Emberwood earthquakes shake the dust behind you

after everything had gotten settled on the plains, aditya set out to look for river, heart pounding hard in his chest. he followed the scent, but the boy had meandered, and it took a while. not to mention the fact that he'd not been eating as much, lately, and therefore was not at his physical prime; he had to stop and rest quite often, catching his breath or dozing off in the shade.

finally, he entered the emberwood as the boy's scent grew stronger and stronger. not caring about how loud he was being, adi thrust his burly body through the brush, sending squirrels and rabbits flying in his wake. at last, he caught sight of gray within the green and brown, and broke into an awkward trot, leaping over a fallen log to find himself face-to-face with the little fugitive.

"mithra," adi gasped, rushing to his side. his first instinct was to be stern, but then he noticed the bloody paw, and cocked his head, brows drawn together. "what happened?" he demanded, mouth contorted in worry.