moving through the twisted wood, surrounded by bleeding trees underneath a dark canpony-- amatsu was positive there had to be more to this mysterious location. poking her nose around various plants might not have been the best idea, in hindsight; but amatsu wasn't really one to think before she leapt. she took in many, many scents inside the wood, some of which were pleasant where as others weren't. this didn't bother her, as she had never been in such an expansive area, she was far too excited to consider the consequences... however she was curious, surely, some things here were definitely not ideal for any living being to come into contact with; and so, her journey of plant investigation continued.
amatsu wasn't quite sure of what would differentiate a toxic plant from a non-toxic one, but she was determined to find out. moving ghost-like through the wood, the heavenly hound prowled silently through the greenery, darting her pupils around, looking for something to settle them on that would pop out to her as out of the ordinary-- not that she really knew what the ordinary was, in here, anyway. after minutes of her slithering, she came across some peculiar looking leaves-- they were much lighter than the rest of the shrub around her. twitching her ears, the silver sylph sniffed the leaves, poking them with her nose and pawing at them, wondering if anything would happen.

amatsu, being the stupidly curious wolf that she was, oftentimes let it get the best of her. unaware of what this plant could be, having no idea if getting close could cause negative side-effects-- her pondering continued. she circled around the plant, her ears twitching at the caws of ebony birds in the canopies. she scanned her surroundings, looking for anything similar-- although the forest was too dark for her to make anything out to an object more than a mere shadow, the forest was a place of unholy descent to her.
her investigation was cut short when she heard something from behind her, a chuff, a low, quiet noise uttered by a creature other than herself; a creature who, might have lived in this forest, for all she knew. cautiously she turned her gaze towards a tawny-pelted male, larger than she, although his steps were slow & seemingly free of any malice. she cocked her head at this man, as the gap between them closed, her tail started beating slightly. she enjoys company, he was welcome; more than welcome, to join her. ,,hello,'' she croons at him, stepping forward lightly, taking in his scents although far enough from him to not be invading his personal space.

ignorant, blissfully almost; although she knew better than to remain as such for very long. her friendliness, as she's aware, could be taken for granted easily-- a downfall of her personality, a flaw in such that not does she trust too easily, instead that her guard is never up as high as it should be. she watched as the bull-like man dipped her head towards her in greeting-- which, to her, furhter pushed the belief that he had no ill intentions towards her.
a question arose from his throat, quickly, there was no beating around the bush. amatsu's ears perked upas she took in his scents; there were many of them, she had never met a pack wolf until now. surrounding herself with loners and outcasts alike, it makes her feel secure in her sense of self. ,,oh, i wasn't doing much,'' comes her answer, a few beats after his response. she quickly motions her head towards the leaves she was investigating, ,,i've been wandering around, and i came across these bright leaves. they're much more vibrant than anything else here. i want to know if it's a different type of plant.'' as her words escape her maw, she starts lightly itching her body.

the itching continued, as much as she tried to resist it. ,,one second--'' curling onto the floor, amatsu brought her leg up towards her ear and used it to scratch herself, providing temporary relief from what, unbeknownst to her, would be a consistent feeling. lifting her body off of the ground she shook out her fur as the wolf moved a little closer, motioning with his neck for her to lead. obliging, amatsu lead the way slowly deeper into the forest, rambling mindlessly as the pair went along. ,,well... i've noticed the trees are especially peculiar--'' moving towards one of them as she stared at it. ,,the bark. they look like they're bleeding.'' now, amatsu didn't know much-- but she knew that trees weren't made of blood (...or were they?). she cricled around the twisted sequoia, glancing at it from all directions to try and see if she could find the source of this mysterious not-tree-blood.

her step syncing with the male next to her, circling around the odd-looking trees, the peppered wolf inhaled the scent of the 'blood' dripping off of the tree. he was right, it definitely didn't smell like blood, but what else... was it? the canine wrinkled his nose at the smell, seemingly trying to make sense of it as well. the itching continued as she rubbed her cheek against the bark of the tree, whimpering a little as she scratched. what... was this? she was at a loss, for many things in this forest, but the trees were what reall interested her.

she circled around next to him, also sniffing the not-blood-- it was so sweeeeeeet. surely something this sweet-smelling couldn't be harmful... right? flora was lost on her, honestly. the shuck didn't know anything of the greenery that peppered the earth although she thought she should-- but the skies, the clouds were her domain. she was perfectly content, the ground might have made her a little uncomfortable anyway. she moved around to flank eastwood on his left, asking him a question ,,what do you think it is...? maybe it's... food? for insects... perhaps?''

it was less than graceful-- watching a canine scratch itself so much-- but she didn't understand where this sudden itchiness came from. it's not like she hadn't been itchy before but this was quite consistent.. something she wasn't sure if she could decipher the reason for or not. as the pair investigated the trees, the man spoke. his statement mirrored and reflected her own: confirming his thoughts that he, also, assumed that this odd substance could feed those creatures who were attracted to its allure.

the itching continued-- as it became overwhelming, more whimpers had escaped the shuck's throat. ,,you think it would cause constant itching...'' her tone was riddled with hints of comedy as she fought the urge to scratch the skin off of her body. yeah, it's was definitely less than graceful.

whimpering grew more consistent as the itch worsened. the larger wolf posed a question to her, to which she responded promptly. ,,no... i didn't,'' she was thankful for his concern: as he did not know her, he had no reason to be. but still, she can't help but let this itch take over her entire body. ,,i was fine when i came into the forest... the itching started after...'' racking her brain for what could have caused this, something clicks. her neck snaps upwards as she looks towards the direction the pair had come from-- something from back there. ,,it started after those leaves. the bright ones.'' bringing herself back to her feet, ignoring the itch that was turning into a steady burning sensation, she tilts her head slightly to the left, meeting eastwood's gaze with her own.