Warm winds drifted lazily through the towering pines, causing branches overhead to sway in soft, uneven waves. The ground beneath Oasis’ paws was cool with packed earth and moss, interrupted by sprawling roots and clusters of ferns that brushed against her legs as she passed. The air carried the rich scent of pine sap and damp wood, mingling with the distant sounds of rustling leaves and birds hidden somewhere high.

The murmuring of a masculine voice eventually reached her ears, dragging her concentration from nature and onto the muffled syllables. Her pace slowed slightly, and a brow lifted towards her forehead– perplexed when a response wasn’t relayed back to Fenrir in conversation. Silence had claimed the forest once more, curiosity nudging her forward.

She quietly shifted direction, weaving between thick roots and scattered stones as she followed the sound. The breeze tugged gently through her fur while the voice grew clearer with every step, until eventually the trees began to thin enough for the stranger to come into view.

Fenrir.

Heterochromia eyes, one pale blue and the other a soft green, settled on the large male to catch him leaping down from the boulder he’d perched on moments earlier. Momentum pausing, Oasis revealed her whereabouts within a patch of sunlight– golden and already ignited. “I’m sorry, but who are you talking to?” The Mackenzie Valley Wolf questioned him, amusement spreading across her features in one fell swoop.

He was definitely striking up a discussion with himself.