Blackfeather Woods where'er i walk, ten thousand flies precede me

the place was dark, and that was ancelin's very first impression. the second was that he was being watched, and the flutter of wings high above him did nothing to quell this assumption.
now he felt rather stupid; he was just about to toss the antler in a fit of annoyance when a woman seemingly materialized from the deep shadows and started to approach. the boy goggled at her, backed away, tripped over a risen root, and fell hard on his ass.
the antler thumped away. ancelin jumped to his feet, ignoring the ache in his hindquarters. "hey!" he said brightly, voice cracking in an embarrassing show right at the very end. "do you, um, do you know what this place is called? kinda creepy," ancelin hurried on, chagrined right down to his bone marrow.
she was roughly his height, but older, not a girl. and her scent; he knew its nuances, but didn't want to assume. "i'm ancelin bearclaw, from redtail rise."