Colibri felt ready to press onward and explore further east from the mountain, now that she was regaining her old reflexes and agility. She still grew winded quickly when she tried to sprint after prey, and her muscles would ache for hours afterward, but it was worth it to try and heal faster from the brink of starvation. She had not even attempted to shift down to her Lupus form, knowing how much energy it would waste. Less vital, but equally important to her, were the thin slashes along her ankles, wrists, and muzzle, which were finally knitting together and fading into a healthy pink shade. Gradually they would lighten to a pallid silver, and her fur would grow to hide them, she knew. For now, though, the skin remained bare and it annoyed her how obvious her weakness would appear to those she encountered. Sometimes it still felt like she was tethered and bound.
The chocolate-furred werewolf stepped lightly along the riverbank, deeply inhaling the cool late-winter air. The sun would set soon, darkness swallowing all the details of the landscape. Coli sighed, knowing it would be better for her to find shelter than it would to continue deeper into the grove. Then she paused, tail stub flicking anxiously. There were scent markers here -- faint, but growing stronger downstream. Was this a pack border? She had not known there were any settlements this far to the north -- the territory must have been claimed after she left Crimson Dreams, or else she would have stumbled onto them before. She sighed, growling faintly under her breath. She was on the wrong side of the river, so technically she had just trespassed. "...Might as well find out who they are," she murmured after a moment's hesitation, raising her cream muzzle to test the air. They probably wouldn't have scouts out until after dark...