It was nice to be out of that forest, back in a stable area, and back in a place that she was familiar with. She’d become accustomed to the Grove and the Wildwood because that was where she’d spent most of her time, with some knowledge of Ghastly Woods and Heartleaf Creek and fairly scarce knowledge of Blackberry Fields and Stonewatch Timbers. Overall, she thought her knowledge was half-decent. Either way, she was back in the Grove, splitting off from Kerberos as they both spread out to look for dinner for the two of them… rather than being alone like she expected, she heard sounds of movement as she approached the river which had frozen over at that point.

She saw the girl, a pup by the looks of her and how she was behaving, sliding around on her chest, having slipped and fallen, a friendly smile on her features. “Are you alright? Where are your parents?” The last thing she wanted to do was step on toes with two others who were potentially dangerous, and especially not while Kerberos was off looking for food in a different part of the Grove. She would never underestimate the way a mother protected her young, especially with how fiercely her mother had protected her when she was little. “The ice can be dangerous… and it could break and you could slip through… it might not be the best idea for you to play on it.” She was fairly certain that with the temperature and how thick it appeared to be, there was little chance of that, but it was better safe than sorry. Maera had a side of her that she rarely showed... it'd stemmed from how she took care of Kael for the most part after they'd lost Papa, Pascal, and Lacey... and it was starting to show.

She was stubborn but confident in her abilities, and Maera could respect that… she’d been similar and it caused her smile to grow a little. She insisted that she was fine before explaining that her parents were nearby, that they were trying to figure out where to go from there and that her father had lived in the area… it was a lot of information to soak in. “I don’t blame him for wanting to return – it’s a very nice area.” She agreed though she couldn’t help but let out a light chuckle when the girl started to slide again. “It definitely is… I don’t know a wolf who could survive it without getting sick and with it being winter… sick is bad.” She was doing her best but honestly the last time she’d talked to a pup was when she was a pup. She didn't want to see this pup get in trouble, or sick like Lacey and Pascal... that was her motive for it.

Then she got that question in return and she shrugged, keeping her frame relaxed as she plopped her butt in the snow. “I’m here with my friend. We’ve been staying in the area… there’s a forest near here but I like the grove. It’s relaxing so I come here often.” She explained in the simplest manner possible. “I almost fell through the ice on my first couple days here.” She admitted softly – she’d been alone at the time and thankfully she’d been close to the bank… she was debating crossing it to get to the other side faster but evidently it hadn’t worked out so she’d taken the long way around.

She had to admit children were strange in the way they trusted so blindly… or maybe that was just her and the way she’d been raised… and truthfully it probably was just that. The girl was curious, and asked Maera if she and Kerberos were loners as well and she gave a gentle nod. “Yes, we both are. We’re travelling together because it’s easier to survive if you travel with others… it helps you take down larger prey which can feed everyone more efficiently.” The girl had told her that they were new to the loner life, had she not? Or at least, that was what she felt the girl had implied from the way she spoke about loners, and about how they were looking for a new home across the mountains.

Either way, she doubted Treyah would be in this good of shape or this adventurous if she’d been raised in the life of a lone wolf. Then again, Maera was crazy so what did she know? She then made a comment that visibly took Maera back. She wasn’t use to getting that one. “My friend, his name is Kerb… he’s nice, a lot nicer than me… he likes to play with others, unless they make him mad and then he can get a little defensive.” Memories took her back to the day before, when he nearly went to tear Kobe’s fur out in the Ghastly Woods.

“And, he doesn’t quite see it, but he’s really good at finding food… he’s just not confident in himself and his abilities.” Was she seriously talking about this with a pup? Wow, she needed to get a life.

Maera had to admit, she was curious… sometimes she was convinced her lonerdom had less to do with problems with authority and more to do with the wild and untamed curiosity that she felt sometimes. She mentioned a brother, two parents… and someone named Leotie… it was sounding more and more like a pack by the moment and it had her nervous, on edge even. Her mom was old, but she mentioned nothing of the age of everyone else. Perhaps she’d need to change locations sooner than she thought, especially if they were planning to stay in the area for longer than a couple days.

She needed more information, first and foremost, but she wasn’t about to let the child in on that because she had a feeling the girl was more keen than she might let on. She asked if she wanted to meet her dad and maybe hunt with them. She thought about it for a few moments and she saw it - opportunity. She put an uncertain look on her face. “I don’t know that your dad wants to meet with me. I’ve been told I’m very difficult to get along with, and that I might have a tiny problem with authority.” Perhaps that would answer her question – whether or not her dad was authority or not.

She let that hang in the air for a few seconds before she finished her thought. “But, if you really want me to… then I’d be willing to meet with him, and I could bring Kerb along too. He isn’t too far from here.” She found it odd that this girl’s father would just let her wander like she did, especially if they were lone wolves. She knew the importance of keeping young close, even if she’d never had any herself.