Ræsa decided she liked to take her meals somewhere with a view. It was so hard to confine oneself within the borders on border patrols and this evening she'd found herself climbing higher and higher into the Mile-High woods, dead hare clasped in her jaws. It's coat was already white and plush, prepared for the harsh season ahead. So far it hadn't been so bad, but it would also be her first. Her paw slipped in a pile a of slush and she lurched sideways. Vertigo clutched her gut as she stared down at the earth far below her paws. Behind her Bodolf hissed. "Would you watch it? I'm not about to drag your mangled pile of mush back to your sisters." Ræ scoffed around the rodent. Maybe it was just Bo's way of worrying but he could be an utter nag at times. Well, she didn't need his floofy tail to stay balanced! She came to rest at the crux of three branches; where one tree had fallen upon two who had grown at odds. It had built up with small branches and leaf litter and eventually moss until a makeshift seat could be had. Ræ crowed her victory upon seeing it, picking up the pace and forcing Bo to hiss yet again. She walked across it's surface tentatively, but her paw on punched through twice so she decided it was stable enough. Bo dug his claws into the wood of the branch, where it was more secure. Ræ peered over the edge again, now that she could look down with some measure of safety. Below her the world was dusted with a fine layer of snow, though not much had made it through the lead cover. The ground was maybe twenty body lengths below her; certainly not a distance she wanted to fall. She decided to forget about it, and began tearing into her meal. "Talk" "You" Think

Bacc had vanished, but she was getting used to that. He had left a while back, but she hadn't come to accept it until now. As per usual, she was back where she began, alone and bitter. Fine, fuck everyone else, who needed friends? She sullenly plodded across the soft leaf litter, wary of the pack borders that lurked somewhere around here. No need to get herself into trouble, given she was such a freakshow around here. Alabaster toes skimmed over the mulch that had become of the pine nettles and fallen leaves. She much preferred the early autumn, when the leaves were crunchy and fun to roll in. A soft cry of delight resounded through the forest, the tinkling of silver bells. Interesting. Opting to meander in that general direction, she wondered what could be so wonderful in this dreary place. The North wasn't for her, though she tried. Bacchus might be around these parts, lurking in depressed solitude, but she was still sore from his beating a hasty retreat. She would return to the East soon, seek out somewhere nice to spend the winter. Maybe seek out another pack. It had been more fun with a family of sorts around her, and she'd been making headway before. The source of the noise became known, at least the violet pixie assumed it to be so. A young girl, perched precariously high, enjoying a meal. Well then. You see something new every day. She gazed upward for a moment, deciding whether or not to even attempt conversation. After all, who was she to disturb someone's meal? "talk"

Ræ bit through the hare's spine and tore off a chunk to give to Bo. He chewed it with the utmost aplomb, staring at her all the while through lidded eyes. She could feel the judgement wafting off of him but she ignored it, happily munching away at her meal because she knew it was what would frustrate him the most. She was ruminating over the perfectly blasé comment to make, something to ruffle him even further, when a spot of color caught her eye. She paused her chewing and looked down just as a wolf came into view below. It was purple, with a bit of white on it's face but purple?! Mother had told her about the gods and the tricks they like to play, perhaps this was one of them! Ræ leaned further over the edge just as the stranger spotted her. She met her mismatched gaze and grinned. "Did you roll through a patch if wildberries or something?" She hoped that was the case, because if so that means somewhere in this godsforsaken climate there might be a patch that had clung on through the autumn frosts. The odds seemed low, but a girl could hope! Bo growled, a low noise meant only for her ears. "You shouldn't speak with such foreign creatures. It might be dangerous." Ræsa paid him no mind other than a withering glance. She was of Finnvi blood, there wasn't a wolf or god in Boreas that she feared! Besides, what if she was nice? It'd be a pleasant change of pace to speak with someone other than her siblings. "Talk" "You" Think

