Shadewood tap your toes and clap your hands

And off they went. Alyx followed Valravn dutifully, but was careful to avoid stepping in the standing pools of water dotting their path. Though her shy interest chased away the majority of her disgust at the mud flecked all over Valravn, she wasn't ready to go delving into it herself. She was dirty enough from her trip down the river, thank you very much!

Woah, she whistled under her breath when Val led them into a forest of towering, ancient trees. Sun Mote Copse had its charm, but there was something distinctly more alive about these giants and something secretive about the whole place. Just entering it made her feel like her ears were filled with cotton; she could no longer hear their steps on the springy ground, and even the tittering of birds sounded hushed to her.

Come on! urged Valravn as he dived into a hole beneath a gnarled old conifer. The boy hadn't hesitated at all, but Alyx drew up at the entrance and stirred her tail nervously through the air. Val? she called, poking her head in and squinting in the gloom. Deciding that it had to be safe for him to just rush in like that, she took several tentative steps in, then sucked in a breath.