Mudminnow River orinoco flow

By now, her brother and sisters had each ventured beyond the bypass. Despite herself, Druid grew curious about the world outside Rivenwood. She spent more time near the borders, lingering there, gazing off into the distance as she tried to imagine what she might find in the wilderness. She could go and see for herself, of course, but she never did.

Now, she stood just outside the rocky gates of her home, staring at the fork of what would become Mudminnow River, should she follow its winding path southerly. If she trod west, it would take her to Witch’s Marsh. Druid didn’t know any of these names. Her mismatched eyes wandered from one branch to the other, then back again, and a small splash compelled her to take a few steps south.

She stopped before going very far, her tongue pressing against the inside of her cheek. She knew she should take one of her sisters with her, or else another pack mate. Druid’s eyes dropped to the snake wound around her leg and she remembered she wasn’t truly alone. Drawing in a deep breath, she gave in to this unusual whim of hers and began to trot downstream.

Nyra was far from the homestead today. 
Very, very far. It was left almost unprotected at the moment...
The Grandmaster felt a pang of guilt and anxiety as she looked back to the mountains in the distance...home. What if home was gone when she returned? 

Before long, her ears hear small steps along with the scent of wolf. 
She turned her head to look, see if she could find the individual along the stream...

A puppy? 
Nyra tilted her head curiously, chuffing loudly to try and alert the youth of her presence. 

Rivenwood wafted through her nose and her thoughts. What was a youngling doing away from the protection of home? 

Her last encounter with the wolves of the bypass came to mind, ending unpleasantly. 
But she couldn't just leave this kid alone. She was a mother too, at least once...

*chaotic laughing* timelines go brrrr

As she loped along the shoreline, Druid scanned the water, though it was quite murky and she couldn’t spot any fish at a glance. The further she went, the more lush the flora along the bank grew, forcing her away from the water’s edge. She kept the small river within sight, often stopping at a break in the brush to take a peek.

After withdrawing from a cluster of cattails, Druid came face to face with a stranger. This was the first time she’d set eyes on someone who wasn’t part of the Rivenwood pack. The child’s head reared back in surprise as she instinctively lowered her body, suddenly acutely aware that she didn’t have the first clue how to conduct herself in the presence of an outsider.

It didn’t help matters that the she-wolf was intimidatingly large. Druid wondered wildly: were all wolves outside Rivenwood so massive? Her stomach tightened with nerves. What might the stranger do? Druid didn’t speak, waiting for the white woman to make a move, Bracelet’s weight grounding her in this moment of uncertainty.

Nyra tilted her head the other way as the child cowered, probably with intimidation as well as uncertainty?

Slowly, the Grandmaster lowered herself to a lying down position, wagging her tail slowly as if to show she meant no harm or ill intent.
"Are you lost?" She asked gently, trying to make Druid feel more comfortable
"My name is Nyra. I'm the leader of a pack called the Saints." She introduced with equal softness, keeping her tail wagging. Subconsciously, a motherly smile came over her face, one that wished to protect and defend.

The she-wolf lowered herself to the ground, her tail sweeping the grass behind her. When she spoke, her voice was softer than Druid expected. She offered an introduction, saying her name and the name of her pack. The Saints, the pup repeated in her head. It was the first pack she’d ever heard of apart from Rivenwood.

Despite the woman’s amiable demeanor, the youth hesitated. No, she eventually said, I’m not lost. But should she give her name? Should she mention where she lived? What would Witch or Heda do? Better yet, what would mama or Mahler do?

She supposed they would mind their manners. Feeling it would be rude not to reply with her own introduction, the pup added, My name is Druid, and this is Bracelet. She pointed her slim snout at the snake wrapped around her ankle. We’re from Rivenwood, in the bypass, she finished, glancing very briefly in that direction before her two-toned eyes darted back to Nyra.

Druid of Rivenwood, and Bracelet the snake. Nyra noted these things as the youngling spoke.

"I know of Rivenwood, can't say I've had many interactions with your pack though..." She mused lightly, shrugging her shoulders a little.
The Grandmaster sniffed the air around Druid, but never made direct contact. She wouldn't, not yet. Especially where Druid was still wary.
Her eyes turned downward to Bracelet then, looking at the serpent with interest and parental awe.
Stop that, she's not your pup. Nyra told herself inwardly.
"Your snake friend is very beautiful, Druid. Where did you find him?" She inquired, trying further to ease tensions.

Nyra said she knew of Rivenwood. What did she know? Druid wondered. Her lips parted as if she might ask, then pressed together a moment later when the she-wolf sniffed closer to her. Druid tensed all over, tolerating the inspection in silence. It didn’t occur to her to return the favor, though Nyra’s scent did grow stronger in her nose due to their proximity. It was just as foreign as everything else about her.

She seemed intrigued by the snake, which was a fairly typical reaction. Druid’s lips drew into a soft smile as she politely corrected, She’s a she. I watched her hatch. She’s stayed with me ever since. Her own gaze trailed admiringly over the little ringneck snake, looking at her as though through a stranger’s eyes for a moment. She wondered if Nyra had noticed their matching collars, which was a magical sort of coincidence.

Her young brain circled back to her earlier question and Druid paused before deciding it was a good time to pose one similar. Have you met the leader, Mahler? And though it wasn’t directly related, curiosity compelled her to ask another. Where do you—and the Saints—live?

