Redtail Rise the sun loved the moon so much

He was here. He was present.

It had been a lot of wandering for Shale lately, and that was strange. A child of a loving family, unless feeling smothered, didn't usually end up a wanderer. But that family had scattered like autumn leaves to the wind, and he, without them, forged on alone. No goal in mind. If he kept moving, though, he had no time to stop and think.

Shale was relieved when he finally exited the tangle of forest he had encountered a few days prior; the dark place was as wild as it got, dark and unruly, full of strange creatures who loved the night. Of course, he loved the night as well, but he preferred it with moonlight on a mountain's open face. He had been spit out into more open ground this afternoon and had soldiered on, and now night had fallen once more.

Now, this place, a ridge of ash and devastation, was depressing. What once must have been a land of great beauty and natural wealth had been reduced to nothing. And it turned out that Shale was not alone, nor the only one distressed by the destruction. A white shewolf, her pelt bright against a sooty background, was walking around, looking nervous.

He drew nearer, but, not wishing to scare her, stopped a few tail-lengths' distance away from her, giving a low whuff to alert her of his presence. "Are you all right, miss?" Shale asked gently, canting his head slightly to the right in query.