Out in the open the snow had melted almost completely, making it easy for Dwin to traverse the vast fields of grasslands that surrounded her patch of forest she called home. It was a true treat to enjoy - she could see far and wide and zoom around as fast as she could. Few months down the line that sunlight and rainfall would make the grass grow thick and tall, obstructing the view and leaving only few well-trodden paths for the wolves and other critters to share, when on move to explore other greener pastures. 

Now and then she would stop to examine an interesting scent, a tuft of fur or droppings left by ground-dwellers that too frequented the fields. After that moment of seriousness she would let the joyous youthful side of her take over and she would break out in a run again. During one such stint she nearly swept another explorer of their feet. So well she blended with the surroundings that Dwin caught sight of her only, when the distance between them had shrunk to few feet. She came to an abrupt halt and eyed the stranger curiously. Sides heaving from exertion and white puffs of mist rising from her maw. 

"Good day, fellow wanderer!" she greeted the girl in a friendly manner.

"Thank you - I try my very best," Dwin smiled and bowed lightly. She then took a bit of time to give a quick look over the stranger standing before her. She was a young and pretty creature and her pelt did not hold the scent of a pack she might be familiar with. 

"My name is Dwin and I come from Brecheliant. It is a pack located not too far from here," she explained. "Where do you come from and more importantly, where are you heading to?" she asked. 

Though the girl was not much younger than Dwin, the latter felt a bit of patronizing sentiment boiling up from the depths of her mind to the surface and popping like a bubble. Ain't you are going in for a surprise... Dwin thought, seeing so much of the same enthusiasm and naivety in this wanderer she had had, when she had first struck out on her own. And simultaneously she also felt a bit of grief for having lost this to the elements of grown-up life and having gardened cynicism and pragmatism instead. 

"Ah... so - are you having a great big adventure before you settle down with a family and a pack of your own. Or rather you would want to travel to all corners of the world and discover all the possible secrets that it holds?" she asked, curious, but also wishing to pick up some of that joyous wonder about the world Pukei felt. Perhaps, it would breathe in some life and color in her all to neat and polished garden she called life. 

"What else can you ask a stranger you have just met?" Dwin retorted laughing. "Certainly not about your marital status and prospects. Or - heaven forbid - politics, weather and religion," she listed all the subjects that usually led to heated discussions and into dangerous territories. 

"Well - to be honest - I was under impression that all yearlings and twolings that have not been roped in the family life of their parents or relatives, are the ones, who chase dreams and opportunities. Hence - it is so very interesting to find out, what ambition has driven them in the open arms of the world," she explained.

"Last year I too had my first big adventure - I was not yet one year old, but - boy - was I ready to conquer the world," she shared. "Turned out - the world would not have minded, but I had severely underestimated the sheer size and scope of the task I had been about to undertake," she said.

"Boredom caught up with me in the beginning. I happen to come from a place that is surrounded by plains and small patches of forests and it takes an awful lot of time to cross it and find something meaningful or merely exciting to see," Dwin explained. "Plus, it was mid-winter and ploughing through the chest deep snow as hard and super-frustrating," she added. Of course, in a month or two crossing those fields would be a menace on a whole different level. Long grass everywhere. 

"Then came Hunger. It is the worst companion you can ever have. Nagging you and reminding about himself and constantly asking you - When will you eat? When will you eat? When will you eat?. It takes over your dreams during the night. And during the day he makes you unhappy and utterly miserable. At its worst the only thing you can think of is food, food, food," she went ahead. 

"Finally the Cold joined them. First chewing the tips of my fingers and ear, then seeping in through my coat and raking my body. Finally it took over my mind and all of I could think of was, how to get warm. Nothing else mattered more than just finding a chance to crawl somewhere warm and never move again," she finished. "So - expect these friends to come along. You can keep them at bay, of course, but they will always lurk in the shadows, ready to pounce at you!"

"Why should you feel sorry for me?" Dwin tilted her head to the side and smiled. "These friends are always with you and, in fact, helps you too. Boredom frees the space in your mind, silences the thoughts and fuels imagination. The best games and stories are born, when boredom sets in," she told.

"Hunger keeps you motivated and going - and, while it feels utterly crap to be consumed by it, the joy of full belly is even more gratifying. Hunger teaches you humilty and planning ahead," she said, feeling that she was - oh, so much sounding like the old wise woman and hoped that everything she had told so far had not come out as patronizing. 

"And Cold is there to remind you that you are not immortal. Better have that lesson early than too late," she finished. "And - while it did not go as I had imagined, I think I returned home wiser and better. And now I am out again better prepared. Plus - I no longer view the three as enemies. When I feel any of them, I try to look at them as good friends," she told. 

"But that's entirely my experience with all of this. Maybe yours is, has been and will be entirely different," she smiled. 

They talked with each other for a while longer and then parted on good terms.