Alpine Lake you're following a lead that came from a bird.

He noted quickly that he had made her uncomfortable with his lack of verbal acknowledgement. His ears slipped back with guilt, but he suppressed it and set his intention to doing better. He shook his head and offered a slightly stronger smile than before, though he was quiet as he listened to her speak--or maybe ramble was the better word? Gosh, he'd really flubbed this.

"Figment," he answered, a genuine smile finally lighting his face as he chuckled over the way she'd introduced herself. He relaxed in that moment, allowing his troubles to slip to the back of his mind for the time being. "You can call me Fig, though. Most people do," he added.

"D'you know this area?" he asked, trying to drive conversation forward, "I've never been. Is there a waterfall nearby? The flow of the river here seems to suggest there is. I was going to go upstream and search for it. Thought it might be cool." He gave a non-committal shrug as though he didn't care one way or the other.