The festival proved to be a lot of fun, but Etoile was growing tired and found that she needed some time away from the big crowds.  The fae liked social events enough, but found that her battery did run dry after a few hours whether she wanted it to or not.  She still hadn't come across her cousin, Noëlie, since they'd parted ways earlier that evening, but honestly it was whatever.  The girl was smart, she'd find Etoile again after she'd had her fun.   Slinking off just a short distance away from the festivities, the young Soleil found a nice quiet spot with a wonderful view of the setting sun.  Stars were just beginning to poke through in little clusters all throughout the sky.  Dawn and dusk, despite being such short periods in the day, had always been her favorite.  Something about that weird not quite day, not quite night feeling always made it easy for Etoile to find peace.  "How beautiful.." she sighed to herself, admiring the scene before her and taking time to just be. "Talk" 'Think'

Cendrillion was exhausted. She was tired of having to dodge around wolves tall enough they didn't even see her moving around below them, tired of trying not to get stepped on and frankly she was tired of the noise, of the smells, her mind was overworked and though she'd managed to win herself a nice little souvenir she wasn't exactly sure what else she even wanted to do. Get away from the sensory overload for a bit was probably a good start. The tiny young woman slipped away from the crowds, feeling herself breathe easy for the first time since she got here. She just needed a place to settle down so she could sort her thoughts and figure out what to do next. Soot marked paws carried her while her mind moved elsewhere, so much so that for probably the first time in her life Cen failed to notice someone else before she got close enough it looked like she was approaching them directly, after all it was easy enough for others to miss her but everyone was taller than she was, she didn't have that luxury.


"Oh!" She squeaked, suddenly aware of how close she was to a total stranger, backpeddling suddenly. "I'm uh... sorry." Her voice was soft, and she ducked her head shly. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

"Speech"

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As spacey and drained as the young wolf might have felt, she was still aware enough to notice the seemingly younger child out of her peripheral as they approached.  Assuming that perhaps she were lost, Etoile focused her attention on the kid and waited patiently for her to completely close the distance that had been between them.  She was about to ask if the child needed help finding her parents, but before that the stranger spoke. Etoile was a bit taken aback.  Up close this wolf didn't seem like much of a child at all, in fact they appeared to be more around the same age as she herself had been.  The girl didn't necessarily talk like a child either.  Was this a young adult, or a well-mannered kid with the worst set of genetics Etoile had ever seen?  "That's perfectly fine, dear." she smiled gently, trying to hide her confusion.  "You're, uh, free to stop and rest if you'd like."  The adult-baby looked exhausted after all, and if she really were just a child then the Soleil wouldn't feel comfortable letting her roam around all alone like this. "Talk" 'Think'

If Cendrillion could read minds she probably wouldn't have been surprised to find out how often she was mistaken for a pup, though she had been blessed with good proportions she knew she didn't exactly scream old enough to catch her own prey, not that she was actually good at that but that was another issue entirely, it probably wasn't helped by her fluffy coat which tended to engulf her and make her seem more like a sentient fuzz ball than a yearling, so no she would not have been surprised... But Cen couldn't read minds so there was nothing to not be surprised about.

The stranger spoke and Cen lifted her mismatched gaze and properly looked at the other wolf for the first time, she seemed to be around Cendrillion's age, though that was a guess as her contact with other wolves was limited at best, and though the young woman had spent most of her life among wolves who's pelts invoked thoughts of ice or fire she had to admit she had never seen a wolf that looked quite like her. It was like she was looking at the night sky! Cen realized she was staring and averted her gaze, swallowing the lump in her throat but still managing a small smile, the sabers that normally just barely poked out from her upper lips revealed more clearly. "I uh- Thank you." She settled on her haunches though she was no longer standing her posture was clearly not that of a wolf at rest. Her awkwardness was evident in her position. Now what? Did they sit here in silence, was it rude of her not to have introduced herself?

"Oh I'm, Cendrillion... By the way." Well better late than never. Most teenagers were awkward at this age but Cen couldn't help but feel that her isolation through the long night had left her ill-equipped to understand how to properly socialize. Mamman, papa, please help me not to embarrass myself. She thought silently.

"Speech"

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Etoile cocked her head ever so slightly as the fae's eyes lingered on her for just a smidge too long without having offered anything in response, though her gentle smile did not falter.  It was obvious that the stranger was feeling uncomfortable and out of place. Like, painfully obvious. The yearling wondered if perhaps offering that the girl stop for a rest had been, in fact, the wrong move.  Regardless, it was too late to redact the offer, so she'd just have to roll with the punches. When the newcomer finally did speak up it did nothing to break the thick layer of awkward ice that had already formed between them.  Didn't sitting like that hurt the girl's back?  Normally Etoile would be better in a situation like this, charismatic enough to get things up and moving, but right now she was tired and her thoughts were all jumbled.  With any luck maybe things would smooth out naturally, and if not then it wasn't like the pair would ever likely see each other again after this.  Just a weird, uncomfy blip in both of their lives.  Etoile has had plenty of those.  It'd be nice if her cousin would show up right about now though.  Noëlie had always been a little better at communication. "Cendrillion... How lovely! You look like a Cendrillion!"  She grinned.  It was a unique name, and this was a very unique looking wolf.  It fit.  Whoever had been in charge of naming her did a wonderful job.  "My name is Etoile Soleil.  Do you live around here, Cendrillion?" "Talk" 'Think'

Maybe if any of her siblings had survived... Maybe if she'd just been able to socialize with anyone her own age before she'd turned one she'd be less awkward, Cen couldn't help but feel that that was true. But she also wasn't going to get better if she didn't at least try to integrate herself better into society. The girl felt her face flush slightly when the other girl complimented her name, Cendrillon had been the name of a princess from her mother's stories, and though their names were minorly different she'd always been told she'd been named for the persevering princess... Did that mean that the other girl thought she looked like a princess?

