When she had left the castle that morning, there had been some cloud cover shading the world in silver lighting. The air was thick with humidity and it made it seem unusually warm. A sense of heightened pressure left a feeling of heaviness, but even still, it still seemed to be a nice day and she wanted to take advantage of it. Without much thought, Talyssa took to the plains outside the castle bounding through the tall grasses- pursuing the game trails where she could as she sought out any points of interest. May it be a flash of color or a sparkle in the dirt that caught her short attention.

By early afternoon, a dreadful wind had picked up. The sterling morning clouds had thickened into something darker- something a little more oppressive. However, Taly was far more focused on the ground beneath her paws than the sky overhead. But when the realization finally set that there had been a shift in tone, her pale blue gaze drifted to the sky. It left her wondering just what was in store for them this afternoon.

"Rain," A strong, no-nonsense voice called out to the girl. Iolaire had come across the pup staring up into the ever clouding sky. A seasoned navigator would know that a burst of heavy rain was on the way, but a novice would likely think that perhaps they were in for a little sprinkle. This was not the case. Iolaire was most likely considered an old woman by most, and her journey through life had definitely made her look older than she was. The fae was slim and wiry, but not unhealthy looking in the slightest. A vast difference from her last visit to the castle, not that this young child would know that.

The tri-colored fae approached the girl, looking up to the sky as well, gesturing with a set of her oddly dexterous digits. "Do you see how heavy the bottoms of the clouds look? Full of water." The fae's smokey tail lashed back and forth much like that of an annoyed fox, though she wasn't annoyed at all. "It's going to rain buckets in a moment. Shelter would be ideal." Io's gold and green gaze scanned their surroundings until they landed upon a small hill with an overhang. "This will do unless you want to get soaked." Without waiting, the lithe old woman picked her way through the plains and towards the overhang where she seated herself beneath it. Just then, a touch of thunder rumbled through the land and Iolaire nodded to herself before fixing her piercing gaze upon the pup. "And who are you?"

"Iolaire"

The girl had been so invested in her storm cloud watching, the feminine tone of a displaced, yet confident voice rendered her entirely off guard. Talyssa jumped in surprise as her pale blue gaze flashed to the strange monochromatic fae that approached. While she did not recognize the woman, she acted as if she belonged. So ... she must have.

Rain. Of course she knew it was going to rain. However, the idea that there was more to know about the clouds that could be told by simply observing them was a curious thought. Talyssa followed the woman's gesture to acknowledge what she was talking about. She had never thought to describe a cloud as seemingly heavy. But as it was pointed out to her, she nodded along. They did look heavy after all. Perhaps that was the pressure she felt in the air.

When the woman advised that they seek shelter, her mind immediately returned to the castle. After all, her home had been the only shelter she had ever considered. However, her attention was guided to an overhang carved from the side of one of the hills, in which she quickly complied. Just as was predicted, a roll of thunder echoed from overhead.

"Talyssa Carpathius." She responded lightly, offering her name when prompted. However, she had more questions than answers at this point, and wasn't content to leave the opportunity for information alone. "How can you tell the storm is so close?" She asked curiously, looking up at her unlikely companion.  

As the young pup moved beneath the overhang beside Iolaire, the rain began just as predicted. The girl gave her name and Io squinted at her, trying to recognize whose child she might be. She imagined it was either the offspring of Rudyard or Artorias. Either way, the pup held her family name and so they were related. "Well, Talyssa, I'm your Aunt Iolaire." She wasn't sure if she'd been mentioned but it didn't really matter. The conversation shifted onto more interesting things.

Talyssa asked how one could tell that a storm was so close and Io lifted a paw, tapping her blue-hued nose with one dexterous digit. "You can smell a storm before it arrives. The air starts to smell thicker and more earthy as a storm moves in." Io then tapped one obsidian ear. "You can hear far off thunder. The closer together the rumbles are, the closer the storm." Instead of tapping herself this time, Iolaire tapped the girl gently right between the eyes. "Use your eyes. Always watch the clouds. If they're dark and look heavy, they're usually full of water."

As the rain hammered down around them, Io looked out into the grey curtain of water. "And, when it rains this heavy, it usually doesn't last for long." The wiry old wolf flashed a pristine white grin as the rain already began to taper off. "We're going to have muddy paws, but that's just fine." The rain petered out to a sporadic sprinkling and Iolaire stepped out into it, pulling her skull in the direction of the castle. "Shall we head back?" She imagined the girl might have more questions and she was glad to answer them.

"Iolaire"

And just as the older woman had predicted, the rain began just as soon as they were able to retreat to cover. Talyssa didn't pay much attention to the brief moment of silence that followed her introduction- that pale gaze of hers was stuck on the shower of rain as it cascaded against the surrounding plains. But when Iolaire introduced herself as a relative, a grin tugged at her lips in cautious enthusiasm. The name didn't sound familiar to her, but she knew both sides of her family were large. So she had no problem accepting this new bit of information as truth. However, she couldn't help but wonder just how they were related. "Are you my mother's sister- Briar Fatalis? Or my father's- Artorias?" Since her last name was her father's, she didn't think it was necessary to include it in her inquiry.

As Iolaire went on to describe the signs of rain, she committed the information to memory. The heaviness of the air made sense, and she knew what thunder was- that it accompanied rain. However, she didn't know the time between each rumble could gauge how far away it was.  When she felt her aunt's gentle touch, she couldn't help the playful grin that ensued. Though it led her to return her gaze to the clouds overhead. They were indeed dark and heavy. Obviously full of water as the noisy drizzle indicated.

By the time her aunt explained that heavy rain wouldn't stay heavy for long, it had already begun to lighten. "A little mud never hurt anyone." Talyssa answered in agreement. At the invitation to return, the young girl gave a quick nod. "Of course, let's go." She tilted her head back to look up at the clouds as they left their cover. Hopefully, the rain wouldn't pick up again before they could make it to the castle. "I bet Daddy will be excited to see you!" She said in her own excitement. She knew she would be happy to see her siblings again after time spent apart.