Jade Fern Grove feet don't fail me now

WOTD challenge: word is bolded and italicized below. for @Pheiros

surya traveled through the maplewood, and then he went further. he was restless since returning from the coast. he still grappled with aphrodite's admission of love, and what that meant for his own feelings. he still thought every day of the young mother and her babes, tucked away in that cave. and he thought of satya, come so far. 

things seemed okay between the two of them. . .but was there lingering resentment for his abandonment? was his brother still ashamed of him?

the yearling entered the grove, giving a medium-sized log the necessary stiction to roll it out of his way and down the fern-strewn path. he leapt over it eventually, nose high as he scented for game. that huntress from the cuesta. . .her pack's scent seemed fairly heavy here. he knew they resided close by. 

surya wondered if he would see her again. their mission had been incredibly useful, not only for bringing food back to the stream but for sharpening his own skills. if she were a whitebark wolf, he thought, he wouldn't hesitate to seek her out as a mentor. 

for now, he searched. nothing so large nearby, according to smell, but squirrels were always a given in the forest—and maybe, just maybe, something would surprise him.