Once more she got caught in a thornbush, and once more she cursed her stupid bravado. Oh, how her sister had sparkled when she asked where all the clackers had gone. Why, her sister wasn't scared of the quiet, and didn't need a clacker just to get a snack! So yet again she'd let her fool pride beat out sense, and went off to the orchard without any source of sound while the sun was nearing its set. And as any idiot could have warned her, she got lost. Judging by the melodies of the stars above, the sun had set nearly an eighth of its cycle prior, and its sound had long since faded. If she were in the open the starsound might be enough to navigate by, but the trees bounced and scattered their faint echos until her hearing couldn't make out even the biggest trunks. The only way she could hope to notice anything before brushing into it was to see the faint glints made by the creatures of the silence as they moved about, and none of them were obliging. Then the glimmering started, and she wished they still weren't obliging. She froze in her attempts to extricate herself, and didn't flicker in fear, but it was a close thing. She'd only ever seen that distinctive light through the safety of a window, and seeing it in the open was a far different experience. The trees around her caught and refracted the light until it came from everywhere at once, and left her with only the vaguest idea of where the pack was. And then another pack joined in, one unquestionably closer, and she [i]did[/i] flicker in fear. Before she could think, she tore herself free from the thorns and hastened as quick as she could, heedless of the rips they left in her sides. It took her a moment to conquer her instincts – too long. Everyone knew that wolves had extremely acute senses, and could taste the static charge left by a quickly slithering body from great distances. She could only hope that they were too far away to notice the trail she'd left in her mindless rush. For a time, it seemed as if luck was in her favor. Even the glimmering was a boon, just enough to help her avoid some of the obstacles in her path despite the dazzling way it shifted as it was caught by the trees. But then the glimmering became excited, and quickly grew brighter. In desperation she raced for the nearest tree, on the slim chance that she might be able to climb to safety. Their smooth trunks were normally impossible to scale, but if one were damaged the cracks in its crystal could just barely suffice. It was better than the vain hope that she might somehow outflee a pack. She was still running her body over the second tree she tried when the forest reached out and touched her. She flashed bright in startled terror, and curled into a ball, then waited for the end. But the end didn't seem to be forthcoming. Several times a wolf tasted her directly, and each time she flinched away from its touch. But then... nothing. The glimmering calmed, and then began to dim. It was so surprising that she unthinkingly uncurled to get a better look, though of course that was pointless – the way the glimmering played off the trees was far too dazzling to let anyone get more than a vague impression of a wolf's location, even if they were practically touching. But its rapid fading left her no doubt that the wolves had decided to move on, and left her incredulously hopeful that she might live to hear another sunrise after all. And if she did, she was never going to go [i]anywhere[/i] without a clacker again, no matter [i]how[/i] much her sister sparkled about it.