Haunted Wood When it all goes south

Three days. Three days since she ran from her brother. Three days since she had been roaming these dark woods. She had gone through the darkest part of it. It had been foggy, and the canopy didn't allow for hardly any light at all to come through. There was a safeness about it, though, knowing it was easy to hide in. And that's exactly what she had done.

But, her muscles grew stiff from her hiding spot, and so this evening, she decided to continue on. She came upon a different part of the forest. There seemed to be nothing but willow trees, and the vibe was somewhat mysterious, but not scary as the other had been, and Aviana could see  bands of light shinning through. She weaved in and out of the vines that hung from the branches of the trees, allowing them to brush over her, comfort her.

She sat beneath a rather large trunk with vines so thick she could hardly see through to the other side. She contemplated her next move, but she was largely unsure. She had never been scared by Seb before, aside from when she didn't know who he was. The air about him had changed from the easy-going brother she had come to love again, to the confident Alpha that had obviously just mated a female. Aviana had panicked as her memories and fear came flooding back to her. She didn't want to think Seb could hurt her, but then she had thought the same of her Uncle. She knew she had no where else to go, but she was scared to go back to Broken Antler Fern. And, so, she simply sat there under the willow tree.

Tagging @Sebastian for visibility

She had turned back south, retreating back into the forest. It had been a long night previous— despite her battered, weary body, Magpie wanted to put as much distance between herself and the caldera as possible. Anger burned brightly, and a myriad of emotions boiled to the surface before they quickly mixed and fell back beneath the surface. Even now, it felt as though she were someone else— as if these emotions were not hers. Her mind still felt blank, unable to hold on to a thought for more than a breath. She had become a creature of instinct.

When her body could no longer take it, the she-wolf had retreated to a concealed den within the wood's depths. She knew they would not expend the energy to find her here; it was clear they felt nothing for her, thought nothing of her. And yet the Corvidae found comfort in the tight confinements of the den, and her exhaustion claimed her near instantly despite the sunlight that trickled into its entrance.

----

It was night when she awoke, eyes fluttering open in a panic, her heart beating wildly. It felt as though she were pain incarnate, for every muscle fiber was screaming— her hips most of all. She loosed an involuntary moan as she shifted to a position that she hoped might be more comfortable, but it was useless.

I need food, she told herself, though the thought of it made her nauseous for the pain that would overtake her, and rest. The two were at odds with each other, and her eyes fluttered closed once more, unaware of the other wolf that lingered near.

She hadn't paid much attention to how long she sat there, listening to her surrounding. But, she noted the sun had long since gone down and the forest seemed almost eerily quiet. She didn't even hear the chirps of the crickets, or the croaks of the frogs. But, she did hear a moan.

Her ears perked as her head jerked around, her heart hammering as she tried to see the object of the noise. But, no one was there. She stood, walking carefully in the direction that it came. Her nose caught a faint whiff of a wolf, and she froze. The scent carried her nose down, and that's when she saw the den. She wondered who was in there, though was worried at the same time. This was obviously someone's home, and she was encroaching on it. Gingerly, she began to retreat. Not looking behind her, Aviana stepped on a twig, breaking it, and she froze. The sound it produced seemed like a clap of thunder had just gone off in the forest. Her gaze turned towards the den's entrance, hoping whoever was in there hadn't heard that.