She wondered again where Steel was. He was the only family that she had left. When Mother had left, and her brother had disappeared, Jade had wandered alone for months, barely surviving. A small pack had taken her in and she'd been content there for a while, but always searched for both absent members of her family. A few months ago, she had discovered that Mother had been killed in a cougar attack. Despite all that Mother had put her through, she grieved for her death. Now, Steel was all that she had left and that had prompted her to leave her adoptive pack behind and go in search of him. It was hard to track a wolf that did not want to be found though. She knew that she was getting close and her drive to find him would keep her going, but she was utterly lost in these strange lands.
Feeling a bit of panic starting to close in, Jade moved even further from the borders and lay down under a thicket. Here, she was somewhat hidden, her mulicolored pelt helping her blend in with her background. She needed to calm down. Every sound of the forest around her made her jump. She pushed herself backwards into the clump of bushes until her rear end bumped into the base of them and she could go no more. She started counting backwards to herself... <i>Ten, nine, eight, seven...</i> The strange ritual worked it's magic and she was soon merely nervous and not terrified.
She was not brave, but she wouldn't let her fear keep her from her goal. She would find Steel. With that thought, the exhaustion of the last weeks and months of searching caught up to her once more and she drifted into an uneasy sleep.