Borden had told her to stay within the pack territory. Not once but on several occasions. The speech never changed, no matter how many times she had heard it or however many times he rearranged the words. It was just "blah blah blah, Taima don't go too far. Taima, no exploring today. Taima, stay here." Since her encounter with the dark-pelted man and her most recent lecture given a few weeks ago, her curiosity for the 'outside' world had merely been kindled after this morning's "Taima, be careful" from her father.
Being careful, she realized was something she could quite happily do. With the mind to keep her eyes peeled and her ears up, the young Lyall took an hour's journey to the southern part of her home. One hop and a frivolous skip effortlessly brought her over the territory borders and, in what seemed like no time at all, the girl was skirting about the tree line that made up the perimeter of Cedarwood Forest. Humming to herself, she trotted about, craning her neck about as she pressed her nose to the ground, searching for something of interest. Some time ago, she had learned from her Uncle that during his time between packs, he had hoarded away things of value.
Taima tried to compile a list in her head, thinking of all the things he had mentioned - things a lone wolf would have needed or depended on or simply liked. Frozen mice, frozen birds, bits of flesh, deer antlers, bits of animal hide... Coming to the base of a seemingly characteristic tree, she mused to herself with a loud "HmmmMMMm." Circling about the base of the tree, she tip-toed around it, then playfully stood upright against its trunk with her forepaws firmly against its bark as she peered around to its other side.
Once back down on all-fours, she cast a skyward glance at its branches, staring until five large snowflakes landed on her nose. Shaking her head from side to side, she went back to investigating the old pine tree's roots. About half of the tuberous roots were arched up from the ground, creating several perfect places to stash away secret treasure. Ever so attentive to where she placed her paws as she clambered over a root that had grown around a large rock, she made her way around the tree once more only to feel the earth give way beneath her feet. A gasp sounded out as both of her stocky paws slid forward, her elbows scraping against the large root she had managed to scale. She peered down into the hollow she had unearthed then let out the most ridiculous greeting, "HERRRRROOOO?!"
She laughed to herself as no one answered her, but no more than two seconds after she had opened her mouth, a pair of beady eyes peered back at her from the depths. Something was in there and it hastily scurried about out of sight. Her eyes widened and her tail wagged as she started to dig, trying to make the opening of the tunnel a little larger. "Herrrro?" she repeated with a giggle, stopping for a moment to see if it would move again. Before she could even say another word, or even begin to ponder what belonged to the funky stench that had reached her nostrils, she saw a flash of a white stripe... then... an even thicker cloud of the odor was sprayed into her face!
A scream echoed through the forest as she withdrew her head and wriggled away from the burrow. Her eyes kept closed as she flailed about on her side, raising her paws to her muzzle and face to wipe the mist of stink from her face. She coughed and sputtered, unable to get around the reek that had assaulted her senses. Pffff, so much for being careful...