Beyond the section he had quartered off, the weald was truly wild and not to be managed. But management was not quite the task he had in mind at all, but rather mapping it from stem to stern, and that was a process half as much natural as it was necessary. Parts of the sprawling forest were familiar to him but as he progressed away from the nestled core to more fringe expansions, he may as well have slipped off to another world altogether.
Even now in the midst of day, a haze lingered deep in the wood. He navigated it with ease that belied how directionless his path was, though he never quite lost the sense of cardinal directions. Wasn't hard for him to find a path forged through the ferns where deer trafficked themselves on and by and follow it out; he had done this time after time now.
Yet it was the passing trail left to linger by another which piqued his interest, the faintest tinge of sea salt left in her wake that guided him off his path to seek her out. The path she made was muddied and difficult to follow, left to cut through dense groups of ferns and prickly shrubs alike. It was here he pressed on towards the denser pockets of forestry, where the sunlight at times became blotted and forced back by heavy boughs only to relinquish light where possible.
It was one such sunbeam that the pallor of her coat stood out brilliantly against verdant leaves and needles. Like some others he had accosted in the deep wood, she seemed to have let it get the better of her and that itself was a mystery to him. For all he was, Dirge did not think himself a cut above navigating unfamiliar terrain, yet the weald seemed to speak differently; he moved in quietly, angling to approach from at least one direction she could be liable to spot him from.
"Having a spot of trouble?" he inquired, though that much was evident.
hope you don't mind dirge invading as well, though i can rescind my post if asked. ♡
He continued forward once she had caught sight of him, his steps easy along the brambles that had plagued her even now. It was quite a predicament to be in, but not impossible enough that she was doomed to be trapped forever—she had managed to bypass the worst of it. He too had found himself in such a state before here and not long ago; the weald would hold her secrets until he was deemed worthy to know them.
"It's a modest forest," he answered as he observed a couple more offending barbs.
"Though apparently it holds the distinction of being difficult. I haven't thought of it that way of course, but I have spent my fair share of time here." He offered her a smile, as if charm could improve the dourness cloaking her features.
"Would you like some help? You've a barb caught near your ear."
sorry for the wait! ♡
The distance between them curtails at her permission; it was with a gentle reach that he set to freeing the barb from the downy hairs at her ear. Fortunately for them both, it was not well tangled, and Dirge made short work of it once he had seized it between his teeth. A gentle tug, turn, and pull later had it freed, and he spat it out in the direction he had came.
He stepped back and out to draw himself into her line of sight, a thin smile returning to his features as he regarded her better at arm's length. "Much better now," he hummed, "though I am curious what brings you to my neck of the woods." After a little bit of discussion, the two went their separate ways.