Early morning on the 11th in the mountains. Think 1 or 2 o'clock.

Word Count → 443

The night settled into the land blanketing it with a comforting darkness. Soon the stars appeared one by one and the moon rose high in the sky. The millions of starts blinked in and out of existence like overexcited fireflies, and they formed a thick band across the sky that took up half of the upper world. Kiara was standing outside hoping to avoid another one of Shiloh and Aleo's fights. Ever since Shiloh miscarried it seemed like they did nothing but fight. Kiara looked up, her thoughts racing through her head in a confused swirl. Her meeting today with the coywolf was not the most pleasant one to say the least. He creeped her out in many ways and the way he had been so intimate with her made her skin crawl. Kiara didn't know what she would have done without X'yrin there to help her.

Kiara shook her head and stared back up at the sky, The snow wolf let herself go, she let all of her thoughts and feeling just drift away into the dark expanse and a strange calmness enveloped her. She didn't know how long she sat staring at the sky, but eventually her tranquil state was interrupted by the most amazing sight. The Northern Lights began to dance across the sky, the slow curtains waving in an invisible breeze. Kiara jumped to her feet, excitement boiling to the surface. She needed a better look. So Kiara ran, or at least trotted over to the mountains. The arctic wolf moved as fast as her injuries would allow her to go. Her head was raised to the sky and her paws lightly treaded over the deep snow.

After some searching, the snow wolf managed to find a place where the trees were thin and the mountains were high. It was within the neutral territories but for once she didn't care. The sight was beautiful and it reminded her of home. In the arctic north, the aurora borealis was a common sight and could be seen even during the dark days of winter. Here, the aurora was not so common and Kiara found herself with a renewed appreciation for the spectacle. She also felt a pang of homesickness, something she had not felt for several weeks. Kiara missed her home in the north, but she wouldn't leave the Ichika pack for the world. The arctic wolf opened her jaw and began to sing. Her melodic howl flowed into the valleys below her and drifted high into the heavens. She didn't care who heard her, she was simply filled with a calm joy and needed to share it with the world.

OOC here!

Word Count → 507

It was a sight she hadn't seen in a long time, the draping curtains of light making Kiara feel at home again. As she sat in the snow, her bulky form almost blending into her surroundings, she thought of her family and the north. In her mind, she was running home. She ran over the mountains and through the aurora all the way back to the frozen tundra she once called home. There her brothers, sister, and parents welcomed her with a warm hearts and eyes that shinned as brightly as the sky. Kiara was lost to the world, her body was there but her mind so far away. She didn't even hear or smell the approaching stranger. Kiara's mind was so far gone that she did not react when the black female joined her at the mountains peak.

It was only when the female spoke that the snow wolf took notice of her presence. Kiara nearly jumped out of her fur at the sudden words and whirled around to face the stranger. Her tail was high and her ear were alert, although she was more surprised than anything else. For the first time in a while she didn't react with fear at the approach of a stranger. Her jaw just hung partly open as if she was going to say something and the words were caught in her throat. Kiara didn't know how to take the stranger and listened in a surprise stupor as she introduced herself.

"Ah...hi...I...I mean...um..." The snow wolf racked her brian for the word that she had been using for four months, but the strange greeting escaping her. "OH...namaste. Yes namaste. Um...Kiara, I'm Kiara...yes. Nice to meet you Rio." She was in shock, that was really the only way to describe it. Rio's sudden appearance and Kiara's total lack on awareness shocked the white wolf and degraded her into a bumbling idiot. Although idiot is not far off from how she normally acted. Slowly Kiara lowered her tail as the initial surprise wore off. It was really a wonder that she wasn't a quivering mess, after all she was still having a lot of trouble overcoming her fear of strangers. Perhaps it was Rio's polite and friendly mannerisms, perhaps it was the beautiful aurora, or perhaps it was simply the shock had overloaded the poor wolfs brain. The final situation was the most likely scenario.

Once again, the alabaster woman sat in the snow but instead of raising her head to the sky to look at the Northern Lights, she looked at Rio and wondered how long the black wolf had been standing there. With the initial bought of surprise gone and the fear she was expecting to feel no where to be found, the snow wolf found herself full of curiosity for the stranger. From the scent that clung to her fur it seemed as if Rio was from a pack, most likely the neighboring one. Kiara knew nothing about the pack or it's inhabitants and wondered what they were like.

OOC here!

Word Count → 362

Kiara was still very wary of Rio, but as time passed she became more comfortable with the stranger's presence. Her body slowly relaxed as the muscles unwound bit by bit. Rio had been around the jumpy wolf for some unknown period of time, but had yet to hurt Kiara. If Rio wanted to, she could have just attacked Kiara when her guard was down. Rio could have torn the injured wolf apart and Kiara wouldn't have known what had hit her. Once Kiara was more relaxed, her tail quickly dropped and her jaw closed. The arctic wolf sat back and eyed the strange wolf with curiosity, she had yet to feel comfortable enough to look back up to the sky.

The black wolf hosted a polite smile and her words were kind. Kiara perked up a little when the young wolf asked about the aurora. She knew a lot about aurora's, although she doubted a lot of it was true. The snow wolf's mother had been one of those religious types, while Kiara was not. "Yeah, I know about it. It's the Northern Lights. My mom...well, she used to say that the Lights were where the spirits lived and they would come out at night so that they could watch over the living and chase demons out of the living's dreams. Although, I'm not sure how much of that is really true." Kiara chuckled a little, remembering the fever in her mother's voice whenever she told the stories.

The snow wolf turned her head to the sky and watched as the colored lights danced slowly in the sky. Her tail wagged slowly as she enjoyed the beautiful view. Although, her scars bothered her a little. They felt cold and exposed to the night air. Kiara turned her sapphire gaze back to Rio when Rio questioned her about her pack. "Yeah, I'm from Ichika no Ho-en. What about you? What pack are you from?" The Ikusei's voice swelled with pride and a cheerful smile spread over her face. Kiara had relaxed completely, the calm atmosphere that surrounded Rio was infections and it made Kiara feel a lot better. Perhaps stranger's weren't all bad.

Sorry for the wait.

Word Count → 323

Both Kiara and Rio sat transfixed, their eyes stared at the shimmering curtains of light and watched them slowly move and change color. Red and green were the most prominent colors in the aurora, which was normal. There were times in the arctic where Kiara saw particularly spectacular auroras that showed multiple colors, however the one above their heads was amazing in its own right.

The arctic wolf found it amazing that Rio just accepted her mother's stories and even seemed to enjoy them. To have extra protection while they slept was a good thing, although it could just as easily be provided by a pack as opposed to nameless spirits. Still, Kiara could relate to the sentiment. "Yeah, I suppose it is." The entire situation turned Kiara's thoughts to her mother and the rest of her family. Where were they now? Were they still in the valley or had the pack moved? Were they happy? What were her brothers doing? Her sister? Her parents? A dull ache pulled at Kiara's chest as she longed for the stream carved valley that she had once called home.

Once the conversation had turned to packs Kiara completely forgot about her family and her touch of homesickness. The Ikusei was proud of her pack and she loved being part of it. They were so peaceful and the members were some of the kindest wolves in the world. Kiara hoped to spend the rest of her days in the quiet valley. "Anathema, so that makes us neighbors then." A toothy grin had appeared on the white wolf's face. Neighbors were a lot better than loners. Loners, Kiara had found out, could be terrifying. The alabaster female turned her head to look towards the direction that Ichika lay. She should get back soon otherwise Shiloh and Sarian would start to miss her. She lifted her maw to the sky again, reluctant to leave for fear of missing anything.