It was empty.

The branches of the undergrowth that riddled the forest still drug across her side as she wandered, and the shadows cast by the thick canopy still stole the warmth of the sunshine that, now and again, danced over her face and back. The ground beneath her paws was still damp, and the smell of the dirt - lost upon her for years- was still able to rouse that bittersweet sense of home in her heart. Physically, Secret Woodlands remained, but everything she'd once loved about it was gone. Gone with the wolves who had left it behind, her included. Gone with the family she'd known and loved once upon a time. Gone with time, as all things were.

She had travelled for weeks before finally crossing into Relic Lore for the first time since she was a child. She'd spared little time getting there, for she knew just how dangerous lands unknown could be to a wolf alone. But just after dawn the previous day she'd made her way back to Secret Woodlands in time to see the mysteriously beautiful forest cloaked in the light of a rising sun. From the border it was still as alluring as she'd remembered, but it wasn't until she forged her way in, pushing deeper and deeper into a place that was known to her and foreign all the same, that the disenchantment set in. This wasn't home anymore. But for the life of her, she still needed to see it for herself. At least one more time. After spending several hours seeing the sights - the old pack den where Nina had nursed her, the hollow beneath an ancient tree next to a trickling creek where Mirren had raised her, and all of the special places only she knew where she'd played and learned as a pup - Lyanna resigned to make the most of her solitary return and move on. As she crossed the southernmost border and paused to glance over her shoulder, she knew somehow that the visit there wouldn't be her last.

Today had been a new day, one that she's spent traveling just a litter further. As the sun began its descent, its light waning behind sheets of darkening clouds, it was the sound of trickling water that made her feel inclined to find somewhere safe to hunker down for the night. She and the land were cloaked in twilight as the winding Heartleaf Creek came into view. Its waters appeared dark, but the crests of its tiny waves were lined in silver and it was here on a modest bank that she finally came to rest. Her golden eyes took in every sight, her red-tipped ears angling forward and backward as she listened intently for any sign of life nearby. There was none, save for the trees and the birds that would flutter by now and again. With an easy sigh, the girl circled about a soft patch of grass beside the trunk of an old cedarwood until it was rustled to her liking before sliding to her belly in a moment of relief and peace.

The darkened clouds that had been looming for hours opened up, releasing the rain they'd promised. Drops of it splattered harmlessly on the tip of her nose, between her soft amber eyes, on the tips of her ears and on down her back. Lyanna welcomed this, inclining her muzzle just so as what penetrated her coat slid effortlessly down along her skin. Just enough to wash her restlessness and exhaustion away. Shifting herself closer to the tree that offered her shelter, she laid her muzzle upon her dirtied paws, closed her eyes and drifted easily to sleep.

As she dreamed, it was the sound of rustling grass that began to rouse her from her slumber. Her brows pulled together in resistance at first, but it was his voice that caused her to awaken - and in a hurry. Startled, her head popped right up, her golden eyes wide with surprise at the sight of a dark figure standing so closely. She blinked several times in an attempt to get a good look at him and quickly rose to her feet.

It wasn't his stature, but his boyish, benevolent-sounding voice that gave his youthful age away. For a split second she was thankful to have been caught off guard by someone who appeared to pose no danger. "Uhmm..." Her eyes took him in before glancing about to see that it was still raining. "...Yes, of course." It may have been a bit foolish to engage so easily with a complete stranger, but she'd been raised to be kind and if all else failed, she was capable of putting up fight. "It is lovely. There's room here." Motioning to the spot just beside her, she issued her invitation.

It was unclear how long she'd been asleep, but the rain hadn't ceased. The earth was wet, and the blades of grass that surrounded the pair shone in what light the moon above the clouds offered. While she rest she'd had did serve to refresh her, the girl still felt the ache of her travels in her bones.

The stranger made his way over and settled beside her. Lyanna noted his size before diverting her eyes out into the forest and to the rain that lulled her. After all, it was rude to stare. There was some comfort to be had in finally having some company after having spent weeks in the unknown wilderness alone. "-Lyanna," she replied. "You're welcome."

