The grass underfoot was cool and damp, a soft carpet that absorbed the morning's crispness. Sericea padded quietly through the golden foliage, her eyes scanning the vibrant colors of fall—each leaf seemed to whisper secrets in the gentle wind. The faint scent of rain lingered in the air, invigorating her senses as she ventured deeper into the valley. She wanted to find Zagan, her mind racing with thoughts of a proposed game to play.

A game of Shadows, she'd call it, where misdirection and cleverness danced hand in hand like leaves caught in an autumn breeze. In her imagination, she saw them weaving through the trees, darting behind boulders and crouching low in the tall grass, trying to outsmart one another hiding from plain sight, sticking to the shadows to conceal themselves. It was like tag- a game of chase. But when you were seen, you had to stand frozen in place.

But now the tricky part, getting him to play.

"Sericea Praetor-Inferos"

Sitting on a smooth rock near the edge of a clearing, Zagan was focused on his task. His blade- a direct replica of his Father’s obsidian dagger with a serrated edge- was clutched between his paws, gleaming faintly in the morning light. All around him, sunlight filtered through the canopy of towering pines, casting long, slanted beams of gold across his pelt. The warmth felt nice compared to the crisp air of the autumn forest- a sensation that would soon be fleeting, as fall morphed into an unforgivable winter.

The rhythmic sound of him sharpening his blade against a stone echoed in the clearing- each stroke, slow, deliberate, purposeful. A symphony of repetition that was calming, and kept him focused.

He didn’t notice Sericea’s arrival until his raven pointed it out- alerting him with a croak, as its ever-watchful eyes caught sight of her bright, crimson fur. Pausing, he flicks an ear in her direction, waiting to see if she will say anything, or if she was passing by.

"Zagan Saxe"

A frenzy of adrenaline coursed through her veins, beckoning her forward. Zagan was deeply engrossed in his work, but the urge to interrupt tugged at her relentlessly. With each careful step, she advanced into the clearing, moving as quietly as a whisper. Her joyful spirit enveloped her like a cloak, masking her intentions as she approached him with light and nimble paws.

"Hey, Zagan!" she called, her voice bright, cutting through the soft rustle of leaves and gentle chirps of distant birds. "You’re not too busy to play a game with me, are you?" As the words rolled off her tongue, her tail swayed playfully behind her, mirroring the wide grin plastered across her face that showcased her unbridled enthusiasm for their upcoming activity.

"Sericea Praetor-Inferos"

With a final stroke, the blade was sharpened to perfection, and Zagan felt content with his task. He placed his weapon back in its sheath, and kept Sericea in his peripheral vision, following the movement of her crimson silhouette. She was moving through the clearing, heading in his direction- but it wasn’t until she called his name that Zagan would turn his head toward her, narrowing his bi-colored eyes. His expression was a perfect mask of control, his gaze cold and calculating- a stark contrast to the sparks of energy that rolled off Serciea.

She was asking him to play a game. His ears perked forward in interest, and in a brief moment, the air around them seemed to shift. The older Zagan grew, the more he felt the nagging sensation of… well, he didn’t know what it was. But out of their brood, Serciea cultivated a foreign emotion inside him. He found her light voice uplifting, and that effortless warmth was almost… charming. “What do you have in mind?” He says, the corners of his lips twitching slightly upward at the thought of playing with Seri.

"Zagan Saxe"

Sericea bounded forward, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "It's a game I just made up. I call it Shadows!" She hopped up onto the rock beside Zagan, her tail wagging excitedly. "We take turns being the Seeker. The Seeker has to try and spot the other player as they sneak around, hiding in the shadows and behind trees and rocks. If you're seen, you have to freeze in place until the round is over."

She nudged Zagan playfully with her paw. "The goal is to make it all the way around the clearing without being caught. Whoever can do that wins the round. What do you think?" Sericea tilted her head, studying Zagan's stoic expression. Even though he tried to hide it, she was pretty sure she could see the faint glimmer of intrigue in his eyes.

"Sericea Praetor-Inferos"