Shadewood First Steps

He's had it worse; the knock on his head stings a bit and makes his eyes water immediately after, but all it takes is a grimace and a little bit of patience for the full sensation to diminish. Yutani is left with a stiff neck more than anything. Maybe the blow was harder than he thought, or at just the right place to cause an immediate effect—the headache strengthens as the moments pass and he curses under his breath again, staggering to one side of the tree which had struck him, and shuts his eyes for a second.

Once the feeling in his head lessens just a smidgen, he's looking around again. The man has half a mind to rip the limp branch from the tree as punishment, hopefully killing the base in the process, but doesn't muster the energy. From behind him comes a little voice—and he's surprised in to silence, frowning again, glaring at the forest as if he's been taunted. Was he imagining things? It wasn't a familiar voice at all. Get your head out of your ass, he thinks detrimentally to himself, and gets a move on.

The sounds of scratching, of activity, and the scent of ripe earth hit him soon after. The man has surreptitiously hiked closer to where the voice could've originated but he doesn't see anyone. Just as he's about to give up the hunt and turn back the way he'd come, he spots a flash of fulvous red near the base of the trees—no, closer to the dirt. In the dirt? The hell was he looking at?

The wolf forgot about the tree and the voice all at once, fixating on the curving shape of haunches and the red tail which looks eerily similar to that of a fox. His belly rumbles. The greyed fur of his spine begins to prickle as he stalks closer, his face wrought with concern but also that enigmatic eagerness of youth: was this food? It looked like food, smelled like food. That was enough proof for him—so the man lunged at the creature with no warning, reaching eagerly for that delicious looking tail.