With her mate and two of her eldest children currently out visiting their allies in the North, Novella probably should have stuck closer to home. Aslan had shared with her the news of his recent encounter with Arivae here at the Delta and whilst it had been some time ago, the woman was tempted all the same to see if her niece still lingered around the area. The pack and her younger children of course needed her but the Delta wasn't far away, she was still close enough to make a quick return to Threar if she needed to. There was no sign of her niece though nostalgia certainly hit her. The last time she had been here the lands had still been owned by Sawtooth. There was of course no sign of that pack now, the members had scattered and to be honest it pained her that she had no idea where the majority of them were. It wasn't quite the happy memories she had sought, but ones that left her longing to see her family again. She should have given up, just turned around and gone back to Threar but something held her there for a little longer, eyes wandering over the once familiar lands as her feet carried her slowly across them.

The tuneful gurgle of moving water rose like a chorus around the honeyed figure. Irelyn moved tentatively, legs slightly bent – she was almost creeping through the delta, as if afraid that some of the leaping droplets might encourage a great water monster to emerge and drag her down to the depths. Ire's heart pounded at the thought of rushing water covering her, drumming in her ears. Her ears flattened, but in spite of her anxieties the golden wanderer pressed on, ever careful, ever watchful, and always sure to keep a foot or two between her and the water.

A golden brown leaf drifted by, observed in silent interest. Irelyn drew to a halt, the tip of her tail switching as she remembered days – now long gone – spent chasing the autumn leaves, counting their many colours and wondering where they went. Irelyn knew now that they simply fell to the ground and turned into mulch with winter's kiss. Winter – that was a worrying thought. The coldest season would soon arrive and Irelyn, without a pack, would have to be even more careful in order to survive.

Her misty green eyes were still locked onto the twirling, dancing leaf – but refocusing them, Ire saw a figure. Had she been moving, she would have frozen in place; as it was, her ears perked for a moment before retreating towards her skull. Interest still glowed in those avocado eyes, but Irelyn remained still, inwardly debating the merits and pitfalls of approaching a stranger.

Novella's little wishes wouldn't entirely distract her from the real world. Though there was no sign of a single former Sawtooth wolf, not even her niece there was one figure that would catch her attention now. It certainly wasn't some daydream, a residue trick of her longings to see her family or anything like that; she had never seen this wolf before. Novella's own steps stopped now as the pair noticed each other. It wasn't so much fear that froze the Author in place however, she had of course heard of and even had the misfortune of meeting wolves that weren't quite so friendly though still she wouldn't jump to such harsh conclusions every time she met someone new. Instead she watched curiously, she seemed no immediate threat, that much was certain and Novella would offer the starts of a conversation. "Hello." A calm greeting, and no further steps were made to close the distance between them just yet. It had been a while since she had met another outside of her role of an alpha. They were on neutral ground now, this wasn't some visitor of Threar.

Irelyn teetered in the edge of a decision: to stay and accept the first encounter the universe had offered her in some time, or to flee. With her golden brown coat and leafy green eyes she could have tried to blend into her surroundings, but full camouflage was beyond her, and she would likely look more foolish than anything else, standing there pretending she hadn't been seen. She had been spotted by the other female, and there was no pretending she hadn't.

The pale female spoke – a single word, from which it was difficult to discern tone, although the word itself was one Irelyn knew to be a friendly opener. “Hello,” she responded in kind, giving a slight dip her of broad muzzle as a smile ghosted across her face. One rusty paw lifted to dangle a couple of inches from the ground in uncertainty.

Ire could either take the plunge and try to strike up a conversation or she could leave the greeting at that and walk on by. Something, some inner yearning for companionship, convinced her to do the former. She took a step forward, tail swaying slightly, and swallowed. “Nice day for it.” Mentally, Ire kicked herself. A nice day for what, exactly – to make awkward conversation?

If either of them had a chance of blending in though it was certainly Irelyn though Novella probably would have found it rather odd had she suddenly attempted to hide now. Foolish perhaps wouldn't be the word to use though, either rude or very timid. Novella would have hoped for the latter in some respects though wouldn't exactly have been able to find out either way really if the stranger really didn't want to co operate. That scenario wouldn't happen though, the other instead politely responding to her greeting. Novella watched as the paw lifted, wondering if she was tempted to move closer though at this moment in time she wouldn't have objected to, the other didn't seem to be threatening after all. Both remained in their places however as the conversation continued, or at least attempted to do so anyway the comment was a rather bemusing one. "Yes." She agreed all the same, hoping that the slight confusion of the comment didn't bleed through into her tone. "I'm Novella Destruction by the way." Perhaps an introduction would help. It was worth a try.

Irelyn's shoulders dropped in visible relief when her slightly odd remark went by without comment, and she managed to produce a smile and restore her paw to the ground, half a step closer. The introduction was more appreciated than Ire would let on. She could do this; introductions had a certain order and level of predictability to them which the guarded female could play along with easily enough, hiding her anxieties beneath chirpy words which belied her: “Irelyn Draíocht.” she managed, offering a swift bob of her head to the snowy she-wolf. Ire's unease was settling now, reshaping itself into natural curiosity; Novella seemed benign in her intentions and the more skittish female was comforted by the distance maintained between them. “I don't s'pose you know where I could find some lavender?”

stock: The-strawberry-tree@dA + Dawnthieves

Irelyn didn't appear to be an overly confident wolf, she'd made no real effort to close the space between them and hadn't exactly gone running full pelt into some lively conversation or even made the first little steps to beginning one, simply responding each time Novella spoke. Even with all that in consideration however the golden toned woman simply came across as a little shy, the Author had certainly dealt with far worse nerves and had even gone through her own recent state of difficulty, those struggles were even less evident than Irelyn's now though. Now would come the Irelyn's chance to lead the conversation somewhere, taking the courage to ask a little question of her own though it was nothing personal at all, a simple subject though not one that Novella was 100% certain that she could answer. Though she noticed things about the lands around her, she hadn't always looked out or taken note of specific plants. Could she find some lavender here? Sorrel probably would have known where best to find it, of course though he wasn't here and she doubted that Irelyn would want to wait for him to show up or of course if the boy even would appear to help. "I'm not too sure, perhaps there could be some further from the water. I could help you look if you wanted?" She had nothing else to do here after all though still found herself a little reluctant to simply leave. Perhaps the search would show some trace of Arivae, some clue as to where the girl may have gone.