That was all Drifter wanted to know before they left? He wanted to know her name before they headed off to go speak with this male wolf's acquaintance in another pack. As much as Moondust didn't want to give her name out, the price of doing so and gaining a little bit of trust from this wolf would be well worth it in the end. She had been trusted with Drifter's name, the least she could do now was trust him with her own and pray it didn't get used against her. It wasn't like Drifter was going to go around spewing her name to enemy packs. . . right?

Despite her hesitancy, Moondust swallowed both her pride and the worry she was feeling towards giving her name to Drifter. It felt unfair to leave him hanging, waiting while she mauled it over in her head if she was going to trust the male wolf or not. 

"It's Moondust, my name is Moondust." 

"Moondust, how ethereal." 

The way Drifter's words came out in such a thoughtfully low tone left a strange tingling feeling cascading over her body. It was like a billion little ants traveling from the tips of her ears straight down to the tip of her tail before dissipating. Never had she felt anything like it, not even when ants would sneak into the pack den and try to crawl into their fur had she felt something like this. She wasn't sure whether to feel unnerved by the compliment or thankful, especially with the way it made her feel. 

With the current situation, however, Moondust decided to go with the option that would keep the awkwardness from reemerging into their newly formed party. 

"Thank you, my father thought so as well when he named me." 

Moondust's parents were long since gone, but that didn't mean she didn't have any memories to recall from the time she did have with them. 

"You're father chose beautifully, remind me to thank him when I escort you back home. Anyway, as much as I would love to stand around and appreciate the ethereal beauty of your name, we should probably get going considering the urgency of your pack's needs." 

Left momentarily stunned and her face warming at the compliment, Moondust once again didn't know how to actually respond to such a compliment. Sure, other members of her pack had said that her name was beautiful, but never had it sounded the way that it did coming from Drifter. The way it came from him had her fur bristling unintentionally and her face heating as if she had a fever. Though, that couldn't be possible, she hadn't fallen ill like the remainder of her pack. 

Before Moondust could fully get her thoughts in order and comprehend everything that had been said, Drifter turned away from her and started strutting off into the forest. If she didn't get her head in the game, she was going to be left behind. 

Forcing herself to focus, Moondust forced her paws to move, jogging after Drifter so she wouldn't lose her way to whichever pack he was leading her to. Maybe she should have asked, but she didn't believe they had the time for too many questions, not when her pack's lives were on the line. 

Time didn't mean a thing when you were running through the forest, trees passing you by, and the breeze flowing through your fur. Both Moondust and Drifter's paws beat down upon the soft earth that stretched out beneath them. The grass tickling their paw pads while the breeze they created tussled their fur. The trees that had been in a thick formation quickly began to thin out around the two wolves, leaving very few places for them to use as cover. If they were ambushed or spotted by nearby hunters, they would have nowhere they could use to hide from any surprise attacks. The lack of cover they had made Moondust anxious and overly nervous. 

On the bright side, if any other pack tried to sneak up on the pair of them, they would have been able to see them coming from a mile away. Their scent would have been carried on the breeze long before they would have been able to reach them. It was that small fact that gave some relaxing relief to Moondust, calming her raging nerves. 

"How much further do we have till we get there!?" 

Moondust called out from behind Drifter, her being barely a tail length behind the male wolf. Her ice blue eyes darted around their ever expanding open forest, only returning back to her black furred companion as she awaited an answer from him. However, there was something very familiar about the area they were in and she didn't like how uncomfortable it already made her feel. Something deep within her gut was telling her to turn tail and go back, find another pack to go ask for help. 

Nearly crashing into Drifter as his steady run began to drift into a steady trot, Moondust stumbled over her paws and sidestepped so she would end up beside the male wolf. Confusion and curiosity swirling within her ice blue orbs as they quickly shot towards her black furred companion. 

Still, she didn't get her answer. 

"Hey, a little warning would have been nice before stopping." 

Moondust silently growled out, her lips pulling away from her pointed white teeth as if accentuating just how frustrated she really was. 

"Sorry about that, didn't mean to surprise you. Figured this would be a good place for stopping since we're so close." 

