Firefly Glen Why won't you chase after me?

Leonore had loved the cold season when she was still a pup, curled next to her maman watching in wonder as the world in front of her changed. Now there was nothing she hated more.

The days felt shorter than those of the summer months, and weeks of sun had been traded for clouds and rain. It made her miserable. This same time last year she had only been born the month prior, right in the end of summer so that the cold season would be all she knew for a time. She'd had her mother to comfort her, uncle Etienne to tell her stories, and siblings to distract her when a chill ran up her spine. Now, she had no one.

Staring out across the glen, this realization brought a sinking feeling to her chest and tears pricking at her eyes. She hated all of this, but the being alone especially. She wanted her mother back. Her mother would have told her it was alright, held her close and gave her somewhere to rest.

But now Suzu was gone. Her siblings were gone, uncle Eti too. Leonore had nobody to chase after her now, and maybe the worst part was that it was a situation of her own making. The world was grander than she ever could have thought, and she was insignificant after all those hundreds, thousands, millions of tail-lengths.

He had the feeling now that he and his nephew were on the same circuit going the same direction, and he was as annoyed by it as he was amused. He'd slowed his pace, investigating areas more thoroughly as each one caught his interest. The foothills especially interested him after living the first half of his life in much more rolling hills.

There were more scents here than there had been in other places, too. Kindle contemplated calling out for some of his new friends, but then kept quiet as he caught sight of someone new.

Emerging from the brush, he found himself standing a few dozen yards off from someone close to his own age. She seemed contemplative, and he wondered for a moment if he ought not to disturb her — but there was a particular glimmer to her eyes that brought him padding closer.

"Are you alright?" he asked her, his voice lifted ever so slightly in case she had not yet noticed his approach.

When her brooding was interrupted, Leonore just about jumped out of her skin.

Silver head whipping to meet the stranger's gaze, it was hard to maintain her usual cold glare. Instead, she just ended up looking more miserable than she had before. I'm fine. Not really. Like, at all, but you don't dump that on a stranger. I'm just planning my route. Valid reason to be staring out at nothing.

Really, she probably should plan a route though. Wandering wasn't getting her anywhere, no matter how much she wanted to ignore that fact.

He felt just a little triumphant when the girl's face fell even further. He didn't want her to be sad, of course, but he patted himself on the back for being able to identify a damsel in distress. This was what all the stories were about, after all.

Still. He felt for her as he padded a little closer, closing to a conversational distance.

"Oh," he said, as if he could not see the misery writ into the lines of her face. "Where're you headed?"

She was small, he thought, but of an average age to be out on her own. Not like the boy he'd seen before. Perhaps she was experiencing the same fit of nerves and homesickness that he'd felt when he first left home. Or perhaps it was something else. He had to admit that she didn't really seem to need any help — but he couldn't exactly just walk away and leave a sad girl to her own devices, could he?

Even if he was only pretending not to notice her pitiful demeanour, Leonore appreciated it.

I'm not sure yet. She admitted. It had only been a few weeks since she made her way to this unfamiliar end of the Teekons, she hadn't been able to map out everything yet. I guess that's what I'm trying to figure out. Pushing out a breath, Leonore decided that it was time to get a hold of herself.

..Who are you? The obvious question to ask an unfamiliar face.

Kindle gave a sage lite nod; of course, he was well familiar by then with not knowing where he was going. That was why he'd taken to following his wayward nephew around. He had been told, though, (and he tended to believe his elder when they bestowed such sentiments upon him) that these things came in time.

"I am also wandering," he told her, more or less honestly. "Whatever way looked most interesting." More or less honestly.

At the question, he gave an abortive little half-bow.

"Kindle Morningside," he introduced himself. "Nobody important."

While Leonore was listening, she didn't provide much acknowledgement to show it.

I'm Leonore. Sveijarn-Corten. She offered in return. It wasn't often that she spoke her surname, maybe because she didn't know the man she shared it with, but it only felt right when Kindle had offered his own.

Considering his words, she looked ahead of them once more. Well.. what way do you think is best from here? Even if it was only because he thought it looked interesting, it was better than what she had. A whole lotta nothing.

Kindle blinked at her, surprised. Her name had captured his attention so fully that he did not, at first, hear the next question she asked.

"The Cortens are kin of mine," he said, though he knew he had no Corten blood himself. Still, he had it in two separate branches of his family — nieces and nephews from Dutch, and uncles, one aunt, and some cousins from The Spiritwalker. Like any good young man that Round Valley turned out, he could recite his genealogy for at least three generations back — his maternal side, at least — and he knew quite a bit of the cadet and down lines as well.

