I stared up at the sun / Thought of all other people, places and things I've loved / I stared up just to see / Of all other faces, you are the one next to me...

-- OneRepublic, If I Lose Myself Tonight

April 3rd; Just before sunrise; Partly Cloudy; 36° F/2° C

Of all the places Fenru Tainn could have started living with his new outlook on life, he chose a significant spot where his mother had once met a couple of pack leaders - Alexander from the Mountain and Jaysyek from Cedarwood Forest. The stories of Corinna hunting beavers and being graced by the pair of white-pelted rulers had never been forgotten, not even through all the trauma and taxing unhappiness. In fact, the tales of both encounters had always left him dreaming of visiting the place just to see for himself if he, too, would be granted such an occasion. He rose earlier than usual, made one sweep along a small portion of one of his normal patrol routes then trailed the River north where it eventually branched off to snake through the Wildwood.

The crisp Spring air, still chilled from the night before energized him as he scampered along with the creek to his right. An aperture in the clouds allowed the sun's first rays to peek through the trees and bathe Heartleaf Creek in a warm glow. He cast his orange eyes about the area, spotting in the distance the grand structure of an impressive beaver dam and a smile cracked on either side of his face. He had found it.

He broke into a run, sprinting across a shallow part of the creek and making his way toward the construction with hurried steps. Beaver musk faintly hung in the air, another reminder that breeding season had come and gone. He pressed his nose along the rough branches that just touched the riverbank before deciding that he would do well not to push his luck by startling or angering a territorial beaver. Large paws stepped along the muddy shore, stopping only when he felt he had given himself enough distance between his proposed resting spot and the dam.

Fenru continued to eye the landmark, still half-marveling at the large rodents' handiwork and imagining how his mother and the two ivory leaders had met, here, in this very spot. He found a decent spot in the smooth, timeworn pebbles and river stones and sprawled out, stretching his limbs as far as he could. Again, he cast his fiery eyes to the morning sun before closing them completely, savoring its warmth for the time being before the clouds could steal it away again.

When the youth opened his fiery eyes again, something approaching caught the corner of his eye. The auburn-dusted ears atop his head perked up in an inquisitive fashion, his whole head turning to eventually take in the dark figure of a large woman. The moment he looked over at her, she turned her own gaze away, pivoting away to eye the dam instead. His mind started to race. If Corinna had been graced by the likes of Relic Lore's leaders, was this lady one of them?

Was this... Was this @Elettra, the Willow sovereign?

He tried to remember how that particularly unpleasant late autumn memory had gone; most of the time his attention had been trained on making sure that the dead wolf cub he had found was not the same one he had befriended the season before. He found that all he remembered of the event, of Elettra, was fuzzy. She had rushed onto the scene and he could not even bring himself to look at her face... Not through all the emotion she had stirred up with the anguish in her voice, the possessiveness in her stance...

Fenru blinked curiously, watching the newcomer even if she had come to a halt. Since the removal of the Aniwaya wolves and coming and going of the war, in addition to his latest meeting with his mother about wanting to see the world for himself beyond her markers, the boy had become increasingly more outgoing. It was startling enough to make him second-guess himself every time he realized that he wanted to reach out and even initiate contact with others. Before, he would have waited to see if he would be acknowledged, maybe even considered while he waited patiently in silence.

Now far from the wallflower days behind him, he shifted to sit up. His eyes roving over her one more time prior to taking in the sight of the dam, a masterly crafted pile of sticks and mud. "Amazing, isn't it?" he queried, calling out to her in amiable tone, "And, to think that a couple of rodents built such a thing..."

Whether or not the wolf who had come into his midst was the leader he thought she was didn't matter. Either way, the young River wolf was quite taken with her. He had always hoped for the chance to meet someone here and here it was... and, upon first impression, she was every bit the savant he had hoped her to be. The single phrase tickled and teased at his ears.

Everything has its purpose...

