Otatso Wetlands Redeye Rumble

Haunter was in mental turmoil, fearing both what he was capable of and what he was not. He had made a promise to Fox, and if nothing else he was a wolf of his word—if only because he usually said so few of them—but having never stayed in one place very long, he was equally as unsure if it had been wise of him to make such a promise. Fox was naive as they came, but she was far from stupid, and wouldn't for one second believe that he meant this. She felt better believing that he would leave during the springtime, and she held to this idea like a child clung to their most comforting blanket. Haunter did not blame her, and yet still he returned to her den to sleep.

On the eve of the first day of spring, he pulled himself gently away from her small body, and left. He moved through the darkness like a shifting shadow, going unseen until he had passed the Creek's borders and found himself traveling north from whence he had came. The Otatso Wetlands greeted him, the soil bogged and loamy in most places from the icemelt, but thick enough to support his weight in others. Large paws would sink deep into the mud as he trudged on, and he would veer to more solid ground because mud made walking unpleasant.

He made it to the northernmost edge of the Wetlands, and looked out past where the boundary of Teekon began. He wanted severely to keep walking—to leave before his promise became too solidified or he betrayed her in another way. He still had time; he could still...

The sun began to rise suddenly in the east, and Haunter knew he had missed his chance to escape his binding word. The sun brought spring with it, and though the day would be overcast at best, he could feel in his bones that the season had changed and winter was gone. He licked his chops, narrowing his bright eyes against the sun and turned, beginning his travel back through the Wetlands and towards the Creek—his home.