He did not dare ask who her parents were. Perhaps it was a sad tale. But if she showed signs of wanting to compare family trees, he was all for it!

"Oh!" he said, looking around. "I was heading for that mountain, next," he said, pointing to the high peak to the west. "I don't know what's best, but there's a beautiful terrace back the way I came. I haven't been here very long."

She couldn't help feeling guilty at his excitement. I got it from my dad, but I really don't know him. I'm sorry.  It was undeniably frustrating not to know more! My maman is from the coast, but I'm not sure if she actually met him there either. It's pretty annoying.

She wished that Suzu had told her more about her father. As she grew older, not knowing half of her family seemed pretty.. not great. Sort of important for those potential grandchildren.

Looking to the mountain he spoke of, Leonore considered her options. Well.. do you mind if we go together? She had done a lot of things, but climbing a mountain wasn't one of them. Maybe it could be fun. As long as you're not meeting someone.

Ah! That was too bad, but — "That would make sense," he told her, sagely: "Cortens are seawolves, through and through. I don't know what branch you might be from, but that much is always true."

He did not pause to consider whether Leonore herself was a seafaring girl. Even speaking about the mountain, he assumed it must be the truth.

The idea of company, however, set his tail wheeling happily at once. Not only had he rescued the damsel from her distress, but now she asked him to act as escort. It was deeply satisfying to see these storybook boxes checked off, and he did not mind the reality of it, either.

"Not up there, at least," he told her, looking back at the mountain. "I'm meeting up with my nephew at some point, but he's busy elsewhere. I'd be happy to have your company."

Without knowing her thoughts, he couldn't know that he was, in part, echoing them:

"I've not been to many mountains, and none like this before. I was born where there are only rolling hills as far as the eye can see. We call it the Land of Long Nights."

Well, that gave her something to think about. Maybe if she ever saw Sobeille again, and had the will to speak to her, she would ask her auntie if she knew anything. It seemed to her that Sobeille could answer any question she might have.

Watching his tail, she couldn't help it when her own started to sway. It was infectious. That, and she was happy to not have the risk of another awkard three-is-a-crowd situation.

I've never been on a mountain. She confessed, managing a short laugh. I'm from a valley in the west.. not too many mountains there. None that she had ventured to, at least. I haven't heard of the Land of Long Nights. Are you not from here? Could of had her fooled. He seemed so confident in his step.

Kindle looked west, and then quickly returned his attention to his new friend, not wanting to miss anything she said.

"My home is east of here," he told her, grinning. "Northeast, perhaps. It would take a full fortnight or more to reach it if you traveled there directly — but I have been traveling a very roundabout route."

Mountains included, though in truth, he had dome his best to go around them or through their deepest valleys, when he could.

"Let's see what these mountain wolves are talking about," he suggested, starting off into the foothills. "My mother led a pack in the mountains before she had me — but I grew up far from them, myself. Far from anything."

Leonore had never understood why a wolf would choose to live on a mountain. The height of some of them had always felt terrifying to her.

How do you think their prey gets up there? She asked, eyeing the peak. I can't imagine that anything very big lives up there.. Wouldn't something like a mule deer or elk slip on the narrower parts of the mountain? They weren't always as nimble as they were given credit for.

I grew up next to a creek. Meals were easy there. Lots and lots of fish.

Kindle suppressed a grin, finding this sentiment charmingly quaint of her. Truthfully, he only knew of mountain goats, but... but, well, he would just have to show her.

"It looks steeper down here than it does up there, I bet," he replied — this had been the case when he'd set his mind to investigating a mountain himself. Those had, however, been much smaller than these ones.

"What did you eat?" asked Kindle, imagining deer. "I grew up learning to hunt elk and bison and moose — but most days it was geese and deer."

Leonore nodded, he was probably right.

My mom caught a lot of fish, I liked that. It kept my fur shiny. She admitted, realizing it was a bit vain as it left her mouth. Sometimes deer or rodents would be brought home, though.

She couldn't help feeling a bit embarrassed when he spoke of hunting such large prey. Nobody ever taught me to hunt larger than a gull. She said, staring forward once more. That's my fault, though. I left home early.

It hurt knowing just how far ahead of her others her age were. It felt like she was being reminded far more often in recent weeks.

She would just have to catch up.

Whether Kindle did not recognize vanity itself or vanity as a fault, it was impossible to tell. He was duly impressed by the tidbit, and asked a sincere, "Does it really?" while he admired her pelt. "I haven't done much fishing. Or any fishing, really — I don't see how anyone can manage it."