His head tilted to one side, the spirit of inquiry flickering across his face. Did it? The edges of his brows, accented by the white eye spots above each auburn eye, touched one another. He had never thought of that before... Without the beavers, there wouldn't have been a dam to feature as Heartleaf Creek's prominent landmark. Without the dam, the creek might have been much larger, deeper, or possibly split into three different forks instead of two. It piqued his interest. If everything, even dams and beavers, had a purpose, then did he?

He rose to gather his feet beneath him, stepping in her direction but still keeping his distance. No matter how he tried to keep himself from joining her in her inspection of the stick-and-mud barrier, he couldn't help but to question her statement. "Even us?" he asked. "Do we have a purpose?"

Fenru's muscles tensed as if he felt the need to anchor him to something. To keep himself steady should the woman decide to make a 180-degree turn and snap back in response to his naivety. He thought back to that day when Ice, the once-subordinate of his mother's pack, had succeeded in bringing him out of the wordless, paranoid phase of his childhood. The taste in his mouth that the words left behind bordered on the edge of bitterness from realizing how unsure it made him feel. "If... If we do, how do we know what it is?"

She seemed to have been listening, even as she continued her examination of the dam; and, ever so patiently, he waited. He wasn't sure what he was particularly waiting for but he hoped it was, at the very least, a satisfying answer. What he got in return was a sagely nod, then another set of thought-provoking words: "you do not." His scowl became more conspicuous, the markings of his face lifting and angling to emphasize his expression. He shook his head, an assortment of other questions springing up to the forefront of his mind.

It was nearly dizzying but Fenru managed to hold his ground, slowly coming to sit at the edge of what he assumed was her personal space (a good meter or so from where she stood). Eager eyes and ears persisted on watching her, observing as she moved about the top of the dam. His ears partially lowered as his musings fell away and the concern for her choice of action took over. The woman wasn't overweight or corpulent per se, but from mere observation she could have easily been as hefty and maybe even nearly match him in size.

Rather than tell her to be careful or outright say that it wouldn't be wise to cross the creek by using the makeshift bridge, he held his tongue and mulled over what she had said once more. Her stating that they did not know their purpose, confirmed that they, particularly he had one. At present, he assumed he did not know what his purpose was, but maybe... maybe he knew. He just hadn't been ready to face it until now.

He then asked the most pressing question at the top of his list of questions. "Do we have several purposes?" he ventured, training his eyes on her every movement again. "Several tasks to fulfill before we accomplish a main one?" If his sense of curiosity had been able to manifest into a physical state, Fenru might as well have been at the mercy of four or five little cub versions of himself... nipping, biting and tugging at him in all directions. If she further affirmed that there were several purposes to be fulfilled, then he was more than likely standing at a gridlock.

He caught sight of her grimace, an apparent scowl now across her dark features. He slightly winced; maybe he had come a bit too close for her tastes. Her tone was bereft of emotion but as she looked at him his eyes roved over her face, focusing on each of her glacial blue-ringed pupils, her nose, the tips of her pointed ears, the bridge of her muzzle. Fenru nodded quietly as he made sense of what she had just said, allowed the sensation of enlightenment wash over him completely.

It made sense. It all made sense.

Of course he had a role in the lives of others... To @Kisla, he was but littermate, he was her support and advocate should she need him to be. To Rissa and Torrel, he was the failure of an older brother, the protector who had let them vanish under his watch; to @Aiyana, he was the opposite. He was the monster of a brooding, looming, and ever-vigilant sibling who would not dare to even let her slip from his mind. To @Ice, he was an apprentice, the promise of an upcoming Scout and Guard and the last of his generation to bear his absent father's surname. In some aspects, he was deemed the adopted son that Indru had left behind. To @Corinna, he was the affirmation of her ability to mother and nurture her family and bloodline. As a River wolf, was expected to find his place within his family's pack, a purpose and role he had yet to fully find.

Her last sentence made him cant his head to one side again and he watched as she leapt down from the beaver dam. He closed his eyes and braced himself, a few droplets finding their way onto his forelimbs, chest and even the tip of his nose. "Yes, ma'am," he answered her respectfully, righting himself again as he looked into the side of her face. "I am... Why do you ask?"