Useless Exploration

Walk | Talk | Think

It was strangely satisfying being able to set aside her use of sight in favor of her keen sense of smell. She used it more so than her hearing to guide her along, each cautious step taken being first tested by her nose which had lowered to hover above the ground and scent her way. Compared to the northern woods outside of this descent, full of the scents of pines, cool earth, and a hardy strength, the cold cavern smelled stale and dank, lacking the sense of life that was prevalent beyond. Perhaps it should have been a cue that whatever she would find down here would be of no use to her considering healing revolved around living things, but still Callisto continued about her slow descent with her nose leading the way.

It was not her nose but her ears that suggested danger lurked close behind her. What leisurely steps the black and grey wolf had been taking forward slowed as her ears turned upon her head, listening to what sounded like another set of paws traveling in her wake, and immediately she regretted coming down here. Whoever followed might not have been able to see her as even she could not see exactly where it was that she was going, but they could surely smell her there. Was it her scent that had drawn them? Were they looking for her? Not knowing what waited ahead, she was torn between hurrying forward blindly into the dark and staying put to meet whoever came upon her head on.

For a while she tried to hold her place but at the last minute she began traveling forward again. It was too dark for her to try defending herself, especially with not being able to see who it was that she faced. But she had taken too long, and the wolf eventually caught up to her. Her ears, which were already turned back to listen, flattened themselves against her head the moment she heard the voice of her follower, feeling the rest of her tense and a growl to form warningly within her throat. Of all the damn wolves who could have found her, it had to be Lel. He bumped into her the same moment he spoke of it and Callisto's foreleg shot out to catch herself, baring her fangs though he could not see. "Get the hell away from me, you creep," she growled as she made a half turn to face him - or at least face where she assumed him to be in the darkness. She was even more on edge now than during previous encounters with the purple-eyed male, more defensive and ready to hold her own. This time she was much more vulnerable than she had ever been, and suddenly Ebony was seeming less annoying in retrospect.