New Sounds & Sights

As the season shifted, any hints of warmth disappearing behind a slow but steady cold front that was sneaking across the north, Bronze had taken to wandering a bit farther from home. He never stayed away for long, taking days when he had nothing else to do to go explore the lands surrounding Incendium's territories. He knew the world was vast, and stretched further than he could ever imagine, but it was a start. It wasn't like he'd have as much ability to travel once winter struck anyway. He remembered how harsh the weather had been in his earliest months of life and knew the lands would return to that before long. At least now it wasn't as snowy as it had been then, but overall the world was damp and cold and gloomier than he remembered it ever being before.

He'd been here once before but not this exact section of forest. He was enamored with these huge trees, so different from the pines he'd grown up around. He still didn't think he'd want to climb one or anything like that, but it was an interesting thought anyway and he liked to imagine how it'd feel to be a smaller creature, hopping along the branches and using them as a method to travel. Maybe it'd be safer for small creatures, tucked away out of sight of the ground-dwelling wolves below. Occasionally he'd pause and tilt his head up, drinking in the scents that filled the forest, listening for the faint rustling of leaves that might alert him to someone nearby.

A familiar scent suddenly hit him and he was caught completely off guard. He'd only met her once, but he didn't know any other wolves outside of Incendium, so it wasn't like it was possible for him to mistake her for someone else. Slowly he moved to follow it, curious; had she stuck around these lands, he wondered, or had she gone somewhere else? She'd explained she had no real home, so she went where she pleased, but why here when it was so gloomy these days? He supposed he didn't know if it was any better elsewhere, though he'd been told the weather further south was milder and warmer. Paws carried him for a good distance through the forest before he caught sight of her in the distance, letting out a soft bark of greeting to alert her to his presence before he got too close.