The woman stepped peacefully through the corpses of the deadened trees, the ashy bark and carpet of the small forest producing a crisp crunch beneath her paws. As the trees of the forest were just the remains of what once grew there, her view to the sky was mostly clear, sunlight drifting downward through blackened branches. And though among trees was not her favorite setting in the world, especially as it reminded her of her short time spent living with her cousins- a once happy memory turned bitter, she could still hear the not-too-distant song of the sea's waves, and so she was content.

She came across a couple of mossy rocks, being warmed by the filtered sunlight. She climbed comfortably up onto one. The moss felt good in comparison to the roughness of the messy forest floor, and so she laid down to sunbathe in spite of the rather cold air. As Huā took a glance at her fur, she noticed its absolute raggedyness- and usually she didn't care enough to bother, but she had nothing better to do, so she began to lap at her pelt to neaten it up. The salt water that had dried into her fur made washing harding as she winced at the taste. "哎呀," She swore out loud and gave up. Instead she started to doze off, her eyelids falling slowly. 

Her eyelids flit open suddenly when she heard the voice of another girl. She blinked a few times as her eyes readjusted to the light, and she registered the figure of the stranger. The wolf hadn't come too close- which Huā appreciated. And she found it kind of the other wolf to warn her, rather than ignoring her- but Huā kept a poker face plastered on, empty eyes meeting the stranger's gaze directly. "Maybe they will." She commented quietly, as if she didn't care much. She thought for a moment before adding- "But sleeping is always dangerous. You never know what will happen when your eyes are closed." 

The woman before her shifted the conversation to a casual small talk and Huā held back a roll of her eyes as she maintained eye contact with the wolf. 她想聊天? She wondered to herself with a mental chuckle. But she wasn't a bitch and the girl seemed nice so of course she spoke up. "Not long," she paused, before adding- "I head up here from south along the coast." Her voice was twinged with the slightest hint of her accent, revealing that English was not her first tongue. There was a long pause on her end before she continued, "You?", maintaining the casual conversation with the stranger despite how pointless she found it.

Huā listened politely although only half-interested. The mountains, well, it was like the opposite of the sea to her... far, far from the water. And she wasn't bothered by the idea of joining a pack- maybe sometime- but in the mountains? "Hm. Sometimes I feel alone, without a pack. Them- Courtfall- sound nice." She paused as if taking a moment to give the girl hope. "But. I can not dare imagine to live far from the ocean." She sighed. There was a moment of silence in which the ocean could only be heard, before she added "I appreciate the offer. What is it like there?" No, she was not interested in a permanent home in the mountains- but she was still curious. She liked to know things and she wouldn't pass up an opportunity to gain something of a better sense of her surroundings.

She was glad the wolf was more understanding than persistent. She found herself appreciating the mildness of the woman's personality, not too much of any particular trait, and seemingly polite. As the girl expressed that she respected the leader more than anyone, Huā's eyes widened slightly as she wondered to what degree she was exaggerating. "I wonder, what she do to earn your respect?" Huā asked of the girl eagerly. 

"I think the first is the sound-" Huā was silent for a moment, making her point by letting them listen to the gentle white noise of the waves. She continued- "The water make me feel peace. The sand on my feet feel like heaven. Here I feel calm and happy. And, I like to swim... sometimes. The ocean live in my soul." She finished. It wasn't a particularly long or meaningful explanation- she wasn't sure how to explain exactly why the sea drew her in. It had just been that way since she was little. She considered that it was due to her time living by the sea in her developmental stage- but then, her sisters who had lived the same lives did not feel connected to the ocean in the way Huā did.

Although Huā still remained curious as to the woman's specific behavior or qualifications, she did not probe further. It probably wouldn't benefit her anyway, why waste her time talking about it? When the she-wolf commented that she disagreed with Huā's liking of sand, the little siren laughed genuinely. "Hm, I can understand that. Maybe because I grow up with it I like," She decided.

Huā then watched as the lady strolled closer to the lapping waves. She suggested swimming- and although Huā had only settled to nap here a few minutes ago, the conversation had woken her up and she was ready to swim too. She stepped down the slope of the boulder carefully, and took a few paces towards Andromaque. Without a word, she smiled brightly at her company- a rare sight from Huā- and splashed her way into the cold shallow water. She turned again to look at the girl, her eyes inviting her to join her.

Huā followed Andromaque, letting the other girl lead the way into deeper water. She had swum alone plenty since her northward travels had begun, but she had missed this- swimming with company. It had been a long time since she'd seen her sisters.

She shivered just slightly as the cold temperature of the water seeped into her bones, but she wasn't bothered enough to climb out. She remained in the water, occasionally touching her soft paws to the rocky floor, before lifting them up to doggy paddle again. She felt something intriguing, and grasped it in her paw, best she could. She lifted a paw out of the water to see, and- it was a tiny pale conch shell. Not particularly special or above ordinary in any way, but Huā's eyes lit up at the sight of what was treasure to her all the same. She glanced at Andromaque, wondering what she would think.

"Yes," She agreed with excitement, to show her the ocean's treasure. Considering her paws and their limited motion, it was a slightly awkward maneuver, but she held the tiny conch up to the woman best she could. It was white, with a gradient that faded into a sandy tan not unlike Huā's own fur. 

Though she gazed at the shell for a moment more, soon her sea glass eyes moved to gaze upon the woman's face expectantly. "Take it," She offered, pushing her paw closer, hoping the girl would accept it. "It the sea's daughter..." She explained, not taking into account that these words would sound strange to those who were less in touch with nature than herself.

Andromaque and Huā would spend some more time swimming together before departing. They would not catch eachother's names just yet- but that could be saved for their next meeting. Huā contemplates her thoughts on the stranger as she heads down the beach, to her next destination.