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It was starting to get cold... The wind whipping its way through the forest sent a chill down her spine. At night it howled louder than the wolves living close to the mountains. Winter was nearing... Soon there would be snow.

She had dressed in her warmest doeskin dress, slipping a pair of moccasins over her feet. She disliked the shoes but they were necissary... As were the sleeves of the dress that came down to her wrists and the length that now brushed just past her nees. It wasn't enough though... She was a fool for being so ill-prepaired for the weather. She just... Hadn't thought. She was a disgrace to her ancestors.

With bow in hand she made her way into the woods surrounding the lake, hoping to find a deer. The rabbits she'd been snaring had been fine enough to last her through the summer months. The pelts had dried out and, if she managed to catch a deer, she could make herself a pair of boots... Boots lined with the fur to keep her warm once the snow came. Maybe... Just maybe she could redeem herself in the eyes of those who watched from above.

She shivered once more, trying to put her focus elsewhere. There! Movement in the distance! She snapped her attention towards it, readying her bow. Steady... Steady... A bolt of tan and the flash of a white tail. She released her arrow, letting it fly through the air as she knocked the next. She was nowhere near the hunter that her 'father' had been... But he had taught her to shoot when she was still young enough to be his pride and joy. The second arrow flew, taking down the doe that had moved into the open.

She removed the arrows carefully, whispering a soft prayer to her ancestors for granting her their strength and courage before thanking the gods for the deer, promising that nothing would be wasted. She grunted softly as she tried to pull the animal, brow furrowing when she got nowhere. There was no way tat she'd be able to carry the doe back to her camp... And with darkness on its way she couldn't stay here and risk her catch being taken away by predators.

At least Tsisqua would have some sort of entertainment to stumble upo when he found her... Hair that had been flowing freely when they first met had been pulled back into a single braid, feathers still woven into it. She huffed before attempting to pull the deer once more, grumbling as she found herself getting nowhere once more.

"It is too close to dark to linger." She snorted softly as she turned towards him. "Too large for one to move alone... But if you were to aide me in doing so I would be only to glad to share the meat... Even with winter on its way, it is too much for one woman."

"If the lake is that way..." She pointed to the direction he'd just come from. "The place I have made into my home is around the other side. The doe was hard to track. Very smart... But I was smarter than she. I had to follow her tracks for too long."

She glanced at the deer, shivering once more. She wanted it in one piece more for the hide than the meat.

"You need not remind me of the mistakes I made before leaving my people. I was not as wise then as I am now. I am trying to right my wrongs." She nodded, crossing her arms over her chest. She had that look on her face that spoke highly of just how close she was to refusing the help that she'd asked for in the name of pride.

As the wind whistled past them she lowered her arms, nodding. Sometimes pride was better left cast aside. This was one of those times. "Wa-do, Tsisqua. Your words are wise. The nights have been getting colder..."

Her lips remained sealed as they carried the doe through the woods. Her arms would be sore come morning but that was the price she would pay for her foolishness. Once they made it to his camp and the deer was dropped she turned to him. "If you do not mind my presence in your camp, I can return to tend to the doe come morning if we can hang her to drain overnight. I was hoping to make a pair of leggings and, perhaps, a pair of boots out of her hide. I cannot offer much more than meat in return."

"The wind is not yet so cold that I cannot bare it. The trees sheild my teepee from the worst of it and my blankets are warm." She nodded slowly as she helped him arrange the deer on the wrack, withdrawing her knife from its sheath to place a cut where it was needed. "As kind as it is for you to offer it, I do not need your protection from nature, Tsisqua."