The rustling of wind through the trees,

The birds chirping their morning songs,

The sounds of another day beginning.

Cayde opened his eyes, quickly sitting up and looking up at the trees, his gaze shifting to some of the leaves that fell from time to time.

He then turned to look at the lake that he had slept beside, remembering the stranger who had spoken to him and seemingly vanished at this very lake.

What was her name? What did she really want? Why was she following him for so long?

With a sigh, Cayde shook his head and looked around to see if she was around again, just for good measure. Upon seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he nodded to himself and began to trek onward, continuing the journey to the shrine.

At this shrine, there would be much to discover... about Kimlasca, about himself, about the land around him... and so much more.

Cayde didn't know it now, but what he would find at the shrine would alter the course of his grand journey, and alter something much bigger...

Wandering through the forest, Cayde glanced around, admiring the area, not noticing much that was worth stopping and looking at for an extended period of time. So, he simply pressed onward, eventually letting his mind wander to memories of the past.

...

He thought about friends. Friends who he was able to see more frequently before they began to grow older and their own journeys unfolded before them.

Yes, a pack was a pack, and Cayde would always call his packmates his friends, but as Cayde and his friends grew older, from pups to young adults, those old times where each day was focused on minimal responsibility, and maximum fun and happiness.

He thought about the activities he got himself in with friends, he thought about seeing places around the pack for the first time, he thought about the trouble he got into from time to time, like all young creatures.

Now, Cayde and his friends were old enough to walk their own paths, start their own journeys, whether it be by simply becoming a brave adventurer, or settling down with a lover, or something different.

Cayde still spoke with them often, but he knew that things weren't the same as when he was a pup. However, Pahanin was somebody who he always spoke to. Why? What brought them to stick together all this time? Not because he was the Wolf of Harmony, not because he was an aspiring Alpha wolf, but was it something else?

Love?

Cayde didn't know, but time would tell, like many other things.

...

He pondered on many different thoughts, memories and events, both current and old. This helped keep him occupied through most of the day. He was getting closer to his destination now. It wouldn't be much longer now until he found the shrine.

Kimlasca was right, he really did feel as if he was able to just sense that he was heading in the right direction. Perhaps it was the energy of Kimlasca resonating within Cayde, or perhaps it was Cayde's own energy... reacting to Kimlasca's energy in the shrine far away... perhaps that was what was guiding him to the shrine.

Eventually, the day was reaching its end, but the colors of the sunset in the sky were blocked out by a cloudy sky. It seemed like these were rain clouds, so Cayde wanted to find a place to seek shelter for the night. Otherwise it would be a very unpleasant and rainy night.

Cayde continued on his way as the sky darkened some more, from both night falling, and the clouds getting darker.

"Pssst, hey!"
A voice whispered to Cayde's left.

Immediately, his ears perked up and he looked over to the left, seeing somebody standing there in between a few bushes.

"Huh? Who are you?" Cayde asked, tilting his head, feeling a drop of rain hit his snout, causing him to jump ever so slightly at the sudden cold drop of rain.

The wolf had a smile and giggled, gesturing Cayde to follow her, "Follow me! It's starting to rain. By the looks of it, you've got quite a luscious coat of fur, I don't think you'd want it to be soaked in fur." The wolf commented, backing up into the bushes and turning around, walking further back.

The wolf glanced back, "You comin? Mother nature isn't gonna wait on you before it starts raining."

The voice was that of a female.

Cayde sighed, "I guess..." He said, walking into the bushes with her. Normally he wouldn't put his trust into a wolf he had just met, but it was starting to rain after all.

'What is it with wolves not answering my question about what their name is?'
Cayde thought to himself.

"Oh, I'm Anise by the way." She responded moments later.

'Oh.'
Cayde responded to himself.

"My name is Cayde, nice to meet you Anise." He replied.

"Likewise! Come on, keep going! We're almost there!" Anise told him.

"Where are we going anyway?" He asked.

"My den, of course! It's secluded, but it's just so I don't need to deal with potentially dangerous animals like bears... and also because I can just hunt from those bushes, I don't need to really go far. I just let something like a rabbit come to me! They never see me coming usually." She replied.

"Well, I guess it works well, I didn't even see you at first." He commented.

She giggled, "Well, glad to hear that my tactics are effective! There really aren't many other wolves around here ever, so seeing you is great!"

"Thank you, and I appreciate the hospitality." Cayde said.

"No problem! I love giving others a place to sleep for the night. Believe it or not, my home is quite a spacious cave! Plenty of room for well over a dozen guests!" She said.

He nodded at her comments, "That's very thoughtful of you."

"Mhm! Well..." She paused and made it through the patch of bushes, waiting for Cayde to stop beside her. Once he did, she continued speaking.

"Here we are! Home sweet home." She told him, looking around. Anise was right, this was quite a big cave just from the outside! And it was secluded as well, hidden away by natural bushes, vines, moss, and of course, trees.

The rain was intensifying now.

"Come on in! Before it starts to pour." She said, walking into her cave. Cayde followed shortly after.

Cayde was happy to meet Anise, she seemed like a bright and cheerful wolf. Plus, she was very open to hospitality, and Cayde was thankful for that.

Although, he wanted to know Anise a bit more. It was the polite thing to do after all.

So there was a good chance that he wouldn't be getting sleep right away, but that was alright with him.

For now, Cayde sat down in her cave, awaiting another conversation to start up when they both settled in.

Perhaps this was the turning point in his adventure, perhaps the remaining journey to the shrine would be much more eventful.

One thing was for sure though.

Cayde was getting closer and closer to the shrine.

And the grand adventure was only going to get bigger and bigger.