The morning had been unusually warm and sunny, drawing out the adventurousness in Apple’s heart, despite her generally bad mood. It was an excuse to get away from her family at least, to potentially explore something new and exciting in the spring pleasantness. With no particular goal in mind, she headed out, eventually finding herself in an entirely unfamiliar and strange looking forest.

For a short while, all her woes were forgotten, as she sniffed at the low hanging branches and explored the secluded spaces behind their curtains. It was almost like a fantasy world, complete with magically fluffy flowers and no other living things in sight.

Yet her adventure was interrupted suddenly, when grey clouds blocked out the sun. Seemingly out of nowhere, a rush of cold rain enveloped the brown pup, sending her scurrying for the relative shelter of a nearby willow tree – her fairy tale officially ruined.

”Speech" Thoughts

At least the willow-curtains made a pretty effective rain shield, though they did little against the cool gusts of wind that followed along with the shower. With an annoyed huff, Apolline was shaking out her own fur when the stranger suddenly appeared, startling her to freeze, leaving tawny fur bristling in all directions.

The dark man, by comparison, appeared very polished, even after shaking the water from his pelt. Not that appearance mattered all that much to the mud-pup, but the contrast was not lost on her either. Coppery eyes watched him calmly ready for any number of reactions, one ear turned forwards in mild curiosity.

Still, his matter-of-fact question came as somewhat of a surprise, her head tilting as she struggled with how to answer. Where did she come from? Her heart still wanted to say The Chasm, but the pragmatic part of her brain reminded her that that meant nothing anymore. Finally, she simply said: “Nowhere really,” a casual shrug accompanying her nonchalant tone; “What’s it to you?”  

”Speech" Thoughts