In later years, looking back, Dwin would note that for the first two years of her life the true beauty of the autumn had escaped her. During the first she had been too small and too busy to take any notice and during the second she was so wrapped in her own soul-searching and making sense of the world, that the changes in the nature would simply not seem relevant. Whether the third would bring a change to her - this remains to be seen.
It is possible to be in a crowd and still feel lonely - and in the light of recent events and her burnout from baby-sitting the youngest generations - Dwin learned this bitter truth to the fullest. Oftentimes she wished that Dee had chosen her home just a tad bit closer, so that visiting her would be as simple as going next door. But there was a distance between them - both physical and mental as well. The longer time passed spent apart, the more convinced Dwin became that even if they met, it would not be the same.
She yearned for company and recently on some occasions she had met lone wolves passing near caldera. Some encounters had been interesting, some less, but this was the reason, why she had come to the Bramblepoint and why she caught sight of the white fairy-like stranger passing through. Dwin noted that she did not carry the thick scent of a pack wolf, which encouraged her to approach and make her presence known. "Where to, fellow traveller?" she asked, though she herself did not call the road her home at the moment. But why not imagine that for a while?
Egeria stifled a yawn, her eyes traveling over the hues of the branches floating in the soft breeze above her head once again. It seemed like she could not look away, but alas, her paws decided the next steps. Her nose ventured between the cool compressed earth to the breeze whistling past her ears, senses alert to capture the slightest of scents. Most trails seemed stale; the afternoon was rarely a decent time to hunt, or she she's been told. Her distance hunger would have to wait until closer to dusk.
The she-wolf had just decided a water source was a good idea, her paws leading her to abandon the small clearing for the thicker wood when a rustling nearby captured her attention. Ears swivled to pick the sound up, knowing almost immeditely it was a larger animal moving through the sparse brush. Coming to a halt, Egeria scanned the surrondings, expecting a deer or otherwise to pop out. What her eyes did not expect was another wolf.
The greyscale coat of the other canine stood out against the various hues of autumn. A fluffy coat seemed ready for the approaching cold season while glimpses of growing muscle flexed with each movement. Desite the sudden appearance, the other seemed relaxed, if not just curious. No curled lip or spiked-fur; only cautious in the sense that Egeria was a stranger. Striking green eyes were inquisitive as they studied her.
Covering her shock at the sudden appearance of one of her own, Egeria regonized other scents; faint, but there. Were there more nearby? A pack perhaps? She hadn't scented any borders yet, but sometimes she was distracted. A flash of anxiety washed over the white she-wolf as she sheepishly glanced at the ground. "Oh, hello there," she responded, her voice friendly enough, but with an air of worry. "I didn't cross any borders, did I? Sometimes I don't watch where my paws lead me," she added with a nervous laugh.
The stranger seemed just as surprised to meet Dwin as she had been to find anyone here. Adding a friendly demeanor and polite conversation skills, let her make an easy decision of trusting the other for a while. "Not that I know of - no," she shook her head, trying to remember, if ever this area had been claimed by anyone, but no one came to mind. All Brecheliant's allies were located a day's worth of journey away.
"My name is Dwin," she introduced herself, dipping her muzzle politley and smiling at the stranger. "I am from a pack nearby - called Brecheliant," she told. "What about you?" she asked. "Do you have home nearby?" in case there were new settlers in the area, this was important piece of news. "Or you are out in the world to search for the answers to the life's big questions?" she grinned, as she asked this.
"Growing up it seemed like the best place in the world. Endless possibilities. But then - I guess it happens to all yearlings - your home grows boring and you want to go out in the world and see, what else is there. And then... you get the first taste and the home never feels like the same awesome place again. At least... I always keep wondering, if things are better, more interesting, enchanting elsewhere," Dwin explained. Since Egeria was a young lone wolf, who appeared to be quite content in her "shoes", she would understand the sentiment. "Sometimes the place does not live up to the name. Or... it once has, but then the magic disappears and the shell remains," she added.
Then Egeria shared her story and Dwin could easily imagine, what it had been like to her. Because she too - fairly often now felt stuck and bogged down. And every time an idea occurred that maybe in a month she could finally go, something would happen and she would no longer be able to do it. Postpone it to the next month until infinity. "Did they want you to marry for alliances and you were in love with someone else?" she guessed, basing this statement of all the familiar fairy-tale and romance novel tropes there are. "Or was it - you disgraced us and we disown you - kind of scenario?" If it was any of the two plots, Dwin would gain proof that not all stories were made up and unrealistic.