Alone, that’s what the child was. Not that she seemed to pay that fact much mind, though. The russet girl wandered the beach, her round, soft paws kneading the sand beneath. She looked down at the glittering obsidian that stretched all the way around the edge of the continent, goggled eyes wide in childlike wonder. Now, this place was one of the coolest she’d ever encountered on her adventure! She smiled widely, white-tipped tail wagging in delight as her scientific talents came into play. She combined the art of entertainment with her own research - the research really just to scoop up the sand in her slightly too-large paws and watching the grains sift through her toes. As it blew away, not bothering her rich cinnamon eyes thanks to the goggles (she was a tad nearsighted, or farsighted? Not that she’d know), she hopped back on all fours and skipped merrily by the tide, a soft giggle bubbling from her lips every so often as the water lapped her legs. Clearly, her having suffered the tragic loss of her parents due to the oozing illness that had come and gone hadn’t dampened her innocent demeanor.

She had found herself on this strange black beach, the granules of sand not feeling like normal sand, and after swiping her paws through it and letting it sift between her toes it felt a bit more... sharp than normal sand? Whatever it was, it looked interesting, and she could see herself coming back here to collect some of it, either to display on her home where she lived, or to trade it with someone for another mystifying item. Her deep thought was broken up by the sound of a a giggle from what could only be a young wolf, as no self-respecting older wolf would be caught dead making such sounds unless they were very comfortable with themselves. She looked around until she spotted the form of another wolf, and could see from where she sat further up on the shoreline that they were skipping happily, almost ecstatically alongside the tide. They seemed very young, and couldn't be older than a year old, but she had also never been very good at figuring out the ages of young pups and yearlings. Inoki stayed sitting in her position, watching the russet-hued wolf for a few moments before calling out to them. "You got anyone around nearby looking after you?" She wouldn't want to intrude on any parents or guardians who were raising the young wolf, but at the same time wondered where they could be, as from what she could tell it was just the two of them out on the strange black beach.

As the small girl skipped about, paws springing up and down upon the rolling, lazy waves, a voice called out to her. The girl promptly paused and turned her head to look at the source, finding a grown-up wolf had spoken to her. Tilting her goggled face, Zoey spurred her little body towards the woman, though stayed a bit at a distance. Her parents taught her about others wolves’ ‘personal bubbles’, meaning she couldn’t just bump into anybody. She had to respect their space and she did just that. Her parents taught her a lot in such a short time, and not even six months in age, she held out on her own. The lady had asked her if she had anyone nearby looking after her. She shook her head. "No! I’m all by myself," She said, still smiling though what she;d say next was quite sad. "Um..my parents used to look after me, but during the really long nighttime, mushrooms grew on them and they died. So I’m just exploring now. And I’m gonna stay happy ‘cause that’s what they would want!" Though her mother and father weren’t with her in person, she understood they were always watching to guide her and be of comfort in some way - though she had no understanding of the toll the loss would take once the naïvete of adventure wore off. Not yet, though. The girl’s fiery amber eyes sparkled brightly, innocently, tail wagging softly. Perhaps this wolf could be her friend before she moved on elswhere. There was so much to see and find, of course!

The child began to almost sprint in her direction, but stopped a fair distance away, and had she not Inoki would've been worried about her potentially running up to strangers who wouldn't be as kind as her towards a child on their own. But at least they seemed to have some sense about them. At first the girl's words confused her, but then realisation set in. This girl was an orphan, and it sounded as if her parents had perished with the sickness. This poor child, she looked so young, too young to be all on her own. But strangely the girl seemed... cheerful? "I'm Inoki," she said with a warm smile, hoping to get a name from the child in response. They could be a little chaotic at times, particularly at younger ages, and at the very least she wanted a name in case something happened to her. "Do you have a plan of where you're going?" Perhaps she could convince the girl to stick with her for a short time, at least until Inoki was sure she had the skills to properly look after herself. But she knew there would be no forcing the child to do something she didn't want to, and she had no real idea on how to even be a parental figure, even though she was fond of kids.

