She followed the strong wolf in front of her distractedly, her eyes fixed on the dirt, a frown hovering on her lips. Her thoughts wandered. One direction led to the lonely, bitter pup. She was worried. They had just left him there. With Shazali, no less. Her sister... She felt an ache in her heart whenever she thought of the sharp gray furred wolf. If only she had done more. Some of the spiteful things the female had said about Camo had been true, after all. That filled the mute she-wolf with painful guilt and regret.

She closed her intelligent dark green eyes for a moment, trying to clear her head. She focused on breathing for a few seconds, letting the cool, rich earthy air relax her. She could smell so many things. The faded grass dew and fall's leftover leaves. Plants soaking up the sun. The reassuring, strong scent of her wolf companion. She heard the wind rustle each dead leaf. It picked up her own long, dark brown fur and toyed with the strands.

Cayden's words interrupted her meditation, and her eyes blinked open. His voice was a tangle of mixed emotions, and she struggled to piece them together. She fleetingly wondered what question was in his mind that caused the jumble.

"Camo...right?" She heard him say.

For a brief moment she wondered how he knew her name; then she remembered her sister calling her that. She bobbed her head in a nod. Yeah. It's short for Camella. She explained.

His next question made her release a half-bitter smile. I'm fine. Then, suddenly, it occurred to her that of course Cayden was not fine. She opened her mouth in an "o" shape, although of course no sound came from it. She ducked her head shamefully at forgetting him. I'm so sorry. Of course you're still hurt.

She tasted the air more thoroughly this time, skillfully digging through each herb's scent until she found the faint smell of a plant that brought strength and quickened healing. She padded quickly until she found the source. With a quick snap of her jaws, she collected a few leaves in her mouth and delicately carried them over to the male. As she moved forward, she silently coaxed the life in the plant to give as much healing as it could. She reached Cayden and pushed the leaves forward with her tongue, carefully holding them with her teeth by the stem's tip. Camo motioned with her head for him to take them. Awkward as the action might be, she certainly didn't want to drop them and get the herbs dirty.

He spoke again, and she blinked expectantly. Of course not. She was glad he couldn't read her thoughts, because in truth she was a little nervous. Camo didn't really know how to be sociable. She was always shy, being especially awkward with others she didn't know well. However, that train of thought would only lead her to places she didn't really want to be. She truly missed her siblings, her brother especially, along with her friend Purlrii.

The mute young female tried to shake away her pondering. Whatever her feelings were, she knew she was brave enough not to cower at being pushed out of her comfort zone. Part of the journey meant fear and experiencing intimidating, new things. One question from her part-savior, part-companion was completely the least thing she had to worry about.

She smiled softly and dipped her head in thanks. I don't really care. I'm used to Camo but I've never minded Camella...

When he moved forward to take the herb, her eyes dropped to keep from exposing her feelings. In truth, they confused her. His closeness brought a rush of warmth and nervousness. She hoped he hadn't noticed the awkwardness, but from his half-laugh she suspected that he had. But then he took the plant and drew back, and she found herself slowly relaxing. After just a few seconds the moment was over, and yet it left her mind in a jumble.

She waited for him to speak. His questions brought indecision in her head. He wanted to know why she'd been in the Dark Wood. Camo looked at her paws. Well... It's sort of complicated. And crazy. This wolf appeared in my dreams. She told me I had to leave and join the Aaels. She said I'd have a guide to finding them. That I'd know him when I saw him. I was lost when I came to that forest, though... She didn't telepathically voice the end of that trail of thought. Yet it echoed in her head.

Then I saw you. You saved me. And I knew your name when my eyes looked into yours.

It startled her a little. That she would so instantly know another wolf. It made her shiver, but not from fear. More like the opposite of fear. She felt braver. Stronger, somehow. She lifted her head to look back up at Cayden.

He was speaking again. She tried to ignore the comment about her friends and family. She really was trying not to think about them. Instead, she focused on his new question. Did others hear her voice in their minds? It sounded almost eerie when he said it. An image of a crazed wolf screaming about the "voice" in their head flashed through her brain, but she shook it away.

Yes. She admitted. Only two others, though. My brother, Daren. And my friend, Purlrii.

She never had understood how she could talk to her brother but not any of her sisters. How Rii was the only friend she'd been able to communicate with. It didn't make sense, but it was true. She frowned. She wished she had asked Shaloel about it, but for some reason Camo doubted that the ghost would have told her the reasons for it. She probably would have said that Camella had to figure it out for herself.

She brushed the musings from her head and watched Cayden instead. So...why were you in the Dark Wood? She asked hesitantly, shyly.

The dark brown female listened as Cayden thanked her, and she only gave a short nod, as if saying it was no big deal. He suggested resting. She was worn out from the meeting with her sister, but she felt worried that if they stopped for too long Shazali would follow and catch up with them. She tried not to let anxiety flash through her eyes at the thought of what wounds Pain could inflict while they were exposed and sleeping.

She didn't know what to say. She didn't want to speak about her fears. She didn't want the male to think that she didn't trust him. His half statement, half question made her shake her head. She didn't know any good particular spot for them to rest, if that's what he meant.

She gave a faint smile when he decided to call her Camella. She didn't feel that she needed to "say" anything further, so she didn't try to communicate with him. Instead, Camo watched her dark brown paws.

She looked up when he mentioned the ghost wolf's name. Shaloel. She nodded in affirmation. It was relieving to be reassured that she hadn't imagined the whole thing with the purple-eyed wolf. Sure, there was the jewel and everything, but it took a while for Purlrii to notice it. It was possible that Camo had made it up and gotten Rii to believe it, too.

Fortunately, it appeared that wasn't the case.

What he said next was more of a surprise to her. Day warriors in the east? When she had spoken to the ghost, she had said the evil wolves called the Veldrins were heading to TWR and were going to upset the peace. She said the Aaels, a good sort of pack, were also coming. Camo had assumed that that had meant the Aaels were going to make sure there wasn't any fighting.

But, then...why were they called warriors? She frowned slightly, confused. However, that wasn't the only part of what he had said that was news to her. So they're in the east? She asked.

The corners of her mouth twitched in amusement at his joyful outburst. Fulfill their destiny, hm? Camo wondered what that could be. So she was supposed to find this unknown pack. And once she did that, what then? It was unsettling, thinking about the future when it seemed so uncertain to her. She had left her siblings and friends to go follow some random telepathic wolf's orders. Granted, it had taken her a while for her to actually do it...but she had. Why, exactly?

Maybe Cayden's enthusiastic words were true. Maybe she was tired of hiding behind Daren. Maybe she wanted to find her own way. Maybe she wanted to see what was out there and break free from her shell. Looking over to her "rescuer", she felt a wave of relief wash over her that she wasn't alone in this. Even if she didn't know the male very well, she didn't feel as awkward around him than she would have thought she would.

She listened, interested, as Cayden recounted his side of what had happened. She was somewhat surprised that Shaloel had given him such detail in what he needed to do. The strange female seemed to Camo the type that just said something along the lines of "Go find this pack. I'll give you a guide. Just leave."

Nope. I didn't...I just expected someone to show me where to go. I really am grateful for your help. She managed another faint smile and a look into his face.

He then mentioned being set on sleeping. She looked down again. Ok... She still felt uncertain, but she tried to push away her worries. She found a spot a few feet away from Cayden and curled up, nestled against the grass and leaves. Her ears caught his words, and they made her feel a tiny warm feeling. However, she only closed her eyes, acting as though she hadn't heard. It wasn't that she was ungrateful or that his promise didn't mean anything to her.

She was just too shy to admit that it did mean something. It meant a lot.