It took a moment for the stranger to notice her, which was a little surprising. Against the dull backdrop of leaf mulch, she stuck out like a sore thumb. The youngling met her gaze, friendly as anything. Did you roll through a patch of wildberries or something? The lavender damsel rolled her eyes, but her lips twitched into a smirk nonetheless. "Not recently, no." She drawled, traipsing a little closer to the overhead perch of her conversational partner. She squinted a little, trying for a good look at the child. She couldn't place the girl's parentage, but that wasn't a surprise. Knowing about the neighbours was never something she prided herself on. Probably from around these parts, with such a luxurious pelt at this time of year. "What about you, have you been rolling in cinders?" She retorted with a grin, brow quirked just the slightest. "talk"

The older fae replied with what could be interpreted as a joke, so Ræsa took it that way and grinned. So what if this wolf looked more like a plum than any natural creature ought to? If she was going to be entertaining, the young girl could make do. "Only every night before bed. Underneath, I'm purple too!" Beside her Bodolf sighed and rolled his eyes, all while watching the stronger for some sort of reaction. He knew from experience that not every wolf Ræsa met took to her acerbic sense of humor and if this one happened to take offense and start charging up the tree, he wanted to be ready to leap out of the way so Ræ would get what was coming to her. On the other side of the coin, the pale grey she-wolf was having a blast. It wasn't every day she got to meet an interesting stranger, and all because she had wandered so far from home! The imagined reservations of her siblings only made Ræsa feel all the more confident for having accomplished something so impressive and grown-up like. And besides, she may not have been full grown but she was pretty sure she was already bigger than this stranger, thanks to her Daddy's bulk influencing her own. What did she have to be afraid of? "What's your name?" she asked boldly. She wasn't about to give out her own if this woman wouldn't do the same, after all. Bodolf sighed again, louder this time, and gave her a pointed look. "Talk" "You" Think

The girl seemed amused, and didn't take offense like most children. Rather, she met the violet pixie with just as much attitude. "Only every night before bed. Underneath, I'm purple too!" She announced gleefully, earning a soft chuckle. The cat, however, didn't seem amused. What was his damage? The lavender babe braced her forepaws on the trunk of one of the trees, trying to get a better vantage point so this conversation wasn't so damn awkward. "What's your name?" The child questioned next, curious without being inherently naive as to offer hers first. Hips would sway as her tail flicked across her heels. "Absinthe," She offered casually. It had been some time since she'd ever given her last name. Being Carmel or Sovari was not something to be proud of anymore. "and you, little cinder?" She enquired in return, soft southern lyrics gentle and unassuming. She was getting a knack for nicknames, of all things. Perhaps it was genetic, as she hadn't picked it up from anyone that she knew of. "talk"

So this woman wasn't exactly a talker. Fine, Ræ could work with that. She'd met her fair share of stoic northern wolves and she was sure this one would be no different. She stood, leaving her nest and her meal behind. She bounded over Bo, who hissed in alarmed as she trundled back down the log. She had no idea why he was so flustered, she only slipped once! And she wanted a better look at this stranger. She stopped while still a good few meters above the more vivd woman's head and grinned. "Little Cider suits be just fine, but Ræsa will do if you must." The stranger, Absinthe, had a quiet wit about her. Ræ found it a refreshing change from wolves who were either in your face with crude humor or dour and grave. She walked with cynicism in her bones. Ræsa liked it. The peered closer at the woman, trying to divine even a single secret from her luxurious coat or striking mismatched eyes. No matter how rudely she stared, she found nothing. Bodolf remained silent, judging her from afar, his eyes two molten drops of iron eating into the fur atop her shoulders. "Where are you headed?" she asked, blunt and without restraint. She couldn't figure this woman out from a glance, fine. But she made up the rules and she said she was allowed to ask for hints, so there, fair is fair! Except the woman would have to play by her rules too, and that was where things often we awry. "Talk" "You" Think