Kirain was about to have her puppies soon, or may have already had them, but Stardust did not intend for her dear friend to go without while Kirain dealt with being a new mother. She would need plenty of food…and not the darn berries she kept saying were okay to eat.

Finding prey was not always easy. The changes in the landscape certainly made it difficult. The woman of night hues moved with great grace through the tall grasses of the sleeping doe’s range. Stardust was finally getting comfortable to a point where she could start being herself a little more. This place…it had changed her so much, though many would argue it was for the better.

As she sniffed the morning air, she realized she got close to the Howling River area. She felt a pang in her heart, remembering the Tiger she met there that almost flung themselves into the acid water that almost burned her own paws. Curious to see if it was still a disaster area, she  moved her dark form closer, eyes peering through the completely dead trees.

It seemed about the same as before. The grass, gone. The trees, barren. She stopped for a moment a sighed. It was just so depressing. It was then she saw something over by the river in a distance. Stardust narrowed her bright cyan eyes to focus in on it…and it appeared to be a wolf. She felt her heart freeze.

Dare she go in? Even though she knew the water was not just acid, but it…it gave her weird feelings last time. She bit her lip and looked around, seeing no one else. What would Kirain do? She would help. ”What the hell,” she says to herself. ”Here we go.”

Stardust then dashes forward towards the stranger on the ground next to the river. She tries not to make eye contact with the river…yes, the river. How ridiculous. Her eyes remained focused on the figure, one that she would normally stop to admire, but this was not the time. The first thing she looked at was that if the wolf was breathing…yes! Stardust sighs with a bit of relief as she comes to stop, feeling the adrenaline and panic within herself. Suddenly the word hello comes to her ears. They are awake!

”My goodness, you are alive! We have to get out of here, NOW!” she said in a pushy manner. Her nose leaning down to nudge the woman’s shoulder. ”Did you just wake up here, or wander in here? This area is DANGEROUS! The water…it is tainted, and see that everything is dead…that will be us if you don’t move now,” she said quickly, breathing in the air if she wanted to or not…feeling that urge towards the water that she really, really did not want to feel.

She felt bad that she had to wake the poor woman in such a hasty and rather…unfriendly manner, but Stardust knew the risk of lingering even for a few minutes. Luckily, the stranger did not hesitate to listen to Stardust and get moving. She didn’t even need to get her loud voice out.

Stardust held herself next to the stranger in case she needed to lean against her to get up. She knew not how this woman came to be here, and if she was okay. The stranger was able to get up, and quickly Stardust realized how dangerous it really was out here. Death was everywhere, and yet she felt a stronger and stronger pull towards the water.

The woman of midnight hues is glad that the stranger moved quickly then, and Stardust was able to pull herself out of the area and back towards the range. The moved in silence - the importance of getting out of the death and destruction more important than pleasantries.

As they get to the safer area, Stardust’s pace slows and she lets out a big sigh. She stops her tall dark form and looks back, still feeling this…this PULL. She gulps then, snapping out of it once the woman spoke. Stardust shakes her head and blinks, almost like she is startled.

”Oh…I am just glad you woke up and moved so quickly. That water….” she says with her voice trailing off, her cyan eyes staring back, feeling the desire to go back, like the water is calling to her. She turns slowly. ”It…it is almost like it is calling to me,” she says hesitantly, shaking her head aggressively again. ”NO! No….it is poison,” she said to herself, looking back now at the rather large woman. Striking she is, now that she is not laying in peril. Stardust is a rather tall woman herself, and well built, but this lady before her? Stunning.

”I assume you just got here? Not many wander into those parts on purpose anymore,” she asked curiously, looking over the woman to make sure there was no injuries to worry about.

The larger woman was a thing to contend with, and Stardust was glad she was friendly so far. It appears the woman takes care of herself, however laying in the death of the river area did her no favors. Stardust looked her over and wrinkled her nose, and looked down at her own paws and did the same. Unacceptable. They had to get all this dirt off themselves ASAP.

Stardust flung her eyes back up to the woman, hearing the conformation that she indeed came here from her sleep. Stardust sighed heavily. ”Oh dear, same thing happened to me, but instead of waking up next to a river of death, I woke up FALLING FROM THE SKY,” she ended in a bit of a yell, looking up at the sky once more as if she had an ongoing intense rivalry with it. Stardust sat on her haunches afterwards, a tired look on her face. Her heart was saddened that another fell into the clutches of whatever the hell the place is.

”I only know that this place is called Mythris. I have only been here a few full moons myself. No one I have encountered knows why we get transported here…I have tried to figure out how to leave, but alas…” she shakes her star-touched head. ”You must be parched, and we absolutely must get whatever dirt from that poisoned place off of us. Come, let us go find water that will not burn your flesh off,” she said with a slight frown, her mind going back to Lestan and the horrors of the acid water. Stardust then lifts herself and starts moving towards a known source of water, looking back to see if the stranger was to follow.