Autumn was her favorite season. The colder temperatures allowed her to roam comfortably, without having to pause to catch her breath and rest from strangling heat. There was no season more lovely, not even Spring. The most exotic, colorful wildflowers did not compare to the fiery, almost overwhelming hues of the leaves that hung dying from their branches. She was drawn to melancholy beauty.
Dusk had traveled South to see her sister too urgently to explore the lands as she passed them. With her purpose behind her, the lithe wolfdog took her time on her return to the North. The emerald conifers transformed smoothly into a vast forest of sweet-smelling trees, maples. Their leaves were past their utmost beauty, bright, bloody crimson now dull golden and brown. She paused, looking wistfully into the canopy with half-closed eyes and imagining what the colors had once been.
With deliberate footsteps, the cocoa lupus continued. Her pads crushed brittle fallen leaves and the wind swirled around her, the unique melody of Autumn. It conjured memories of a careless life that had fallen far behind her. There was a change in the still life surrounding her, a small canine form wrapped in rough furs. A soft woof escaped her lips and she moved into the tiny woman's line of sight. ... Hello, was her chilly greeting.
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