The snake was a 'she' then!
"Ah, my apologies." She replied. As the youth asked further questions, Nyra crossed her paws and hmmed in thought.

"I believe I met him once? I didn't catch his name though. I was on business with my fellow leader and things ended...tensely." She chuckled softly with embarrassment.

"Me and the rest of the Saints live in those mountains, all the way out there." She gestured with her muzzle to where the Sunspire was, standing tall against the sky. 
It was quite a distance, so she expected Druid would probably ask why Nyra was so far from home herself...

Nyra gestured toward some mountains in the distance. You live in a mountain? Druid said wonderingly. Did that mean these Saints lived underground? That seemed pretty unusual, particularly if they were all as big as Nyra, but perhaps every pack differed in its cultures and ways of life.

Despite her curiosity, the youth couldn’t help but ruminate on Nyra’s prior words, one in particular: “tensely.” That didn’t bode well. Druid wondered about details, yet decided against asking for reasons she couldn’t quite pinpoint.

Nyra chuckled softly and shook her head.
"Not in a literal sense. We don't live underground or anything, but we do live within the territory that the mountains make up. Does that help?" She inquired, tilting her head to the side slightly with that same gentle smile.

Just like Druid had done to her moments ago, Nyra politely corrected her. The pup tried to grasp what she was saying and peered over her shoulder at the distant mountains again. She didn’t think she understood very well, though instead of admitting that, Druid simply nodded to acknowledge the woman’s effort to explain.

Perhaps she could go and see for herself sometime, though Druid didn’t feel remotely ready to venture that far now, if ever. She did suddenly wonder aloud, Could I visit? Not right now, I mean… but is that allowed?

The fearless question fell from Druid's lips. 
At first, Nyra was a little surprised, but she let out a chuckle and nodded once.
"When you are old enough to take the trip, I don't think a visit would do any harm." She said, wagging her tail further.
"Perhaps then, I could show you some of the beautiful sights the mountains have to offer?" She suggested.

Not only was it permitted, it seemed Nyra welcomed the idea. She openly invited Druid to come visit when she was old enough to make the journey. The pup swallowed, unsure she would ever be old enough to venture that far from Rivenwood. It was a strange mixture of anxiety and intrigue that threaded through her at the thought.

Maybe, she said noncommittally, her tentative tone probably clearly exhibiting her trepidation, while her mismatched eyes glimmered with interest as she imagined exploring a mountainside. Furthermore, the slopes were possessed by another pack, which was equally fascinating. Perhaps, after all, synesthesia wasn’t the only trait she’d inherited from Sequoia.

But for now… I should get back home, before they start to wonder where I am, Druid confessed, straightening her slender legs to prepare for the walk back to the woods. She glanced down at Bracelet, snugly situated in her usual spot, then raised her gaze one last time—at least, for now—to Nyra.

The hesitation in Druid's voice didn't go unnoticed, but it was understood. Nyra smiled in response without judgement. 

"Would you mind if I walked you home? I want to make sure you get there safely." Nyra asked softly. Even if the child declined, Nyra planned to follow anyway, just to be certain. 
There was never any guarantee that a mountain cat wouldn't come about, or an aggressive ungulate, or even a large venomous snake. 

The mother within Nyra blazed brightly with protective urges.

She hesitated, in part because she hadn’t expected Nyra’s offer. Druid glanced toward the bypass, clearly visible, and couldn’t imagine anything happening to her between here and there. But there was really no reason to refuse the woman. She didn’t want to be impolite.

Okay, she replied with a small smile, turning to begin walking upriver. Druid wondered if anyone had noticed her absence. She’d only been gone an hour, maybe even less, so it was entirely possible nobody would ever know of her foray, if she didn’t tell them.

Of course, Druid would want to tell @Heda and @Witch all about Nyra. She smiled as she thought of telling her sisters about her adventure—they would probably be so surprised!—and suddenly slowed her step when she and her giant escort passed the cattails again.

I think I’m gonna grab some of these, she said even as she moved toward them. Do you know what they’re called? Druid wondered even as she snatched at some of the long reeds with her teeth, trying to draw down some of the extremely peculiar flowers.

At Druid's acceptance, Nyra beamed brightly.
Walking upstream, the Grandmaster noted the youth's interest in the reeds, and as she snatched at some of them, Nyra was hesitant.
"I'm no expert in medicine, but I believe these are...cattails?" She guessed. 
"They do kind of look like the end of a mountain cat's tail to me. But i wouldn't ingest any part of it until you know for sure." The grandmaster advised, taking a few of them in her teeth and breaking them off, setting them before her youthful friend so Druid could grab them. 

"Anyhow, let's get you home." Nyra smiled warmly, though inside she burned at the thought of what might happen.

Medicine? Druid wondered. She hadn’t thought of eating them or even using them in any meaningful way. She wanted to fetch one for each of her sisters, a souvenir from her first adventure beyond Rivenwood as well as a token to let them know they were never far from her mind.

With her mouth preoccupied, the girl said nothing, though she tried to nod her head without losing her grasp on the long stems. Nyra stepped in to help her, clipping some of the funny growths with her teeth and offering them to Druid. She smiled, though it fell when she realized she would only be able to carry one in her mouth.

She could’ve asked Nyra to take another for her, yet the she-wolf urged her to come along, so Druid gathered the one she could manage and trotted after her like a much smaller shadow.