Namesake

While she tried to gather her bearings and figure out where she was and why she was here, Ember dipped her tiny muzzle into the crystal clear waters of the lake and drank. The water was crisp, clean, and refreshing in a way that seemed to surpass a mere quenching of her thirst. As if her soul itself was being nourished by the ethereal waters. She felt so at peace here, like walking in a familiar dreamscape she knew and yet was wholly unfamiliar with at the same time. A bizarre sensation of deja vu, like she should know where she was, yet couldn't quite find the name to the place. She had been alone for a time now, so the girl had no reason to assume she no longer was—until a rumbling voice spoke out to her from behind her.

Ember raised her head with a start, spinning about and sloshing the water around her paws as she came face to face with the large ash-gray fae built of stocky muscles and imposing prowess. Ember gawked up at the elder woman, blue-turquoise eyes holding those sulfuric yellows that stared down at her. In the face of a total stranger, Ember normally would have called her mom or dad. But they weren't here right now. And even though she didn't know this wolf yet... something nagging in her heart told her that she did. It was something in those golden eyes that tugged at the fringe of familiarity. That nagging feeling in her heart put her nerves at ease, and under that amused gaze, Ember felt safe. Inexplicably safe, the same way she did when her father looked over her.

Subconsciously knowing that this older wolf wasn't a threat, Ember waded her way back out of the water until she was standing at the water's edge, her tiny forepaws on the rocky shore and her back paws still in the shallow water. Her parents had always emphasized the importance of manners when meeting new wolves, so Ember smiled up at the dark-masked fae as her tiny tail gave a greeting wag. "I'm Ember! Ember Rasina Carpathius," she introduced herself to the stranger, cocking her head curiously to one side while she studied the giant of a woman. "Um, is this your home? I'm sorry if I'm trespassing, I didn't mean to. I'm not really sure how I got here. Do you know which way the Hallows is?" The stranger was an adult, and adults always knew important stuff, so maybe she could help her find her way home.

"Ember Carpathius"