Exploring

[Quinn]

Quinn walked slowly through the forest, sniffing the air as she went. She was not one for hiding away in the woods, as she preferred noise and excitement and the attention she could get in public. She found the forest to be dark and rather depressing. But she would need to be at least a little bit familiar with the place if she was to stay here with the rest of the pack. As she walked, she caught a familiar scent and headed instinctively in its direction. She came upon a cave, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, and she stood there for a minute, trying to decide if she should keep going, or check out the source of the scent.

[Kris Lupin]

Ashura woke up feeling someone's arms around her. It took her a bit to remember Korbel had stayed the night. She smiled then as quietly as she could got out from his arms then walked outside to go to the stream not far away.

[Quinn]

Quinn was about to walk away when a girl stepped out of the cave. "Oh, hey," she said. "I'm sorry, do you live here? I didn't mean to intrude. I just thought I smelled a familiar scent."

[Kris Lupin]

Ashura wondered if she knew Korbel. "Who are you?" She asked looking back inside the cave wondering if he was still asleep.

[Quinn]

"I'm Quinn," she said. She sniffed the air cautiously. "Do you live out here all alone? Or is someone with you?"

[Kris Lupin]

"Well I live alone but this guy I'm sorta with stayed with me last night." Ashura said remembering the name. So this is the one that he didn't want me to meet. She thought looking back at her.

[Quinn]

"Oh, OK," Quinn said. "I'm sorry to bother you..." She was about to turn away, but then stopped herself. "Hey, this guy friend of yours... would his name happen to be Korbel?"

[Kris Lupin]

"Yes... why?" Ashura wasn't sure if she should have told her or not but it was too late now.

[Quinn]

Quinn felt a flash of anger flare up inside her, but she covered it quickly. "So you're the girl he was talking about?" she said, narrowing her eyes slightly and examining the girl. "He just said you were friends. Sort of friends, actually. Really, he just said he met you and thought you were nice. He's spending the night already? That boy sure does move fast..."

[Korbel]

Korbel slept nice while Ashura was next to him. Her scent engulfed his dreams as he slept. He had to admit that he slept pretty good with her next to him, and he rather liked having his arms around her. As he awoke, he noticed that she wasn't next to him, and he sat up, looking around the cave, but she wasn't no where in sight. Korbel listened and heard a familiar voice. He slowly stood up and ran a hand through his messy hair, listening to the conversation between Quinn and Ashura.

[Kris Lupin]

"He only stayed because I asked him to. And this is the first night he's even been here." Ashura said almost defensively. "What's it to you anyway?"

[Quinn]

Quinn raised her hands. "Hey, whoa, back down, kid," she said. She wondered if Korbel had told the girl something about her already, that she would get so defensive. "It's nothing, OK? Korbel just happens to be a friend of mine, that's all. But hey, whatever--or whoever--he does is his business, right?"

[Kris Lupin]

Ashura didn't know what she meant by 'or whoever he does' but she wasn't going to let her know. She walked back into her cave without another word to the girl. She really hoped the girl wouldn't follow her seeing as Ashura didn't invite her in.

[Quinn]

Quinn stared after the girl, her mouth open. "Hey, there's no need to be rude!" she shouted after her. "I was trying to be nice!"

[Kris Lupin]

Ashura ignored her as she walked back into the main cave. She smiled as she saw Korbel awake. "Morning, did you sleep well?"

[Korbel]

Korbel gave Ashura a short smile. "Yeah, pretty good I guess," he said straightening up as he saw her. He kept glancing towards the cave entrance, then grabbed Ashura's arm and pulled her gently on into the cave a little ways to be farther from the entrance. "So, Quinn found out that I stayed here last night huh?"

[Kris Lupin]

"Yeah, you were listening?" Ashura asked losing her smile. "I can somewhat tell why you didn't want me meeting her.. I don't like her that much."

[Korbel]

"I caught the last bit of the conversation, not everything," said Korbel. "Yeah, I thought that you wouldn't like her very much, that's why I didn't really want you to meet her, but things happen, right? She's been my friend since as long as I can remember, but I know that there are some people that don't really like her, and that's understandable."

[Kris Lupin]

"I hope that when you get to meet my brother you'll like him." Ashura said. "Unless you've already met him..." She put her arms around him. "I miss him."

[Korbel]

"Well, I've met your brother twice already, but he seemed a bit unsteady," said Korbel. "Both times he wanted to fight, but the second time, I didn't want to, because he was really unsteady. I think I can give him a chance, because you gave me one, so I think I can return the favor." He gave her a smile and put his own arms around her. "I know you do, but you'll get to see him some time in the near future."