Shadewood kicking rocks and breaking teeth

things had shifted quickly in the forest. the young boy had seen strangers pass and then disappear in the wilderness beyond their borders without so much as a whisper to him. his own father’s scent had faded well enough from where they had made their den site. the young starchaser missed the dark coat and speckled markings, but he would never speak such things to his mother for fear of upsetting her. deku could tell that their previous conversation had been a challenging one; his mother had felt the betrayal of issun quite deeply.
 
in the time that had passed, the star child had been taken to the borders and shown how best to patrol their claim. all the while, their numbers dwindled until there were very few bodies left in the woodland pack. at night, the trees had adopted a quiet rustling. owls had started to hoot from the treetops. while he was fearful of it, deku had found himself mesmerized by the darkness of the wild wood. he had even found some interesting treasures on his short jaunts away from the family site.
 
one such item was a stone that matched the colors of orochi almost perfectly. it was smooth and dark with magnificent tan swirls that acted as blemishes against the inky foundation. while his brother was an angry sort of fellow, that had never stopped the starchaser from attempting to form a bond with him. the young deku carried his stone back to the family den and saw his sibling prowling around outside with a stern expression. “orochi!” deku cried out with a happy wiggle of his rear end. trotting forward, he placed the rock on the ground gingerly and looked up with a shimmering starlight gaze. “i found this for you. it kinda has your colors. i thought it was a really cool treasure,” he explained in a sweet, soft voice.