain.

Dea stayed at her heel, and the children didn't have to be warned to be more careful as the paths grew narrow and dangerous, they had already learned to be sure-footed, but the mountain pass was no place for games.

Ahead came the warm glow of fire light of a cave mouth, and by the time they reached it the light had surrendered to a dusting of stars and the sun had sunk below the snow-covered horizon, leaving the sky above it painted with indigo and blush pinks. Fallon smiled as she paused for a moment to admire it before wandering inside.

The Caern was deceptively massive inside, with smooth rock formations and many beds of pelts for her growing pack. There were springs of fresh water here and there, and stalactites that sparkled with crystal ore and glowworms. Most of the pack were already settled around another fire, drinking ale and playing with the wolves who had joined the pack. They were not Garou, but it had always been the way of things that bonds were forged with the animals, they were after all, not so very different.

Fallon smiled with contentment as spirits were high and the atmosphere despite the snow outside was a warm one. The group around the fire looked up, and the children ran to greet their mother, a dark-haired woman named Nadya who dragged them into her arms.

"We found a snow cat, mama! Look!" Cohr pointed.

"We have a guest. And she has brought us supper." Fallon announced as she lifted a large blanket of fur to offer to the naked woman with a soft smile. "Welcome to the Caern.."

 

[Isodel]

It had been... too long since Isodel had looked at the world with human eyes. On their trek into the mountains sights, sounds and smells that would have passed her by as a leopard were suddenly things she needed to stop for and appreciate. The scent of a frostrose in bloom, the sounds of eagles crying as they wheeled and played in the sky above them. The view at the top. Her footsteps slowed and then finally came to a complete stop as she took in the panorama the ledge before the cave offered them. With the cool embrace of dusk engulfing the world in its soft shroud the snow covered rocky mountain stop took on a whole new look. It was no longer a place where her eyes picked out the perfect spots to sleep for the night. It was a place where she saw the way the ice glinted in the dying sun and looked like diamonds, a place where she could appreciate the struggle of life even in these more trying of environments. The breath caught in her throat. How had she wandered all this time and never noticed how beautiful the landscape was?

"Wow," a soft, single word escaped her lips in a sigh. Issy could have stared at it for days but she made herself turn away to follow the alpha into the caves. Her human body was glad to be out of the cold and near a fire, which was an oddity when she had been avoiding the warmth of a hunters camp for... a long time now. There were so many scents and wonderous sights inside that she was distracted whilst Fallon and the children introduced her to the others. It was only when the blanket was offered that she blinked out of it.

"Thank you," again she attempted a smile as though she were recalling the muscle memory from the deep recesses of her mind. Carefully she set the deer down and without a care for the blood on her skin she tugged the fur about her. An involuntary shudder ran through her body as it was suddenly warmed. "Is.. Caerm word for," she gestured to the group. "Or," she gestured to the cave. The words for pack and home were there in her mind but when she reached for them they shrunk back, attached to painful memories best left covered.

 

[Fallon]

"Hm, the Caern is our home, yes. We are mostly Garou wolves, but we have two Lycans among us, and a few wolves have made it their home also.." she smiled and patted Dea's side as the grey wolf brushed up against her.

The rest of the pack were getting to their feet, and Fallon settled a hand on the girl's shoulder in effort to put her at ease. The stern silver gaze that she glanced over her pack with mutely asked them to be gentle. Nadya was the first to approach her, dragged toward the newcomer by the two children.

"Welcome.." the pretty woman smiled kindly to her and reached to guide her further inside. Nadya had always had a certain warmth about her. Her temper never frayed, and where Fallon was stern when she had to be, she could count on Nadya to be warm and comforting. A true mother.

"There are some hot springs over there, if you'd like to wash up. I have plenty of clothes too.." Nadya smiled.. "Tori, fetch her some clothes and some linens would you?" she asked a young, dark-skinned woman who happily obliged.

"Make yerself at home lass." a large, bear like man rumbled as he stood from the fire side, offering her a friendly wink and pressed his hand to his massive chest. "Name's Yorik, this here is Tyr" he pointed to a teenage boy, his face and chest marred with scarring, but he smiled shyly never-the-less. "Caspian." he pointed to a handsome blonde-haired man with striking blue eyes who dipped his chin. "And Kip there. Not the talkative type these days.." the man grunted. Kip, in the form of a red dire wolf looked up and huffed at Yorik, but he too offered a silent bow of his head in greeting to the girl.

"Girlfriend broke his heart a couple weeks ago.." Caspian sighed and shook his head.

"Leave him alone. He'll talk about it when he's ready." Fallon chided and cupped the wolf's face in her hands to press a kiss between his eyes before flopping down against him to nestle into his warm fur. The children let go of their mother's skirts to nestle down at either side of her, and her arms wrapped around them with a quiet chuckle. Yorik left room at the fire to collect the deer carcass, and he set about butchering it.

"Do you have a name?" Nadya asked the girl gently.

 

[Isodel]

The feral leopard in the skin of a girl stood rigid as the pack introduced themselves. Every instinct within her screamed to turn and run right now. Not only was she in a cave with a group of predators who were Pack and thus could kill her easily if they wished, but seeing them altogether as a... as a family she recalled the word, it made her itch at dressings to wounds she shouldn't. The urge to shift rippled under her skin as she fought with the desire to go back to something she knew. As a girl all she had were questions and empty holes of memory.

Dully she followed Nadja as she was gently coaxed closer to the fire like a lost lamb in need of caring. Isodel nodded mutely to the offer of a hot spring though she was not entirely sure what one was. Hazy memories of cleaning herself came back to her but why get wet when you could just use your tongue? It was far more efficient. She would try it though, she thought as she glanced down to her bloodied skin. Did she smell? Was that not... correct for a girl? She lifted the cloak and gave a few sniffs under her arms. She smelt good to her leopards nose, but the other woman smelt nicer she had to admit... Her thoughts on the matter were cut short when the man who loomed like a large oak stood up from the fire. The leopard flinched back, taking a half step behind Nadja, and listened to him with wide, purple eyes. Slowly her hackles came down and she nodded to each of the people as they were introduced.

"Girl...friend...?" Isodel repeated quietly, with a bewildered look on her face. "Is this a monster nearby?" a hint of the leopard appeared in her eyes in the form of a golden circle around her purple iris'. The natural flight or fight reaction taking a hold and preparing her for the change at a seconds notice. It died, however, when the woman asked her question.

"Snowflake."

It was the only name she knew.