Autumn was almost through the mountains, but not yet of course. Soon she'd be back in Rising Sun Valley, the home base of all drama and gossip, at least in Autumn's head. She could probably find Lavender or Deathbringer there, but not Avia. Avia tended to stay around the Kintla Flatlands. She was the sparrow that would give Autumn gossip sometimes. Same for the other two, except Deathbringer was a crow and Lavender was a raven. She was in North Star Vale for today. A nice place. She looked out over the valley. Autumn could see many of the vast rolling hills from where she was perched. She looked down triumphantly as if she was a queen. Suddenly she faintly heard humming. Progressing happily up the mountainside was a dark brown wolf. He was the source of the quiet optimistic humming. Hey, you! Hi there! She called out, feeling friendly, and trotting over till she was a few feet away. I'm Autumn. She introduced herself kindly to him, and continued to ask, What's yours?

Autumn immediatley noticed his strange way of speaking. That was okay, of course. Some creatures came from different places with different speech than the norm. It was a little difficult to understand, but she was pretty sure she'd got it right. I'm out traveling. I like to explore the Wilds, so here I am. Exploring. She told him with a broad grin. Autumn enjoyed mapping out the lands in her mind, finding what lied in each nook and cranny. of course, she still hadn't explored everything, but she was looking forward to one day knowing it all. She repeated her first question. What's your name? She said.

Autumn listened again as he spoke in his accent, and she decoded each word to regular english as he spoke. What kinda home are you looking for, Fleet? Because if you wanna be a lone wolf, there's lots of nice land to settle down. And if you wanna be a pack wolf, there are packs galore around here. But some of 'em have enemies or drama. She knew of both kinds for many packs. Swiftcurrent and Blacktail Deer Plateau seemed to be the top two points of drama. But she wasn't gonna sit here worrying over gossip. He seemed to be a nice fellow, this Fleet, so she would have a nice little conversation with him.

Autumn was not sure what a regular home would be, but she assumed it was whatever Fleet was used to. As for the drama part, she decided he was probably right. There was always some drama. Whether it was massive or just between two creatures. No, my family lives across the Wilds. Although my parents live together, and my aunt lives near them. But of my family that I know, I'm the only traveler.She beamed proudly at this. Even Storm, the "brave one", only stayed in Blackfoot Forest. She was the only one curious and courageous enough to explore.

His question put Autumn deep in thought. Hmmm. Even if she could narrow it down, it was probably a tie, at least for her. Ooo, that's a hard one, Fleet. Maybe tied between this big mountain range here and the Shore. Here you can get some of the best views, and lots of rock climbing fun. The cool breezes here are refreshing. The seashore is beautiful twenty four seven, especially at sunrise and sunset. The sound of the waves on the shore is calming. Both places are amazing to hang out. She said. Autumn was surprised at her own knowledge, or at least at the thought put in. She never knew she'd thought that much about what she thought was the prettiest place around in the Wilds. Hmm, maybe she did pay attention to that then.

Autumn smiled. Forests were good. She liked how many animals could all live together at once in a forest, like a big community. How the fly and the frog, the bird and the worm, and the wolf and the rabbit could all live together, despite the fact that they ate eachother. Autumn was a little bit glad about the outrider bit. Well, at least she knew she could have a fair life if she was a wolf. She'd heard about trades, but didn't know too much about them. Well, outrider- whatever it was- sounded good to her. Well, Forests are nice. Very pretty, I like all the plant life. Could you tell me more about trades? I don't know much. She asked Fleet, mildly interested in these wolf pack's strange ways of life.

Autumn's big ears perked to listen to him tell her each trade, most of which were basic survival things. So basically just skills. She figured. Where was comedian, though? If Autumn were a wolf she'd take storyteller, comedian, and babysitter, whichever trades those were equal to. But she was glad too that she didn't have to worry about trades. A vulpine's life was easy.