Zoey knew she was supposed to be sad. Her parents were gone..dead. And she knew what death was even at her age, because she had seen it right there and then. The memory of her mother and father’s corpses, the luminescent mushrooms overgrowing on their forms..it would send a shudder down anyone’s spine. A tragedy so young, but the girl had yet to process it fully. That would come at a later time, or when she’d least expect it. Poor thing. However, her cheerful and curious nsture was not diminished in the least. As the grown-up in front of her introduced herself as Inoki, the russet-furred child grinned and replied, "Nice to meet you, Inoki! That’s a pretty name. I’m Zoey!" Her tail wagged as she glanced at the woman from head to toe, curiosity shimmering behind the glass lenses on her eyes. When the nice lady Inoki asked where she was going, the child glsnced behind her, towards the horizon, then back at the woman herself. A soft pause filled the air. Where was she going, anyways? She didn’t really keep track of what lands she would explore yet. Each place she’d encountered had their own cool plants, animals, and bugs to look at and hunt, so she supposed it depended on where resources were most abundant. That was the survival skill she’d been taught by her parents, as well. "Hm..I dunno. I don’t really have a plan. I just..go!" Zoey said, her sentence ending in a chirpy, energetic tone. She didn’t really know where she was going, and furthermore she didn’t really understand that is was highly abnormal for a pup her age to be exploring the lands all alone without a pack or family.

Her tail thumped in response, smile widening into a proper grin as she stared at the young pup. "Thanks! Your name is very pretty too." At least the girl had manners, as she knew when she had been a pup herself that manners had been one of the last things she thought about. She was very energetic, almost exhaustingly so, and Inoki suddenly felt a glimmer of understanding at what her parents would've had to go through to keep her and her siblings under some form of control. "Well as long as you keep going I'm sure you'll be fine." It was then she looked over the young girl with a scrutinising gaze, less focused on her fur and more drawn to the strange pair of glasses over her eyes. Were they purely cosmetic, or there for a reason? "I like your glasses," she said with some curiosity, ears flicked forward to catch the girl's response. Perhaps they had been a gift from her parents before the sickness got them?

Zoey grinned as the woman did when she mentioned how pretty her name was. "Thanks! My parents named me that ‘cause they thought I was pretty as a flower in the autumn sun..something like that!" The orphaned child retained quite a few memories at this point of her parents, though many of them eould soon fade into oblivion as more recent memories took place. That was just how life worked, along with the passage of time. The girl knew she couldn’t hang on to every precious moment of her parents forever, but they’d still have an eternal place in her heart for sure. They said she was their ray of sunshine, a blessing from the stars..she was clearly a great gift to them. They never minded her energy, either, still smiling at how she bounced around and giggled at the shimmering sights during that long nighttime and they were growing sicker. Even before they passed they still made sure she was cared for even if they didn’t touch her directly. Their affections for their only child clearly overcame any concerns for her nearly infinite energy and enthusiasm. However, others she’s encounter in life would likely find her a tad suffocating - fine with her! She only knew how to be herself. Zoey nodded vigorously at Inoki’s suggestion. "Yep! My mom and dad said if I just keep going in a straight line, I can alwasy retrace my steps and I won’t get lost!" Not literally, of course - the girl had more than likely gone in zigzags every which way as she got sidetracked by various bugs and critters she’d encountered.

The ebony-furred adult then pointed out her goggles. The russet child grinned, tail wagging and swishing the sand beneath her as she touched her goggles with one paw. "Thanks! I couldn’t see too well so my dad made them for me. He said they were magic goggles that help me see better!" Of course, as she would grow older she’d know it was the variation in the curvature of the glass that allowed her eyes to see better, and not pure magic, but why tell a child all that boring stuff? She grinned, though her cheerful gaze dulled a slight bit at the mention of her father, the one who succumbed just after her mother. He’d given the goggles to her after noticing she was bumping into things, and she complained her vision was blurry. After the goggles, she was able to see as clearly as any wolf. Just after her gift, though, he’d grown ill rapidly. It was a cheerful thing to receive these goggles..but her parents’ deaths not long after dulled the magic a little.

