blindsided

There was an eerie aura that was emitted by the dank woodland territory. From the wetlands that appeared every so often, to the clatter of crows and ravens that cawed overhead, wings beating above the silence like the sound of drums. Kierkegaard seemed out of place in such darkness. His pale ashen coloration seemed to shine like a lantern in the gloom. As if it were adding to the unnerving effect of the area, an unearthly fog had settled around the bases of the trees and was surrounding the lower brush. The large male prowled forward, head low, and wary of his surroundings. He would not have been able to see another creature even if it had passed within ten feet of him. The dark shapes of the undergrowth stood like a hazily painted stage set, flattened into two dimensions by the blank background. Like ethereal monsters, a pair of domed forms floated in the cloud-like mist – the trunks that supported them faded into the whiteness beneath. Years and years had left them overgrown and out of shape, but it was easy to suppose that it was the fog that was softening the geometry of the forms. When it lifted, it would reveal the woodland as it was intended to be; vast and dark, shrouded in mystery. Keeping his head low to the earth, Kierkegaard paused in his steps, drawing his muzzle up just slightly to breathe in the air that surrounded him. He was not prepared to be blindsided by the appearance of another… and he knew how likely it was with the surrounding packs. Pressing forward, that was when he saw it; a shadow that glided past him, pale in the watery light. Suddenly, he was conscious of the fur along his neck and spine as it rose upwards. His bright golden gaze seemed to linger on the figure – just out of reach – before it seemed to disappear from sight. From above, the trees clacked and branches shook with the force as a series of dark-winged birds took flight, cackling high over Kierkegaard’s head. His long ears flattened to his skull, and his lip reeled just slightly to expose his long canines. The caws from the dark birds seemed to fade into the distance, leaving the ashen male to stand in place, suddenly aware of how quickly his heart was beating.