Merilin was slightly disappointed that it was only called the Wastes because it was a particularly plain-like area. In her mind, it had been something more ominous and exciting. Someplace where she could get into trouble… oh wait; she did not want to get into trouble, especially not now. She needed to make a good impression. Not that she could get into much trouble; she was curious, not malicious. Excited that they were going, she waited until Kaena caught up until she continued to bound about. She never strayed very far; in fact, she mostly made annoying circles as the older coyote lead the way. She made some observations as she went. Shrub. Pebble. Bug. The russet coy liked to think that she could take in everything at once. Of course, that was not necessarily the case.
“So where are we off to?” she asked to fill in the space of silence. It was always nice to know ahead of time. The young creature watched Kaena walk as she bounded about, then took her place next to the older coy, matching her pace. “Do you have an ouch on your leg?” she asked worriedly, the brow of the coyote wrinkling, the blue eyes changing shape in order to match the wrinkles.
She listened some more to what Kaena had to say. She was talking about ranks now. “I wonder what I’ll be good at…” she wondered aloud. “I want to be something amazing!” she exclaimed suddenly, her pace quickening, her paws lifting more in a playful trot at her thoughts of grandeur. She was like any young one; the russet coyote had great dreams. Of course, in this case, the dreams weren’t necessarily specific. Her dream was merely that she had a dream. “What is a historian?” she asked after a while. Then she thought that perhaps it had to do something with the past; yes, she remembered now. She gazed up, her blue eyes brightening. “Oh wait. Never mind. I remember now. What kind of a historian are you?”
Merilin’s mind was suddenly clear, and many random questions began to pour in as she was lead about. “Do you get to see your son often? Are you guys friends? My mother was my best friend,” she added as an afterthought. She wondered what her son looked like. Did he look like Kaena? She wondered if more of Kaena’s family was here. That would be fun. “Do a lot of your family live here?” As they passed through the shallow part of the creek, Merilin took great care to jump and splash as much as possible, laughing to herself all the while. She made sure she was not so close to Kaena that she splashed the elder, though. She still wanted to be polite. She stomped her feet in the water, enjoying the great sheets of liquid that glided up to meet her, only to fall back again to return to its body. With a great leap, she jumped out of the river and ran after Kaena.
The young coyote looked ahead. The rocks on the ground seemed to be getting more plentiful. She moved her paws in strange ways, liking the way it felt when her paws rolled around on the ground with the help of small rocks. It hurt her feet as well, but she still liked it anyway. She laughed. “Look at the rocks!” she exclaimed, perhaps to herself.