Sleepy Fox Hollow umber

he did not anticipate finding anyone here. the hollow would have served as a place for maplesmoke to finally catch his breath, to rest, or perhaps to die if infection set in to his wounds—but to do all of it alone.

he swung his head and thought he saw fancy, and thought there were farther bodies... but no, not far from the eye, just small, and new. before anything else, there came a thundering.

a broad man stood to bar the way.

maplesmoke's nostrils flared; he took in the scent of the band before him, the man that shepherds them - and does not seek confrontation.

it would be foolish to seek ownership of something he knows nothing about. dangerous too, given the disparity between the men, with maplesmoke aching. he holds no desire to fight.

his eye alights upon selenia briefly, but it is the man who stands in the forefront that demands all of his focus. the roamer gives a whicker and takes an unstable backstep.