Alpine Lake I'm feeling far away, I'm feeling right there.

From the corner of a vivid eye, Nyx spotted movement. Flicking her tongue over the stray water droplets that clung to her chin, she lifted her crown to point her proud muzzle in the stranger's direction to regard her with quiet caution. A wolfess with a wildfire coat trailed the edge of the lake before pausing a short distance away to lower and drink from its waters.

Although not naturally wary of strangers, a new sense of anxiety often tightened her chest in the presence of someone new. At times she believed they would see right through her, unearth her as the murderer of her own children, as foolish as she believed mind-reading to be. Paranoia gripped her in ways Nyx had never thought capable, and she hated the restraint it placed on her.

When the other female chuffed a greeting, the tawny Ostrega's raven-tipped lobes folded forward with intrigue. Her eyes lifted slightly, seeking her newest acquaintance's features to accompany the pleasant sway of her peppered tail.