Shadewood tap your toes and clap your hands

they were sharing a secret! valravn's eyes were bright as he waited for alyx's affirmation, nearly breaking the hushed mood himself with a half-stifled yell of approval. then he ducked down, as if worried an adult might come and spoil the surprise. "okay," the boy continued with his own voice hushed -- they were two little marauders now, sharing secrets and being thick as thieves. "follow me."

val skirted around the den and looked both ways; once the coast was clear he waved for alyx to follow and began to totter down away from the den. the ground here was mostly still damp from the recent rains, and small little pools of water collected between gnarled fistfuls of root.

valravn kept the pace slow, mostly because he often tripped over the thick vegetation and roots. at last the heavy filter of fern and shrubs trickled to a forest old and largely undisturbed. moss carpeted most of the loamy soil, and at the foot of one particularly ancient pine was a hole that valravn darted into without a single ounce of trepidation. "come on!!"