Neverwinter Forest Get busy living, or get busy dying

Malachi had kept his word, and for the weeks that had passed since his talk with Dante, he'd refused to risk a paw beyond the border of the Plateau. But the urge to explore rose by the day, and this time his rank didn't stop him from obeying the call. He set out from the land while the moon still reigned and struck west, his route random save for his target landmark, a towering spire that marked the tip of the Wild's circular range.

He planned to circle the mountain, perhaps climb some of its lower hills. But a heavy concentration of wolfish scent reached him while he was still a distance off. A pack, and with his options to turn around or skirt through the forest just south of the peak, his decision was obvious. Though his stomach churned when he shifted his paws south-west, he suppressed his worry and entered the woods.

The first thing to strike him was the sheer mystery of the place. Prey scent mingled with the faint reminder of the nearby pack, but Malachi found his thoughts trapped by the arching bows overhead. Patches of sunlight filtered through to touch the mossy ground, and cast an unearthly glow upon the foliage creeping from the forest floor. A silence as thick as the darkness draped the woods, a stillness not even broken by the sound of his steps. If not for the press of the ground against his toes, he could have convinced himself he was hovering instead of walking - a realization that made him slow his pace and probe his senses through the depths.

Even with his mind on high alert, he jumped when a girl's voice wove past the trunks. Malachi lowered to the ground and cast a watchful scan through the trees. A moment passed, and no sound returned. Slowly, he eased himself from the ground, only to freeze when the girl's voice met him again.

"Hello?" He spoke before he thought. If this was a wolf from the mountain pack, they wouldn't enjoy him wandering so close to their land. But he couldn't well retract his voice now. It stood like a beacon for the girl to follow, and he remained, watchful and alert if anyone should come his way.