The child seemingly had no limitation to her excitement, but given her dire situation it was probably for the best. At least for now, until the child could better understand the gravity of the situation she was in. "Well you do look a bit like an autumn leaf!" With Zoey's auburn fur she looked like a leaf that was almost ready to fall off the branch at the peak of autumn. Inoki chuckled softly at the child's next words. Even with going in a straight line, pups were notorious for still getting lost, but this one seemed smart enough to be able to brave the world on her own. At least it was nearly summer where prey would be plentiful enough for even a young wolf to find food. "That sounds like some good advice." Her head tipped to the side curiously, wondering why Zoey struggled with her vision. The knowledge of being born with poor eyesight was foreign to her, as she was only aware of vision loss being due to damage from a fight or an accident, and the child didn't seem to have any injuries on her. "They seem to be working very well for you, and I bet all the other pups will think you're cool for having a pair of fancy glasses." Kids liked to be cool, right? She hadn't bothered with all that herself when she was younger, preferring to be off by herself making her own fun, but she guessed most children wanted to be admired by their fellow age-mates.

Zoey nodded in agreement to the woman’s comment about her looking like an autumn leaf. That’s qhat her parents always said, and she’d never argue with them for a second. They were always right - in fact, they encouraged her to speak the whole truth, and be honest to herself and others. That meant she also had to be upfront woth her love for science, something her parenrs engraved into her all well. The girl adjusted her goggles and grinned as she said, "Yeah! Did you know that theres this stuff in leaves that makes them green? And then when they fall off trees, they can’t make that green stuff anymore? That’s when they turn orange and red like my fur!" She beamed, clearly proud of her knowledge. As she got older she’d know the more comprehensive details about how the world worked. Inoki’s encouraging comment about her following her parents’ advice to keep moving in a straight line made her feel that much smarter. "My parents were super smart and they gave me the best advice. That’s why I’m smart, too!"

After the woman’s curious comment about her goggles, Zoey shrugged. She hadn’t met many children that wandered alone. Mostly the children she’d glimpsed at had the scent of packs on them, and her parents sakd pack territory, or any pack wolf for that matter, was a big no-no. They seemed terrified themselves telling her that - she never understood why packs were so scary. Thus, no kids could really comment on her interesting headgear. They did work well, though - she was able to see anything near and far with the same clarity as any non-goggles wearing wolf. "They’re cool for sure! I just don’t really know any pups I could play with.." She replied, glancing off towards inland. She kmew there had to be pups like her out there that wanted friends, too. She’d fine them..she hoped.

Her muzzle canted to the side curiously at the child's words, smiling down at her. She was aware there was something specific that made leaves green, but hadn't been expecting the girl to know. Her parents had clearly taught her well, and it was a shame that they had died while she was so young. But alas, life wasn't always easy, as Zoey had learned the heard way. A soft laugh escaped her at the child's declaration of being smart. "I'd daresay you're smarter than I am!" Especially compared to when Inoki had been a pup... she had definitely not been the brightest of the bunch. Her attempt to 'fit in' and act like she knew what pups got up to fell a little flat as Zoey told her she didn't know of any pups her age. Well that was simply preposterous! No child should grow up without someone to play with. She'd be affronted for the child, even though Zoey didn't seem to bothered by that fact. "I'm sure if you head inland you'll find others your age. I don't know of any myself, but you seem the exploratory type." Maybe that could prompt the child to find a pack to settle down in, as even though Inoki liked kids well enough, she wasn't sure how well she would do as a mother. So many responsibilities! She shuddered internally at the thought.