Daesamar went on to mention the presence of the coyotes. The stink of them here was noticeable, though the rain had served to wash most of it away for the time being. To the northwest where she'd come from, the wolves of the Vale had never really had a problem with the scavengers who tended to be more pesky than dangerous. But she deduced that he was right about the danger they posed here, if there truly were enough of them. She also noted the scent he wore, the way his coat revealed that he most likely belonged to a pack here. For a moment she wondered how many there were in this area, relatively.

"There's certainly something beautiful about the night. Perhaps it's the way it brings you closer to your dreams," she posed, a hint of a grin tugging at the corners of her lips. "Are you from around here, Daesamar?"

"Thank you."

Lyanna listened intently, immediately taking notice of the vagueness of his reply. Guarded, as a loyal wolf should be when it came to dishing out information about his pack. She'd been gone from here so long that she couldn't begin to identify the various notes of wolf and earth that subtly clung to his dark coat. In her weathered state she reckoned that, tonight, perhaps knowing that much about the stranger sharing her space wasn't terribly important after all. "I see." When he asked if she was from around here, she found it easy talk about her own roots. Nothing to hide or protect here. Yet.

"I come from the northwest as well - a large valley teeming with Redwoods. A pack that my grandparents established, actually, but it's my father who reigns there now." Her heart filled with pride and longing at the thought of Mirren. "...But I was born here, actually - Secret Woodlands, in the Thicket of Secrets. I left here many years ago and just recently returned. My father's side of the family lived in this forest for ages, many generations of Tainn wolves have lived and died here." She glanced at Daesamar warmly, briefly, before sliding to her belly as flash of lighting resonated in a faraway cloud. The girl's limbs ached and the pads of her large paws throbbed, the tiredness that resounded in every inch of her musculature screaming for rest. Yet her mind remained as resilient as it ever was, and she didn't mind making the most of this unexpected, perhaps welcomed encounter.

"-Not the best night to be far from home, huh?" she went on casually.

The lightning continued, the occurrence of it beginning to pick up some, and the sound of the canopies surrounding them shuttering in wind added to the white noise that was underlying the pair's conversation. A low clap of thunder bellowed in the distance. The calm shower that began hours ago was quickly becoming more of a downpour. Chilling gusts of northern wind whirred around them, pervasive and merciless as they whipped across her face and through her already wet, tawny fur. Who knew how long the looming storm would last, but it seemed as though Lyanna and Daesamar were in for a longer night than she'd anticipated.

To take her mind off of the deteriorating weather, she envisioned what the nighttime, mountainside sky he'd mentioned may have looked like. Deep navy and violet hues inked across the heavens as far as the eye could see. Streaks and swirls of lavender along the faraway horizon. Thousands of glimmering silver stars blanketing the sky from the peaks of a great range to eternity. The forest had its own sort of mystic beauty, in general and tonight certainly, but the mountains - those that bordered Sequoia Vale and those that towered over Relic Lore - had an unmistakable grandeur. Taking in a slow and deep breath, she searched his face for a moment as he mentioned sleeping together. She didn't know him, and for all he knew she could have been a murderous thing, beautiful like a venus fly trap and sweet and alluring until what could be his bitter end. For all she knew, he could be traitorous, too. But Lyanna had always been a fair judge of character, and intuition told her Daesamar was no threat to her tonight.

"I suppose you're right," she replied. Her voice was soft, but the look in her eyes dared him to try her or her trust as she watched him plop down beside her. When he settled, she shifted over closer to him and gingerly laid her head upon his side, nestling her cheek into his fur. Stranger or not, this set up beat the cold, wet grass, hands down. The rain hammering down around them, a yawn escaped her and she tiredly stared off into the forest. "A good night's rest will do us both some good, I'm sure. Hopefully the rain will let up by dawn." Casually kept, so the conversation went. "I think I'll head south from here. How about you?" The girl's eyes, pale in the night light, slowly blinked as she fought her sleepiness off just a bit longer.