Jade Fern Grove I bear to breathe; the smoke will fall

For @Wayfarer if you want it <3

She parted Kvarsheim's borders with a lightness to her step. Soon they would depart, she and @Blossom and @Boone, but Reverie was reassured by the knowledge that they would never be far from her family at the Stone Circle. And they would have a place of their own, something she'd never dared to hope for but realized now that she had always wanted.
A place where she might truly belong.
Reverie took to rolling in the ferns, overcome with breathless joy at being reunited with the valley she'd come to love. It felt as if she'd never truly left. She chewed the stems and rubbed against the most fragrant of the greenery, staining her gilded fur green in some places. But she didn't mind it. Maybe, she thought, she would blend in a little bit better!

She had seen Duskfire Glacier on cresting the upper reaches of the Sunspire range, and at once regretted her return.

True to her name, Wayfarer had roamed far and wide since dispersing from her family. The decision to wander had been an easy one considering the strained relationship with her mother. It'd been difficult to see Lane blossom while she ached over the upheaval of her own life, and leaving had felt so liberating. Wayfarer had often wished Veteran could've tagged along with her on the grand adventure she'd chosen, however, and it was the hope of a reunion with her brother that'd brought her back to the lands they'd been born to.

The pack had not been where she'd left it, and the young she-wolf carried on with her search. It'd been a long time since her departure and they could've wound up anywhere, though some small part of her was hopeful that Veteran or one of their half-siblings might've claimed their father's territory. It was what Wintersbane had wanted for them, right? To look out at the glacier from her vantage point had unearthed the darker memories she'd buried from her childhood, and the little flame of anticipation she'd felt at the idea of trailing those familiar routes had been snuffed.

Grief was not something she could process well. It was part of living, obviously - no one could avoid that fate - and still she felt bitter over the unfairness of it all. Revisiting it was not a good idea, she decided, and descended into the lowlands with every intention of giving Duskfire Glacier a wide berth.

Autumn was well on its way, and Wayfarer could taste it on the crisp morning air. Soon she'd need to start thinking seriously about setting up a base for herself for the cold season, and just as she began to consider her options she lifted her amber gaze to catch sight of another as they rolled around in the grasses. She paused to observe, curious, and her lips curved upward in a soft smile of amusement.

It was the presence of another which drew her from her simple joys, the feeling of eyes on her. Reverie let her head fall back against the ground, peering upside down at the figure in scarlet and blonde. The first thing she registered was that the woman was beautiful; the next, her own embarrassment to be caught this way!
She twisted around to right herself, rolling onto her belly with a tiny oof and a burst of torn grass all around her. Oh - hi! She stammered a little, tail beating against the ground amiably. I uh, I didn't see you there... Reverie brushed some of the grass from her fur, feeling self-conscious, and continued, Um, I'm Reverie. Are you - a traveler?

It did not take long for the stranger to catch sight of her, and Wayfarer's plush tail slackened to hang limp between slender hocks. She swept a velvet ear back in a spike of embarrassment to have been caught staring. Her awkwardness bloomed to warm her cheeks when the gilded she-wolf regarded her with her own, attempting to collect herself and fumbling with words.

Hi, uhm... sorry, the rogue emitted a beat of nervous laughter. She rose her gaze to meet briefly with electric yellow, the smile on her muzzle growing sheepish as her new acquaintance offered a name. Reverie, she repeated, I'm... yeah, I travel. She rolled a skinny shoulder, Mom definitely picked the right name for me. It's Wayfarer.

Oh, she was cute. Reverie's awkwardness melted into something warm and soft, and she couldn't help but smile at Wayfarer. That's a pretty name, She said softly. I travel a lot, too. My family - we were nomadic. Always moving around to avoid the fires, so I guess I never lost the habit.
Have you seen much of the valley? It's beautiful here. I've only really explored it in winter, but I hope to see it in spring, too, She had, a little, but mostly Reverie had been confined to Swiftcurrent Creek; struggling with pregnancy, with romance gone wrong, with the stress of caring for a new child while the world crashed in on her relentlessly. It would not happen again, she'd decided. This time she would see it all. This time she would cut new paths through the forests and talk to pretty girls and commit to memory all of the beautiful things that she saw.

As soon as the syllables of her name came tumbling from her mouth with no thought process behind them, Wayfarer grimaced. Her words were true: she was a wanderer, something she'd known from a tender age, yet to say it out loud made her feel so embarrassed.

Reverie didn't laugh in her face, though. If anything she seemed to look at her with... appreciation? The girl blinked. Maybe that smile was mocking - she didn't know. Swallowing, Wayfarer straightened and tried her best to feign confidence.

I was born here, she answered, well... someplace North of here. The glacier. She rose her amber eyes in the direction of her former home, though could barely see its frozen peak beyond the trees. Been gone a while, figured I'd drop by again. See if anything changed, I guess. A pause, in which her anxiety threatened to bloom. You live around here?

Born here; then surely she would know all about the valley and beyond! Reverie's tail started to swish a little more quickly across the ground, sending remnants of torn grass flying behind her. If Wayfarer was nervous at all, she didn't notice; all she saw in the other wolf was an easy confidence. Oh, then you must know all the best places to see! She exclaimed, perhaps unreasonably excited by the prospect. I um, I used to - with Kvarsheim at the Stone Circle first, then with Swiftcurrent Creek. But I'm kind of looking for a place of my own to settle now. Somewhere pretty, maybe near the mountains.
I'll still be traveling a lot, though, Reverie confessed; she had no intentions of settling the way she once had for Lestan. Now that he was gone, nothing was worth confining herself that way, not now that she knew Blossom didn't mind this kind of lifestyle. Though, she supposed her daughter knew little else. Um, what's a glacier? She asked next, slightly embarrassed that she didn't know.

Wayfarer felt the change in energy, and her eyes brightened at the enthusiasm in the other she-wolf's voice. She had roamed around all of the lands surrounding her birthplace as a broody teenager who felt disconnected from her family. In those unfamiliar places she found comfort and distraction, a feeling that remained despite the years.

Even if she were to place roots somewhere, no one could ever rob her of her freedom.

Her smile brightened as her new acquaintance seemed to voice Wayfarer's very thoughts. Maybe I can show you my favourite spots sometime, she suggested, even though the likelihood of their paths crossing again was slim. A glacier? Oh, it's, uh... a frozen mountain? Wayfarer flicked an ear and emitted a beat of laughter, I think.

Her expression lit at Wayfarer's suggestion. I would love that! Reverie exclaimed softly, finding herself charmed by everything about this woman. Even the way she indulged Reverie's question without judgment. She was wonderful, this new friend she'd made.

Reverie spent the next hour quizzing Wayfarer on the lay of the land, fascinated with every answer she received. And when they parted ways, she promised that somehow they would see one another again. It wasn't often Reverie felt so accepted by another; she wouldn't let this friendship fade with only one meeting.