He did well enough with rabbits and pheasants to get by, but he'd lost some weight going it alone. He missed eating until he was full and maybe even then some, but it was enough for now to keep himself decently fed.

"I can teach you about bigger game, if you'll teach me about fishing," he suggested, his tail swishing. "Actually, I'm already teaching someone. They're a bit strange, though. I thought about eating them before figuring — eh. That's a lot of fur to pick out of my teeth."

He didn't mean it, of course. It hadn't occurred to him that Cosmo was edible until he'd begun to worry for him. He didn't need that getting out, though.

Leonore nodded, happy to this day with the sheen of her pelt. I'm sure that if you eat enough of anything it would be affected, right? That made enough sense to her. She couldn't help smiling when he spoke of his struggles to catch the slippery prey himself.

I could try teaching you. She agreed, though she wasn't so sure if she would be a preferrable mentor. I would like to learn how to hunt elk.. isn't that what most packs eat?

Leonore couldn't help raising a brow at the mention of a strange, apparently furry apprentice. Strange? If Kindle had thought to eat them, were they not a wolf?

Kindle had never thought about it like that, though he'd heard his mother murmur the term "starvation coat" as she discussed with the pack leaders what ought to be done about a lone wolf on their borders. That term was a negative, so it stood to reason that food could make a coat healthier. Specific foods, though?

"I'm sure," he agreed, deciding to trust Leonore's wisdom on the matter. In that case, he was extra sure he needed help learning to fish.

"Elk or deer, one" Kindle agreed, though he honestly wasn't all that sure. He liked that Leonore had questions for him, though, and was clearly looking to him for wisdom. He felt very worldly when he could tell her, "It's a dog. Littler than you, even, but fluffy and white like a cloud. I found it over by those hot springs."

He pointed to the more distant mountain range.

"It's name is Cosmo," he told her. [B]"He's kind of like a puppy, but I think he's already grown."

Leonore's brow was quick to furrow. A.. dog? She had never heard of anything so strange. Smaller than her? Does it speak common? If Kindle was to teach something to them, she had to assume they were communicating.

Part of her was interested in seeing this.. thing. The rest of her screamed to stay far, far away from it. She couldn't imagine dealing with a grown animal acting like a puppy while they were out and about together.

Leonore had to remind herself not to be so quick to judge. She like Kindle, so far. No reason to ruin that by insulting his friend.

Kindle felt encouraged by her tone, even though he probably shouldn't have. Clearly it was a foreign concept to her, and he did so love to explain things.

"Sure enough," he confirmed, his tail wagging in passive happiness. "He comes from a whole different place than us. He was raised to pull a sled with a pack of other dogs. I can't see why, but I get the impression he was real good at it."

Aside from finding Cosmo to be an incredible novelty, Kindle had also warmed quite quickly to the animal. He was like a little brother that would stay little — and far more biddable than his blood brothers, too.

What more could Kindle ask for in a friend?

Pull a.. sled? What the hell was a sled? Well, you're braver than me. She would have to leave it at that, for the sake of remaining kind.

How long do you think it'll take us to climb the mountain? She asked, looking back to Kindle. He seemed to know plenty about these things - it made sense to her that she should keep shooting these questions at him.

They were certainly much different. In appearance, personality, Leonore only found contrast. It surprised her that she hadn't found a reason to be nasty to him yet.

He tried not to puff out his chest when she called him brave, and he mostly succeeded — though he certainly looked quite pleased with himself. He was proud of all the experience he'd accumulated in his time wandering the wilds, and was perfectly pleased to have found someone who seemed to appreciate it it.

"Hours, probably," he replied, trying to measure the mountain with his eyes. "To get to the top? Maybe the rest of the day and then some. But we don't have to go that high."

He picked a spit halfway down, where a ledge jutted out from an otherwise steep incline.

"I think we should go there," he said, putting his face close to hers so that his nose could point out the ledge to both of them. "It looks like a good place to see the stars from, don't you think?"

Most of the day? Leonore already dreaded how her legs would ache.

Next thing she knew, Kindle's fur was brushing against hers. It startled her, but the most she did was eye him for a moment before looking to the ledge. You're probably right. It looked like it would be a pain to get out there, but if the view was good it could be worth it.

Well.. we should get moving then. Don't want to end up having to sleep up there She only remained still for a moment longer before swiftly moving ahead towards the mountain, away from the potential of touch.