Neverwinter Forest Bullet train to Iowa.

I could not resist! :D

The first snowfall of the year had come as a welcome surprise. Dwin had endured the dark weeks of November, hardly ever seeing the sun peek through the thick, grey blanket of clouds and hating, how very early it got dark. Now with the ground covered in soft, white and cold stuff, the lack of sunlight was no longer that depressing. When no one had been looking she had even allowed herself to zoom around the Brecheliant, some rather unceremonious slips, trips and tumbles and indulging in rolling in the snow, making the wolf-equivalent of a snow angel (a who is to say that angels are only the ones with golden hair, dressed in white night-gowns, having white wings and holding a harpsichord - no - wait, a harp in their hands). 

After instructing the kids to eat a lot of snow and draw a very thick, smelly line of yellow around the borders, she took off, before any of them began to ask uncomfortable questions about the point of this and thus question her authority. It was absolutely amazing to leave home about and have all the freedom in the world. She almost felt that previously dimmed light inside her burn brighter and stronger, the bigger the distance grew between her and Brecheliant. How long had it been since her last solo journey? Few weeks? And now she was onto it again. She loved to run full speed, but the snow was good at keeping the scents alive, therefore she stopped frequently to make a u-turn and inspect some particularly interesting smell specimens. 

Then she was off again without any set plan in mind, just happy to exist in this moment and eager to keep the joy of adventure alive for longer. It was near a forest that she first caught a familiar and fresh scent trail, which set her in a tracking mode. Mrs T had been a very good conversation partner - her wit, sharp mind and occasional honest bluntness matching that of Dwin's. So - if the old lady was still kicking, it was worth seeking her out and having a talk. Because - as mom used to say (and that is a generic term for every piece of knowledge that Dwin had acquired, but had no idea of the source) - old people weren't immortal. 

"Hey!" she called out to the she-wolf, when she finally spotted her. It took her a moment to realize that she had not heard her (and I am not sure, she knew or remembered of Towhee's impairment) and then she simply kicked her heels in the snow and made a mad dash to catch up with her. "Miss TEE!" she hollered, going past her, then making a loop and stopping right in front of her. "It's good to see you - you old Hag!" she told her with a good-natured smile. Not as an insult, rather a friendly greeting that one hag would give to the other. "This them here Green Hag is glad to see you still alive!"