She'd been traveling.. how long, exactly? She wasn't sure, but it had definitely been a little while. By now the weight she carried when she was well-fed in a pack had melted away with her little skill in hunting. Scavenging had been her main source in finding food, but even that was getting more and more difficult. And here, in the middle of a desert? Yeah, she wasn't finding anything to eat out here.

Her stomach growled, but she was used to ignoring it by now. It was mind over matter, right? If she told herself she wasn't hungry, it would certainly stop. At least she hoped, anyway. What made matters worse was how dry her mouth was and how she longed for even just a small drink of water. Even rain at this point would be welcomed, but it likely didn't rain very much in a desert. Keres whined, her thoughts making the situation only that much worse as she crossed the dunes. How much farther did she have to go to get out of here?

The desert was hardly Caelia's favorite place, but she'd been born in the west and so the west as a whole was what she considered her domain - this stretch of dry, arid landscape included. The vast stretch of sand seemed to stretch on infinitely before her, though she knew it was merely an illusion. She'd crossed a stretch of these sand dunes before and she knew how to navigate safely across them. If you went north from where she was, they'd stretch on for hours - maybe even days, if you were really lost - but she knew the short way through led to far more temperate terrain. Though these sand dunes were hard hospitable, there was something about these desolate place that was precisely what she needed right now. Being completely alone seemed to quell her more unpleasant thoughts, at least temporarily, as she continued her trek across the sand. Her vision blurred from the monotony of the landscape, blinding sand for as far as she could see, though her attention was drawn to a distinct figure in the distance. Another wolf trekking across the dunes. This landscape was rarely a place she saw others, so her interest was immediately piqued. Making her way down the stretch of the dune she'd been traversing, she made to close the distance between them. Only once she was much closer did she notice the shape Keres was in, and needless to say she looked like she'd seen better days. "Are you lost? Or just some kind of desert-dweller?" Hey, for all she knew maybe there were wolves comfortable spending extended periods of time here, but it was hard to imagine the novelty of this place wouldn't wear off eventually... if not quickly.

Beginning to settle on the fact that there wasn't anyone, food or otherwise, wandering around in the desert, her desire to leave the wasteland was becoming more and more desperate. She could use with a drink too, but the rumbling of her stomach was far more annoying than the dry taste on her tongue. She wasn't even sure of where she was going really, since all the dunes looked the same. She didn't remember turning or going in any other direction, but this desert seemed endless and like a maze without walls. She was half expecting to find some bones of some other poor soul that couldn't make it out.

It wasn't much longer that she saw something, something she was almost convinced of being a mirage. She couldn't fathom any reason someone else may be out here, but as they approached Keres began to realize that they weren't a figment of her imagination and were, in fact, real. A slight wag of her tail and faint smile towards the approaching wolf was about all she had the energy to muster.

"Definitely lost... I don't know how anyone could live out here." She offered a slight laugh, nervous really. The wolf seemed friendly enough, but she could only hope that she'd show her out of this wasteland.

There was something oddly comforting in the bleak, unforgiving landscape.. almost as if this journey was a sort of repentance. For what, she wasn't sure, but the discomfort of trekking through the sand and the arid landscape wasn't something she'd complain about internally, despite the comfort. Only when she spoke did she realize just how dry her own mouth was, voice slightly wobbly due to lack of use today. Water sounded like a good idea, but she knew exactly where to find them when she made her way across this vast stretch of sand dunes.

"Yeah," she responded to the stranger's sentiment after a moment of thought. Keres looked like she'd seen far better days, but she managed to still give her a smile and wag of her tail. Caelia only returned the smile, tight-lipped but pleasant enough to pass as friendliness. "Not exactly an ideal place, is it?" The warmth of the sand beneath her toes as she shifted her weight reminded her that staying still too long in the desert could be even more dangerous than wandering in circles. "My name's Caelia Adravendi. You're welcome to join me. I was heading north of here, where it's less... sandy," she gestured with her muzzle to the sand that seemed to stretch on for eternity around them.