As I bounded towards her, I noticed the moment of hesitation in her gaze. But this did not cause me to give pause. I followed through with my actions, and was answered with the playful posture of the shewolf I had greeted. Delighted by her acceptance of my invitation to play, I rose and pushed my nose to the sky, letting the snow she had flung at me cascade down across my head. My eyes closed and I laughed aloud, turning to engage with the smaller girl once more. As she leapt towards me, I circled with her, and both of us seemed to pause in synchrony. As she stretched forth to take in my scent I reached forward to take in hers. There was very little of Moladion on her – no pack, and yet nothing of the freelands other than the woodlands we now shared. A newcomer to Moladion, or so it would seem. It truly made no difference to me.

Once that brief moment had passed, I dug a forepaw into the snow and scooped up some of the powder, flinging it towards my newfound companion. Bounding through the snow, I gave chase for a few moments, then turned and fled from her for a couple strides. I paused, tail erect and waving happily in the air. Once more I splayed my front paws and the entirety of my hindquarters seemed to wave with anticipation. Suddenly I ran at her again, and at the last moment I dodged to the side, throwing myself into the air and collapsing into the snow, once more laughing whole heartedly. My tongue lolled from my mouth as I gazed up at the femme before me, watching her reaction to my carefree nature.

My laugh ebbed away, leaving only a smile on my face and a look of sudden realization. This was the first time, in a long time, that I had laughed. Truly laughed. How long it had been since the last time I had laughed this way was uncertain, I just knew now it had been far too long. Front paws dangled over my chest as I lay belly up in the snow, head cocking slightly to the side as I lay there panting from the excitement.

“Thank you, stranger.” I said, grinning and remaining exactly where I was. Surely the game was far from over, but I would leave the next move up to her. It was hardly normal for me to expose myself in such a way to another wolf – loner or otherwise. Such could hardly be seen as befitting of a queen. But at the moment, I didn’t really feel like a Queen. I felt like more than that, and at the same time just a wolf passing through the woods, enjoying everything that life had to offer me.