Surprise Adventure

He flicked his ears at the sound of a voice. He twisted his head to see a white dot in the distance, down at the bottom of the gorge. "Ya! I'm fine!" he called back, his voice artificially deepened to sound more masculine. He flashed a smile to further convince the stranger, but he was unsure if such details could be seen at such a distance. "Just a few scratches and bruises, nothing serious. One second, there's a tunnel over here. Let me see if I can get down to you," he added, gesturing to the shaft before trotting into the mouth. Even though nothing was broken, his left front paw twisted painfully during the fall. Its tenderness prevented him from putting too much weight on it and he walked with a slight limp as he traversed the tunnel.

This one was quite short, spiraling downward with the occasional fork. His sniffed the stale air and was capable of choosing the right paths back into the open, now at the same level as the stranger. He closed the distance between them, trotting toward the newcomer while favoring his left leg. Only after he had gotten close had he realized the wolf may not even want company. They could have just asked if he was ok because it was polite. He slowed, stopping at a safe distance from the canine. Though he always assumed the best in others, it did no harm to be cautious. "Uh, I'm Novis. What are you doing?" He asked, a feeble attempt to start a conversation. His tail swayed in a friendly manner as he waited to see their reaction.