Her mouth was drier than the driest land she could think of, which was only the plains grassland but those got dry enough to spontaneously combust. So, she figured that was as dry as it gets. Emery could see the sunlight glimmer off the smooth surface of the water some distance away. She shifted her gait into a trot with long strides, eager to finally tame the fire burning in the back of her throat. It had been a few hours since she last drank, and that was only a small muddy puddle that had her chewing dirt for a while. Em knew to be cautious when approaching these lakes, as she had previously learned, packs liked to claim adjacent water sources to their territory.

As she approached, her strides slowed into a brisk walk. A subtle buzz under her skin bristled her fur, sending a wild shiver down her spine. Emery hid amongst some tall grass, crouching low enough to be concealed. She surveyed the waters edge for activity, scenting the air for anyone or anything that had recently passed. From what she could tell, not a soul was around. Her fur slicked back just enough the wind wasn't as able to reach her undercoat. it was now or never.

Emery emerged from the grass and made her approach, still keeping a keen eye for movement. When she finally reached the shore, there was nothing stopping her from shoving her whole muzzle into the lake and biting the water. Gulping down the huge mouthful she caught in her maw. Suddenly something sharp pinched her nose. Emery reared her head up and saw something red sticking out just past her nose. She thrashed her head side to side until she saw the red fly and land in the dirt. Em stared at the mysterious thing before approaching it, quickly realizing it was a crawfish. A crawfish that looked snack shaped. The woman spared no second thought before beginning to tear into it. 

The crawfish turned out to be a worthy snack, something to keep her stomach busy while the search for scraps was still underway. She had just finished the head of the crawfish when the distinct sound of footsteps cracked the blissful silence. Her heart roared to life, beating against her chest as if it too wanted to run. Emry turned to face the approaching steps, her tail instinctively hiding low between her legs. She was expecting anger, threats, an attack even but nothing. The stranger stopped short and greeted her, politely. It took the wind out of her sails for a moment but her mind worked, contorting his neutral greeting into a hidden trap. 

"Hello," She echoed timidly. "I'm not on your land, am I?" Maybe she had missed something. A trail? A scent? A boarder marking? It never occurred to her that not everything was her fault. That some mistakes were just that. Mistakes. Despite the already good distance between them, Emery still took two steps back, wanting time to react if the man tried anything.

He was kind? Yet, fear still coiled in her belly. Her posture slightly loosened, almost reassured by his words but it was shattered by the steps he snuck in. Emery slid her hind leg back, ready to turn and run if he got closer. She wasn't sure what to trust. Was it her gut, telling her to run? Or her mind, daring her to be curious. Emry had never seen such a strange looking wolf before, his colors looked like something to be worshiped. 

For a moment she mulled over his words, choosing carefully her next inquiry. "You may not mind but what about this 'we' you're talking about?" Emery gently questioned. She assumed he hinted at his pack. "I don't like to take chances." She wouldn't dare admit just how uniquely he caught her eye. Slowly, curiosity was winning over but fear would never truly stay far behind.

The tension slowly ebbed with Panacea settling where they stood. Emery felt her muscles reluctantly relinquish their strength to something softer, something simpler. Dare her heart even say something safe? 
.
The name Verapaz rolled over in her mind, digesting the pronunciation but deciding she wouldn't divert too much attention to it. Her curiosity was getting the better of her. This one belonged to a pack and was not aggressive, but astonishingly inviting. That was as foreign as she was to these lands. Emry's tail swayed gently behind her before curling beside her feet as she eased down to sit. 
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"Pan-nuh," She tried. "Pansaya." She decided, a little too eagerly before her mind could catch up. Emery's attention kept hoping from one thing to another; this time it was pulled back to the mans coat. Foxes shared his color but he was unique in his own right. No wolf back home ever had exotic color. "Why are you this color? Like the marigolds back home." Em was almost childlike in her curiosity, her words hinting at a deeper playfulness she hid. "Oh! Emery, I'm Emery." Inserting her name abruptly.   

Seeing his smile encouraged her own to crack the surface— eyes softening, the ends of her mouth curling. Panacea was nice, even his correction was gentle. While kindness wasn't a stranger to her, it was rare. So when it appeared, a different kind of coil tightened within. A thrilling mix of anxiety and excitement, butterflies bouncing around in her belly. She couldn't stop the small wiggle waggle of the tip of her tail as she pronounced the mans name again. "Panacea." She said correctly this time, her head dipping to mimic his.

Emry was surprised to hear the man didn't know either of his parents. Questions came tumbling by dozen but she thought it rude to ask about such a subject. She could partly empathize with him in that aspect, never knowing her father but only hearing that he was not the kindest man. So she let the subject pass into the next. 

Emery wasn't sure what she was doing, she only knew how long she didn't know. Weeks. It took her a moment to come up with something to answer him. "Uhm, something like that I think." Apparently confused ambiguity was what her mind rapidly went with as time began to awkwardly stretch on. 

She wanted to move on, still entranced by his coat. He funnily mentioned about possibly being part flower, this both made her laugh and pushed her curiosity deeper. "I wonder if you smell like them too!" She excitedly questioned. Emery leaned towards him, choosing to forget that curiosity killed the cougar, and only remembering that satisfaction brought it back. She breathed in deeply, he was still too far to really catch his scent but what she did manage to smell wasn't quite marigold. 

She hummed curiously. "No but you don't smell bad, if anything you smell really good." She offered hopeful, entirely ignorant to just how that could be construed.