She was finally given a name for the other girl and despite herself, despite the grief that still ached dully in the back of her mind at every moment, despite how lost and alone she'd felt since her father's death... The girl laughed. It was more of a brief giggle actually, a high breathy sound and almost instantly a forepaw lifted, she covered her mouth with her ankle and glanced up at Etoile with a wide-eyed look. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh." She cleared her throat and sat up a little straighter, trying to shake off her embarrassment. "I uh... No, I don't live anywhere... really." She tried to shake off the discomfort that came from the knowledge of her own lack of a place to go or turn too, once she would have claimed she was home if she was with her papa... But she didn't even have that anymore. "D-do you?"

"Speech"

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Just mere seconds ago Cendrillion had appeared shy, awkward, and for all intents and purposes quite miserable.  With that in mind, Etoile couldn't help but flinch just a tad as the small, delicate looking yearling started on a very short-lived fit of giggles.  The behavior caught her completely off guard, and she wasn't completely sure what had been so funny, but it was kind of nice to see the girl lighten up a bit.  And kind of cute, in a way.  As the strange yearling quickly stopped to apologize with a look of utmost embarrassment on her face, Etoile made an effort to compose herself so that the girl might not catch on to the fact that she'd given her a spook. "No need." Etoile nodded softly, not even entirely sure what the sudden change in behavior had been about.  "Oh," she added, pausing to note that the fae had a couple of little leaves lingering just at the start of her muzzle, close to her eyes.  It must have happened when she'd covered her mouth?  Or perhaps they'd always been there.  "Sorry, you just have a little... here, I'll get it for you."  without even thinking too much about it the Soleil lowered her head to pluck the plants from the stranger's fur and place them back on the ground.  "I do, in theory.  Though I'm kind of trying to make my own way right now, find a home of my own.  I hope I can, but at the end of the day if I need to go back I'll always be welcome.  Only the ancestors truly know what's in store for us, after all."  It was what it was.  Etoile wondered why the small fae didn't have a home, but she didn't want to pry either.  Sometimes prying brought up memories that others would rather not think too hard about. "Talk" 'Think'

Despite Etoile letting her know she didn't need to apologize Cendrillion couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed by her sudden outburst and the thought that had crossed her mind that had led her to even have the outburst at first. Etoile certainly hadn't had much choice in her names. Luckily it seemed Etoile's focus was not on the flood of color that rushed through her face instead reaching out to pluck a few leaves from her head and Cendrillion's eyes widened and her face grew even hotter and she mumbled a weak thanks, luckily Etoile was already answering her return question.

Cendrillion felt herself become disappointed? It was hard to feel alone when it seemed everyone but herself knew where they belonged, that they had any sort of semblance of a place. Cen hadn't had that in so long. She nodded absently, there wasn't anyone who knew better that you couldn't know what life would throw at you, not after she'd watched her uncle's attack on her father. "That sounds nice." She said softly, trying to keep her melancholy from her voice.

"Speech"

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"Hmm, does it?"  Etoile wondered what part of what she'd just said sounded appealing to the small fae.  So far the traveling and being away from home was nice.  Usually she thought where she came from was nice too, but sometimes if she thought too much about it it became much less nice.  But that wasn't anything to concern her new friend with.  Judging by mere anxiety levels alone it was clear to the yearling that this poor girl probably already had more than enough on her plate. "My family can tell the future, we're fortune tellers by blood.  I come from a very long line of them."  She smiled, closing her eyes to contemplate for a moment.  It wasn't impossible to use intuition alone to tell someone what their fortune was in a way that wasn't complete bullshit, but it was definitely far easier to just wait until night time and divine with the stars.  Words like illusion, anxiety, and insecurity came to mind, but so did words like justice, truth, and honesty.  "I see." opening her eyes, the star child turned her attention back to Cen.  "You're too in your head.  You're letting your worries swallow you up like you're some kind of prey animal.  The sooner you can break out of that cycle the sooner your truth will be revealed to you.  You're meant for more than this, don't ever doubt that -- is that my cousin?"  she broke off after having casually glanced back toward the festival. "Sorry Cen, I've got to go.  We'll meet again though I'm sure! It's been a pleasure!" She stood up quickly and without even really thinking she gave her company a big ole lick on the mouth as a parting gift, something that was all too common back home.  "Oh, and justice will be served, whatever that means." was the last thing she said before darting toward where her cousin might have been. "Talk" 'Think'

*I rolled 1-22 in user-rolls to get two tarot cards from the major arcana for her 'fortune', I got 18 and 11, which would be The Moon and Justice :)