Felltree Marsh tin;beetroot;carrot;ebony;fruit;copper;silk;

suddenly, something beautiful emerged from the marsh. strange, that something so lovely could come from a place like this. a pale, golden wolf, like khali but slimmer and smaller. he stared at it, his mouth falling open slightly as it—she?—began to speak. she didn't sound like mummy or daddy, or anyone at all that he'd heard. he wondered if she was even real.

ahhh. . . he let out a puzzled sound, shifting his paws, too taken aback to look directly into her eyes but too curious to run away. he was stuck—maybe, actually, stuck. the mud beneath his paws felt suddenly very sticky; cam lifted a paw, surveying it with intense concentration, the way it caked both wet and dry all at once between his toes. he sniffed it and made a face; it was dark and fetid-smelling, not pleasant at all.

the boy cocked his head, staring up at the newcomer again. he blinked inquisitively at her, wondering who she was. did she live in the willows, too? why was she out here, walking around, in such a wretched place? why did anyone do anything at all, besides lay on the ground and look at the grass (which was an utterly fascinating spectacle in and of itself)?