Emberwood hellbender

Masquerade wholeheartedly embraced the role of a hunter, leaning hard into their tracking specialty. When they caught the scent of a small herd of deer on the plains to the south early this morning, they followed it to the foot of a nearby ridge. Here, the Ulfr momentarily lost the trail and began sniffing around the rocky terrain.

They rediscovered it near the edge of a small forest and continued following it eastward. They loped past the lowest peak of Mount Apikuni, the thick undergrowth giving way to tall aspens. The air felt particularly cool and crisp here, though Masque lost the scent again. Well, they knew where it went—up a steep rock wall—and they decided to end their pursuit.

Rather than immediately turn back and head home to the rise, Masquerade halted in a sun-dappled clearing and took a moment to admire the pale, spindly trunks surrounding them on every side. Their eyes climbed up to the foliage, which was just beginning to turn. Their nostrils flared as they catalogued the trees’ distinct scent, before something else threaded in there.

They turned sharply and saw a swarthy figure through the sea of skeletal boles. From this distance, Masquerade couldn’t make out much detail, though they took a few steps and the new angle put the dark stranger up against the backdrop of pale aspen wood. Was he missing a hind leg? Their eyes squinted, then widened.

Recalling their recent interaction with Riley, Masque licked their lips and began prowling closer to the stranger, announcing themself with a low woof.