WE START BELIEVING THAT WE BELONG | The woman comes upon the oasis at the height of her need. For miles she's traveled through nothing but grit and sand and sun the likes of she's never seen. From this she emerges, mouth dry, paws too-warm, muscles aching a little. When she began her pilgrimage from her home territory, never had she imagined that the world contained such strange, vast new-ness.

She misses her mother. And her aunts and the old biddies who tell stories to the pups underneath the vast expanse of sky. In these new lands, when Juneau looks up, she doesn't recognize any of the stars. There's no stars just now, though. The sun beats down on her pelt and as she trots to the oasis, she shakes off the heat, basking in the sudden drop in temperature around the water, the sun inching behind the massive rock face that bursts up in a semi-circle around the water.

Juneau nearly plunges her face right into the water. She gulps, ears pinned back, paws in the mud and dirt.

She had been here for a couple of weeks now, sulking perhaps about the life she had left behind, only to have appeared in this desolate place that as of yet; she really didn't like. She was only a babe still, a yearling trying to find a foothold on this ride called life, the excitement of her arrival had well and truly dimmed in comparison to her other issues. Loudelia had been in the oasis long enough that her muscles had begun to repair themselves, her travels had been vast and in some parts, excruciating. The dry heat had beat her body into something she barely recognized, once an ivory child of royalty, thrown into the sand pit to transform into the too-slender, dirt covered yearling that now stands. She hated it, but in the same breath; she was adjusting.

For the first time since her arrival, the scent of an actual live wolf wakes her from a light slumber, tired eyes drooping open to reveal light almonds that are dull with sleep deprivation. She is a bland wolf really, pelted in white with light brown eyes that were the only feature that contrasted her to a snowy field- oh, and the dirt. Curiosity, and she'd be lying if she didn't mention fear, arose in her chest like a wildfire. From her perch on the higher levels of stone surrounding the oasis, a hiding place she had found and become reluctant to leave, she peers down on the grey wolf that had just arrived. A woman, muscular and beautiful even after her obvious journeys, older than Lou but instantly the yearling becomes intrigued. She never had a mother, a woman to look at with the sparkle of awe, or inspiration to look for, and even though she is petrified- Loudelia pushes herself out of hiding.

"You new here?" Her voice cracks and she is instantly ashamed in her lack of confidence, she had the bravery of her father, she knew it- she just hadn't found it yet. Slowly, she approaches the ledge where she had been hiding and peers down at the blue and grey woman drinking, her gut is twisting and yet she somehow manages a weak smile. "Me too..." an awkward chuckle that gives away her nerves, but she holds her ground anyway.

WE START BELIEVING THAT WE BELONG | The sound of a voice startles her, and she's ashamed of it, her face reeling back from gulping down water. She looks up to find another wolf— surprise warms her, because she certainly hadn't expected to find one of her own, to speak a common tongue with the new creatures of this land. But it seems wolves are everywhere they wish to be. Juneau eyes the other woman— no, the girl. Younger and obviously so, with a voice that cracks and wavers. But a female nonetheless, and something about that puts Juneau at ease.

"I am," she says kindly. Juneau stretches slowly, dipping down, pushing her back out, feeling her joins pop and her muscles stretch. The reprieve from the desert that she'd clawed her way through for the last few days is joyous, and Juneau almost feels like a puppy again just from the mounting relief. When she straightens herself up, she looks at the white wolf— dirty from the sand and the grit, but Juneau supposes she must look quite the same, mud up her paws. "You're alright?"" She asks, frowning. It's against her very nature to leave another woman unattended, especially one so young. Juneau's never been very good around pups— her patience is thin —but she's enjoyed the bright and intelligent and eager to learn company of the young women back home.

"I'm Juneau," she offers, to perhaps put the other female at ease.

She startles the other woman and reacts instantly, like a mirror image she too flinches as Juneau reels back from the water. Though, for some reason it puts her more at ease, at least she knew the woman wouldn't attack her straight off the bat. "Sorry," Loudelia says through a soft giggle, and while Juneau stretches she makes her way down from the rock perch to the oasis pool below. She had found comfort in the oasis since she had arrived, it was closed off from the rest of the world and she felt protected here, but having met Juneau just now she realizes that perhaps she should start exploring a little more, see how big this new world really was and how many inhabitants it was bearing.

"I haven't been here very long myself," she replies, though it wasn't really answering the question. "You're the first wolf I've seen though, but I can tell they are around..." Juneau would be able to as well, the scent of wolves was thick on the wind, other animals as well. "I'm Loudelia, but you can call me Lou," she says, she had reached the water now and leans down to take a small sip, more to wet her dry lips than anything else, it was crisp here. "Do you know where you're going?" She sits back in the dirt that surrounds the pool and turns her hazel eyes to the woman, perhaps they could go together, even though Loudelia probably wouldn't ask that outright.