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"Nice to meet you, Anu," she said with a smile, lapping a few more mouthfuls of the dark red wine she had chosen to begin with. Did Anu have a longer name that she omitted, too? It didn't matter. Anu seemed to know more about the drinks, and chose a bottle of her own, one of the lighter ones there. The drink had an interesting flavour, unlike anything she had tried before. It was a rich, heavy bouquet, with a funny aftertaste that almost made her not want anymore. But the initial burst of flavour was good enough to make her keep sampling the cracked bottle, satiating her curiosity.
Anu's easy company made the anxious girl relax, and she leaned back on the warm rock, dabbling her footpaws in the lake again. It felt nice. "Oh, why am I out here...? It's a good question, really. I just... needed to go. Get away from everyone who knows me, you know? I'm tired of... well, it's hard to explain. I guess I'm tired of trying to live up to their expectations. They probably don't even care, though. It's all in my head. I think too much about others' opinions..." She was rambling, she knew. It didn't make sense. Hopefully she wouldn't scare off her new drinking buddy. She rubbed her head, feeling the weariness that had plagued her the past few weeks. It was tiresome, trying to adhere to all the rules of the large pack after having lived in seclusion for a whole year. She kept meticulously avoiding the wolves that knew her, that would ask her questions like "where have you been?" and "when will you choose a job?" and other things she could not answer. "And... what about you, Anu? You're not from here either, I'm guessing. Did you come here to get away from it all?" Coli smiled shyly, her bright blue eyes warm with hope. It was hard for her to trust. But the wine was already making it a little easier.
