similar to forest he'd encountered rosencrantz in, this deadwood too told a story of fire and defeat. he'd never seen nor smelt destruction such as this before his entrance into the wilds, and so the inky ghoul was left both confused and yet terribly intrigued all at once. he wondered if all the burnt woodlands were somehow ravaged by the same beast, torn apart and left in ashes by a power beyond his knowledge.

slowly, he wandered through the ruined graveyard, whispers of the wind playing tricks on his ears as he passed by a set of hollow logs just barely holding themselves together. life, however minuscule it was, clung to the rotting wood in the form of moss and fungi. upon closer inspection revealed the existence of countless insects, capturing both the ebony man's attention and disgust all at once.

his nose scrunched out of disgust as he swat away a piece of fallen bark atop the earth, though his boyish fascination for the earthworms that wiggled beneath kept him rooted in place. memories of how he used to threaten his sisters with the slimy nightcrawlers came flooding back to him, resulting in a rather mischievous smile to work it's way along his features. bugs have never been of much interest to him, though it was admittedly a bit satisfying to watch them squirm around before burying themselves again.

however no matter how enjoyable it was to watch them initially, worms were still just worms at the end of the day and the inky ghoul was quick to lose his interest in them. instead his attention turned to the whispers of the wind where the pale boy's presence was suddenly revealed. curious as to why they hadn't shown themselves yet, astaroth continued along the path he'd been following, eager to learn if his newfound company would follow, or stay put.

it was not a shadow, but rather a ghost that followed him through the ruins of a lost kingdom. the inky ghoul had only just briefly caught sight of the boy's porcelain coat while he'd stopped to pluck at the worms, the finer details of his figure going otherwise unseen. by scent alone he could tell boy was in his adolescence, and healthy for the most part despite the lack of a pack woven in his fur.

it was only after he'd drifted a few paces away did astaroth come to realize the lack of sound that followed suit. hadn't the boy been following him? his nose began to wiggle just as the wind turned on a moment's notice, providing no more help to him than his eyes or ears. curious, the inky gargoyle stopped in his tracks and turned to face the direction he'd just come from, eager to learn if the boy still followed or if he'd gone off on his own way.

there is only the faintest warning before the collision, and astaroth was deaf to it. instead of preparing for the oncoming force, he is taken off guard and goes stumbling forward a few steps, eventually landing face first and taking a nice bite out of the dirt. what in the hell?! he blinks a few times as he tries to regain his footing, both his mouth and rump now rather sore and taking up most of his attention.

when he finally turns to see what had attempted to plow him over, he realizes it is none other than the ghosted he'd caught a glimpse of earlier. a paw raises to rub at an aching jaw just before he slumps to the ground with a slight wince. "don't your brakes work?", he teases, his tone lacking any hostility that might somehow scare off his company. it seemed however that the boy took his jest the wrong way, and before astaroth had any chance to apologize, the ghost's figure disappeared like the phantom he resembled.