Now, compared to the western region of Boreas, this place wasn't so bad.

He'd seen his fair share of sand dunes and palm trees now, to the point he wasn't sure he'd ever get every last piece of gritty sand out from between his toe beans. Finally he found somewhere that seemed a lot less dry than where he'd been lately. At least with the change in seasons these lands weren't so sweltering, and he wasn't having to constantly search for shade or water.

This place, though, was even nicer than he expected. A wide pond stood in the center of a grove of massive willow trees, branches dangling down low toward the ground. Dodging the swaying branches, he veered around the wide trunk of the willow tree, climbing onto its exposed roots and trying to get a better sense of this place.

The water nearby was mostly still, its surface only occasionally disturbed by a bug's landing or a frog lazily swimming past. A content sigh fell from the lynx's mouth as he sniffed about, watching one lone frog settle in on a wide lilypad.

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Vine had finally come out of her deep state of grief, not that it was very deep at all she thought. She knew she needed some time to sit on the thoughts of her lost mother, but she knew Twig would be with her always. Some kind of guiding spirit when she needed her she believed. She wouldn't be lost fully.

She had made her way west from Avalon, just scouting the lands to see what they had to offer. She had never really been far from home, she had been quite the homebody. But she knew there was so much more life had to offer she just had to make it. She couldn't live inside the pack forever.

As she spotted the willows in a short distance from her home borders she thought it was a little odd how it was surrounded by a bit more western-like terrain before the lush greens the trees had to offer. She made it farther into the lands admiring the willows through the light trail of other wolves and creatures who traveled within. Soon she'd find herself at the ponds inside, looking down into the still waters aside from some insects that floated above. When she looked up though was when she noticed the lynx across the water's surface. She froze for the moment, she wasn't scared but she didn't want to immediately assume the large cat was friendly. They were near the same size and could have been a pretty even match had there been a scuffle. She hoped not, but she wouldn't be so open to find out. For now she just stared across the pond waiting to see what would happen. Definitely some shine of worry across her features.

"Vine"

Cygnus was lost in thought for a long moment, watching the frog settle in and begin to search for food, its tongue extending to try to grab hold of a small bug flying past it. His tufted ears flicked to the side when he heard the pawsteps of someone approaching, slowly twisting around to get a better look. Self-preservation was a high priority of his. He scrambled a bit on the exposed tree roots to keep his balance, slowly moving onto the grass and casting his gaze across the water.

"Oh, hello there," the lynx called out across the pond, his whole demeanor relaxed and non-threatening. At least- that was his intent. He wasn't sure he understood the body language of canines all that much yet. His nub of a tail gave an interested little wiggle. "You come here often?" Cygnus asked, his question sarcastic and said with an air of playfulness.

Wasn't really such a bad place, if he was being honest. This place was teeming with wildlife, even in the cooling autumn air. He glanced at the frog as he saw it leap from its position, plunging into the shallows and kicking off. His nostrils flared wide, taking in the heady scent of this place, all its water and vegetation and trees alike. Something about this place was relaxing; even the low-hanging branches of the willow tree swaying in the slightly breeze didn't startle him, even as their leaves tickled his side.

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Once the two were aware of each other's presence, Vine let her guard down a bit. The lynx seemed friendly enough, and she may have seemed naive in that way. He wasn't coming at her tooth and claw at least.

"Oh, hello." She spoke out softly, just a quick gentle wag of her tail in greeting. "Actually no, this is the first time I've been here. I haven't seen any of the desert west of here." She stated, maybe a little too much chatter for a simple greeting and answer. Vine looked down to where the water had rippled a moment ago, "Were there frogs in the water?" Perhaps a stupid question, but Vine didn't think so. She had a different level of confidence, or maybe more extrovertness that didn't make her too worried about what others thought of her.

"Vine"

Cygnus maintained a similar relaxed posture. He was small and spry enough he knew he could outrun any potential threats, and he was just fine doing that. It wasn't exactly like he was a skilled fighter or anything. Slowly he made to veer around the stretch of water and move a bit closer to her, just to save them from shouting across the pond at each other. "It's my first time out this way, too. Getting pretty sick of all this sand between my toes," he admitted, lifting a paw for dramatic effect and making as if to flick sand out from between his toe beans.

"Yup. They'd make decent snacks," the feline confessed, head twisting as he searched the water for any signs of them. "If I felt like getting wet," Cygnus added as he caught sight of one a few feet away, kicking lazily through the water. "Name's Cygnus, by the way. What's yours?" A name for a name was only fair. The whole atmosphere of this place lent itself to being a little friendlier than usual- the way the wind whisked over the pond and made gentle ripples across its surface, combined with the long, swaying willow branches made the vibes here feel pretty dang good.

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She didn't shy away as he grew near, instead was much more rather intrigued by him. She did smile with a mumbled chuckle as he mentioned the plenty of sand giving a bit of show with some remnants still between his toes. She was definitely thankful for the lusher lands her home hosted.

Though when he mentioned the frogs she asked about being snacks she had to wince a bit at the thought. "Can't say I'm interested." She wouldn't show disgust in the cat-man finding them a nice little treat, but she couldn't imagine devouring them herself. Maybe if they were cooked, maybe.

She had been so hypnotized by the other species that she hadn't thought of pleasant introductions. He seemed to be one step ahead of her. "Oh, my name's Vine." With a little tilt to her chin and a probably familiar crooked grin she'd comment, "I can't say I've ever known the name of a cat." Or a Lynx, hopefully that wasn't the wrong way to say so.

"Vine"

He was far more suited to different terrains than this, to thick forests and craggy mountains. Navigating over rocks seemed far easier to him than trekking long distances over sand dunes. He was glad to have found a little sanctuary here, in this little grove of willow trees, away from the arid desert.

Vine didn't seem so pleased with his idea of frog snacks, which he replied to with a snort of laughter. "Suit yourself," he said simply. Foraging for small prey animals, even amphibians, was more of a feline thing anyway. Wasn't a surprise this wolf lady wasn't interested. Cygnus was used to snatching up whatever prey he needed to get by anyhow.

"Vine, eh? Who're your siblings? Leaf? Grass?" Good-natured amusement danced in his eyes at his own question. He was just being smart, but he wondered if such names were common among canines. He only knew a little about the naming conventions of his own family, certainly nothing about how canines did such things. "Well, lucky you!" He chirped, giving a wink. His bobbed tail gave a little twitch as he stretched out his paws, kneading them into the sand. "And lucky me too, I suppose. You're one of a whole two wolves I've met now. Not real used to your sort," he admitted freely.

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