The wolves she had encountered in Asteraia had given her much to think about, though she hadn’t initially thought it had been the type of encounter to do so. During it, she had been busy minded in an attempt to dance to their song and avoid any pitfalls they had set, but she hadn’t expected to leave the borders of the plains with more than a rapid pulse. Somehow, she had though. Something or nothing? Something or nothing. What had she been, what was she then, and now? She had been a daughter, a sister, a princess, a refugee in Diveen, a loner...was she still all those things? If she had been hoping for answers, she knew she’d likely not find them in the free lands or while tucked away in the crags and grottos by herself. She had been wanting to...put it off for longer, but it seemed that unless she wanted to be up each night itching with questions, she’d have to face it sooner rather than later. So, face it she did.

What had she been expecting? As she paced along the game trail, she thought on that very question. Summer made the stones that peeked through the grass warm, and the mountain itself seemed to radiate warmth; summer flowers peeked from between rocks; birds whistled in the pines and firs; she could see the faintest slither of snow on the highest peaks, a reminder that winter was only resting. The borders still had their game trails, meeting and parting as they did, and she could still smell the familiar scent of her family - she had paused several times just to breathe it in. Visenya wasn’t sure it was true, but she could have sworn the mountain wolves had become one with the mountain, their wolfish scent mixed forever with the scent of meltwater and warm stone...

How much had she changed though? With that in mind, she looked down at her paws, then turned here and there to look over herself with furrowed brows. She had entered adulthood and grown lean and athletic in physique; she could see the muscular curve of her shoulder beneath her summer fur, and her shadow showed her the length of her legs, the ‘too large’ ears, a long muzzle. She could see the hints of scars beneath the black and chocolate of her fur, though none ever seemed too obvious to her. But she had certainly changed from the child she had been so long ago; she wondered if her family would know her face, her eyes...her. She sighed, then frowned at herself. What was the point of worrying about that? she asked herself silently. They either did or they didn’t, and if they didn’t? Well, she could speak, couldn’t she?

With that, she shook her head and began to lope along the trail once more. This time, she diverged from her initial path and moved up a new one towards where the true boundary of Spirane lay. She called for her kin as she moved, a drawn-out howl that ended with a question. Who ruled the peaks now? Her mother, a brother, a sister even?