Think, Think, Think!

Traveling into the western territories of the continent hadn’t been on Sephiran’s agenda. At least, not until his spark of interest in the islands just beyond the shore had flared up again. A season ago, he had seen them looming along the horizon the night he partied with the pirates. He was interested in what might inhabit them, or if they were inhabitable at all. And there was only one way to find out. He would have to journey back to the shore, where he could swim across the ocean and into the channel of islands. Which meant he had to go through these western territories first.

With the heat of summer, it was more tolerable to travel at night, which meant Sephiran spent most of the day sleeping. But with a storm brewing nearby, inching its way towards the forest enveloped with willow trees, he decided to avoid it before it became an issue. He had slept until late afternoon before leaving his makeshift den behind, probably to never return. Although this place was pleasing to the eye, and there was plentiful prey, he wasn’t interested in staying.

He was walking along a path that made a perimeter around a large pond, lost in his imagination as he fabricated an image of what the islands might look like in his mind. His ears twitched upon his skull, swiveling in the direction of the south where thunderclouds released a sudden boom. The damp scent of incoming rain became thicker in the air, the humidity leaving droplets of water along the tips of his fur. Which made his pace quicken, as he was still determined to leave the forest.

As he came around a bend in the trail, a small clearing appeared before him. And, to his surprise, sitting in that clearing and staring at the base of a towering willow tree, was a small girl. Sephiran stopped in his tracks, skull raising as he peered beyond the foliage to observe her. The rain smell had diminished her scent so much, he didn’t know she was here until now. He arrived just in time to see her clawing at the bark to remove a chunk before smelling and licking it. Was she one of those stupid kind of wolves? He was already making assumptions, paws shifting beneath him as he strode towards her. If she didn’t take off, he would suddenly appear from the other side of the tree, creeping out from the underbrush like the serpent he was. “Hungry?” He crooned, thinking she was trying to eat the bark given that she licked it.

"Speech"