Alyssa was a bit exhausted for she had been walking all night. Soon after she began to search for somewhere to rest.

"This looks like a nice spot." She said smiling in relief.

With that she approached a downed tree that was suspended under its branches and crawled under it. She then curled into a little blue ball and fell asleep.

A few hours passed and she began to wake, Alyssa picked herself up and began to explore her surroundings. Something caught her attention a short distance away; the sounds of playing and laughter.

Meanwhile somewhere near Jasper National Park...

Apollo lied out on a low outcropping with his paws dangling over the edge and tapped his tail slowly. He sighed deeply as he lowered his head so that his chin hung near his paws and flattened his ears. He was so bored. They had been wandering around for about a week now since their last encounter with a pack and they hadn't found anything not even a lone wolf to maul. The scents of any potential pack had been buried by the recent snow and a lack of wind made snuffing out a scent even more difficult. His patience was starting to wear thin. He needed something to happen soon or else he would lose his mind. He flattened his ears as he lifted his head and gazed off at no particular object to his left. Then his attention was drawn to his back as his ears detected the sound of one of his comrades approaching. His ears flicked to attention and he turned behind him to see a grey wolf with one eye standing there.

"Anything to report, Saber?" he asked.

Saber shook his head.

"It's all quiet out here, Apollo," he replied dryly, "not a damn thing for miles."

Apollo rolled his eyes and pressed himself up onto his paws.

"We'll head west," he said flatly, "we're sure to run into something."

The sounds of playing and laughter grew louder as Alyssa drew near the area it was coming from. She stopped and peeked from behind a bush. There were two young wolf pups happily playing with each other. She crept from behind the bush and interrupted their play.

"Hello, I'm Alyssa, do you two happen to know where I am?"

The pups both stopped and stared at the light-bluish fox in surprise, as if she appeared out of thin air, then they doubletaked back at each other unsure who should answer first. Finally one of them broke the silence.

"This is um, Jasper miss and my name is Mel."

Then the other pup, already blushing a deep pink, spoke quickly after the other finished his sentence.

"I think you're hot." He asserted.

Alyssa was slighty flattered by the unexpected comment, but Mel shot an angry glance at the other pup and nudged him in the shoulder.

"Bren! Sorry this is my brother Brendan."

"What? I think she's hot." He responded unapologetically.

"Ok, but you don't have to be rude." Mel shot back.

"I wasn't being rude I just think she's hot." Bren clarified.

"Just be quite!" Mel responded angrily.

Amused by their bickering Alyssa decided to interupt, "Do you boys know if any ponds or streams are around?"

Bren quickly beat Mel to the question before he could even think of an answer.

"Yes, there is a river not to far from here just keep heading east, you won't miss it."

"Great, and thanks for all of your help guys." She replied and continued east.

"You're welcome and goodbye." Mel responded.

"Hey! She was talking to me." Bren snapped jealousy.

"Oh, yeah!?"

"Yeah!"

This caused them to quickly resume their activity.

Nova licked the blood from her lips with a smack as she decided that she had eaten her fill of the baby caribou she had killed. She lifted her head from the pile of bones and turned her gaze off to the east. Nova had no idea where she was or where she was heading, but she knew that she had to be close to a pack of some kind by now. Nova didn't know what she hoped to find when she finally did stumble upon another pack out here, but she hoped that, whomever was to be encountered, they would be reasonable. She pushed these thoughts aside with a shake of her head then continued on her way. Nova had been traveling southeast for about five days now in order to escape her home, and had no idea just how much farther she would have to travel before she found another friendly face, but nothing would be accomplished by staying here, so she continued on her way.

Another five miles were put behind her, and all five of them had been just the same as the last five hundred, but then, out in the distance, she saw a fox. Nova sighed, because she did not trust foxes, but she was desperate for interaction with an animal besides herself, so Nova approached slowly and paused about ten feet behind her.

"Hello," she greeted warmly, "how are you doing today?"

Slightly startled, Alyssa turned around to address the friendly feminine voice and saw that it came from a silver-furred wolf. In actuality Alyssa understood that most foxes knew to be wary of certain wolves for they were very dangerous and foxes could prove to be a great appetizer to them, but she didn't share this general mentality for her father was a wolf, and so are some of her siblings.

"Oh, hi I'm doing fine where you headed?" Alyssa responded cheerfully.

"Nowhere in particular," Nova replied, "just kinda roaming around here and there looking for a place to stay. What about you?"

"Just exploring really, what is your name? And do you have a pack?" Alyssa questioned.

"I'm Nova," she replied, "and I'm kinda running from my former pack. What's your name?"

"That's a pretty name, mine is Alyssa. Why are you running from your pack?"