We go where no one goes

Tranquility washed over Itsuki as they delved into a forest that smelled and felt as old as time itself. The trees were larger than any he had ever seen, the understory developed into an incredible tangle of herbs, short shrubs, and grass alike. It was a maze of fallen trees and new ones: spruce, fir, lodgepole pine, and the impressive ponderosa pines standing above all the others. It was magnificent, and he knew he wanted to pay homage to the kami here and make it known he would honour them always.

But, presently, he was accompanying the Alpha female on one of her final marking expeditions. The sun burned high in the sky, hot and heavy, but they felt none of its effects as deep in the woods as they were. It was soothing, like slipping into the cool embrace of a river without worrying about being wet.

His ears swivelled forward when she spoke to him, and he met her gaze reverently for only a moment before glancing down at the ground. “I am unsure,” he admitted, his tail swaying behind him as he fell in behind her, “but I have always been a keeper of stories. Perhaps I could keep our history as a story.” Itsuki had other talents and aspirations, namely being a swift hunter, but all wolves could hunt. He didn't think that broadcasting it was terribly necessary.