Fog rolled in with the cool of the evening. Ulmaria wandered along the edge of the swampland, eyes scanning over the plantlife that dwelled just beyond. Now six months old she felt a bit more confident about wandering into neighboring territories uncompanied. Well, mostly uncompanied. She beckoned to her companions to follow her as she stepped out into the swamp lands. She told herself she'd be back before dark, it was just going to be a quick little jaunt over to do a bit of exploring. Nearby she heard an owl hooting softly as the crickets hummed and sang, their last few songs before winter moved in.

Ao and her gaggle of siblings had been in the south for a while, the swamps had become her home. She knew every root system and water way, her tiny lithe frame could move through the mists with ease. Her star like pelt glowed in the dark evening, but the way she moved in and out of the trees made her look like late season lightning bugs. While they mostly lived next to the river, none of the pups had paws that would stay still. Aoede often explored the surrounding lands.

They were closer to 9 months old than 6, just about out of their puppy stage and emerging into their adult forms. Ao still sported large paws and innocent features, but compared to her larger siblings the girl more resembled an adult. As she slipped through the swamp she heard a call from Ayla, her fox. The young vulpine had been with her nearly as long as her brothers and sisters and they worked together as one. But the call let her know that her sister was close by.

The girl moved through the dark forest, her ears swiveling at the sound of an owl in the trees as her slim frame emerged in the clearing Ulmaria lingered. "All alone, sister?” She asked softly as she sidled up to her bigger sibling. As always her expression was rather vague, but her affection could still be perceived.

"Aoede Regni"

Unfamiliar plants twitched in the lightest of breezes and she pondered which ones might be worth taking back, if any. There was always a risk with putting strange plants in ones mouth and while she had fashioned a bone knife she hadn't brought it with her. Perhaps she could break some at the stems with just her claws.

Something was there.

Ulmaria's fur stood on end and as her sister spoke she nearly jumped out of her skin. "Eee! Aoede, you scared me. What are you doing out here?" She really wasn't sure what her grandfather's stance was on wandering but considering she hadn't bothered to find out she was a bit nervous. Better to ask forgiveness than permission.

Ao was naturally graceful, having an innate control over her dainty paws. Like the night her pelt was modeled after she moved with stealth through the unknown forest. Her golden gaze didn’t miss any detail in the swampy forest. She avoided walking in the big puddles, carefully keeping to the fallen logs and high ground to keep herself from getting soiled fur. Even with the cold weather there were still plants she couldn’t quite identify, the girl wondered if her sister would have an idea.

Not that she was focused on the greenery more than the way she made Ulmaria jump when she finally spoke. The corners of her lips pulled into the hint of a grin, which was a lot of expression for the stone faced child. "Following you, of course.” She closed the distance between them so she could stand at her tall sister’s shoulder. "You shouldn’t be exploring on your own, buddy system or something.” She reminded her offhandedly, part of her catching up to Ulmaria so that she could feel a little safer knowing her sibling had her back while she explored. "I like this place.” Little did she know the last time she was here was her tragic birth. "I wanted to see more.”

"Aoede Regni"

Ulmaria recovered quickly from being startled, and carefully maneuvered away from a smelly puddle so she could better face her sister. She supposed there was some wisdom in having a partner to explore with. "Ok! It'll be funner having someone along." Ulmaria bounced forward, beckoning her sister along so they could keep exploring while they talked. Aoede mentioned she liked the swamp. Ulmaria glanced around and shrugged.

"It's ok, I guess. I think I still liked the range the best…" Ulmaria sighed. She knew there was no use stewing about it, but she couldn't help herself. She bounced over a root winding through her path. Nearby a frog croaked and lept into the swampy water with a splash.

Ao watched her sister’s paws move gracefully beneath her, avoiding the stagnant water that lingered everywhere in the swamp. They were too cold for mosquitoes, so it wasn’t unlikely that the young girl would change her opinion about the swamp as she aged. For now it would be pleasant enough exploring with her sister, who would have much less of the otherworldly connection here. "Much more funner.” Ao chuckled in agreement as her dainty paws caught her up to the slightly older girl.

The inverse was true though, Aoede didn’t feel the pull of the Range Ulmaria did. She liked it well enough while they were there, but it wasn’t home. Ao preferred the pull of something new and the ever present call to adventure. Like this strange land here. The water everywhere, the wildlife, the damp and almost dark canopy. "The Range was alright. I like finding new places best though.” She grinned up at her sister and raced forward over the protruding root systems.

"Aoede Regni"

Ulmaria paused to consider her sister's words. Aoede had a point. "Hmm, yea. I bet there are a lot of other lands out there. Maybe we can find the bestest of the best lands!" Aoede sprang over the roots as the duo continued forward. It was all going smoothly. There didn't seem to be anything to strange here until Ulmaria spied a large, ugly, snapping turtle, sunning itself on the shore of a particularly large lagoon.

"Ao! Ao! Look at that thing. What do you think that is?" She took a few steps closer, ears forward and alert, one paw hovering in the air as she debated how safe it was to get closer. It didn't look like it would be to fast and dangerous but then looks could be deceiving.

Aoede managed to make Ulmaria take pause as she thought about her sister’s words. The moon and starred girl looked over her shoulder at her pretty sister when she offered another suggestion. Ao’s brows lifted in interest, perhaps they could explore the world that was at their toe tips and truly decide what the best of all the lands were. "We should,” Aoede agreed easily as the pair continued to move through the dense forests.

Ulmaria suddenly sprinted off as her eyes caught sight of something and she brought her sister’s attention as well. Her voice was full of curiosity and wonder so Ao couldn’t deny her own as dainty paws brought her to the other girl’s side. Dark ears perked up as her golden gaze fell on the prehistoric creature. There were ridges up its hard shell of a back and its head was square and grumpy looking. Its beak was sharp and it wasn’t even waving it at the girls quite yet.

"I don’t know. It looks really old though. Even older than pops I think.” She took a little teasing stab at their great granddad, but it was all in love. "Maybe some kind of swamp monster.” She giggled as she took a closer look, but still kept a little further away in case it could move faster than it looked.

"Aoede Regni"

Ulmaria leaned a little closer but not so close as to endanger her nose as she sniffed at it. She recoiled, face contorting in disgust. "It sure smells like a swamp monster, yuck!" She circled around it and the creature shuffled, its neck extending to keep an eye on her. Ulma reached out and slapped the back of its shell swiftly with her paw. The snapping turtle lunged and she shrieked, bouncing back and the laughing. "Wow! It's fast for such a stubby creature." It hissed at them but didn't attack and Ulmaria figured it wasn't a serious threat nor was it a suitable prey creature. She glanced at the brightest spot in the sky that was still veiled in mist. "Hmmm… what do you think? Should we get back to the river?"