Finally, Drifter gave her the answer she wanted. No, it was the answer she needed to feel some sense of relief. Though, if they were as close to their destination as Drifter insinuated that they were, it meant they had crossed over territory line at some point. How she could have missed that little detail was shocking to her, especially when she was a top hunter for her pack and always paid close attention to territorial lines. 

"So, how do we get into contact with your acquaintance?"  

"Well, to keep you out of trouble, you'll be staying here. I'll go get into contact with them and hope we can meet with their medic. If not, you may have to start looking for another way to figure out what is going on with your pack." 

Moondust stood in absolute silence, the pair of them coming to a complete stop once Drifter explained in short what was going to happen. She was going to be left alone, out in the open where there was hardly any place for her to hide if she needed to. Drifter was going to leave her alone for an unknown amount of time in a territory that wasn't her own, a danger in and of itself if she were caught. The whole situation was one big bad plan, but it may have been the only plan that they could go with for the time being. 

With a slow, hesitant nod of her head, Moondust reluctantly agreed to being left alone in the unknown wilderness of another pack's territory. 

"Alright, okay, do what you have to and I'll stay right here. Just, don't leave me out here too long, it could get dangerous really fast for me if spotted." 

With a knowing look within those electric blue eyes, Drifter turned a reassuring, toothy grin onto Moondust. 

"Don't worry sweetheart, old Drifter won't take too long." 

There was a quick wink that left Moondust stunned and locked into place, allowing Drifter to turn and run further into what remained of the forested trees surrounding them. 

Moondust blinked from her surprised and slightly stunned disposition, her eyes barely catching a glimpse of Drifter as he finally vanished from her sight. Confusion only built up more, her mind a jumble of thoughts as she stood stock still in the middle of enemy territory. Slowly, her head tilted to the right as if a sudden thought pinned itself to her brain and she needed to speak it outloud to the forest around her; 

"What is with the sweetheart thing?" 

**** **** **** 

Drifter's paws pounded against the soft green earth that expanded out before him, a single destination wedged deep within his mind. The wind around him blew through his moss covered, black fur, fluttering it around as if trying to comb out the green moss stuck within it. Even with the peace that came with his run through the trees, Drifter's mind was severely unsettled. He didn't know if he would be able to meet with either his acquaintance nor the medic that resided within their came, and he had left Moondust in a territory she was unfamiliar with. The dangers of doing so, he knew them well being a loner and drifting from one territory to another. Some packs were kinder than others and this one, it all depended on what they thought of you. 

Shaking his head vigorously, his ears flopping around despite standing straight up, Drifter pushed any thoughts of what could happen to Moondust out of his head. Any thoughts that slipped in on the negative end would have him turning around and heading straight back without meeting up with his acquaintance. 

"Get your head together Drifter, you can't go in half-clawed or they'll chew you to pieces before you could explain anything." 

The thoughts rushed through Drifter's head as he tried to get himself to focus, however, his electro blue eyes kept darting over his shoulder as he ran. His worry for Moondust was going to have him running into a lone tree if he didn't pay attention. 

Drifter had to force his attention back in front of him as a large set of rolling hills raised up in front of him. Green grass covered in wildflowers of every color went on for miles as the trees disappeared altogether. Bees buzzed around, playing their soft humming melody for anyone that were to come through the area. Within the rolling hills, if one were to look closely, multiple large burrows were dug into the soft earthen dirt that held up the field. Homes for the wolven pack that settled there so many eons ago, making it their territory and hunting grounds. It was filled with both a fruitful harvest of fresh meat and beauty that expanded for miles. The rolling fields were honestly a sight to see and the pack living there were lucky enough to see them year around. 

Slowing down, not wanting to seem a threat to the pack living within the hills of the expanding field, Drifter attempted to make himself as unthreatening as possible. He stopped shortly after and dropped into a seated position, panting from the hard run he had just pushed himself to make. His eyes were locked on the burrows he knew were filled with the many wolves that made up the pack, but the embarrassing little yips he made were nothing more but a call to gain a single wolf's attention. He only hoped that the call would be enough and not gain the wrong attention or he may be dead wolf sitting.