Exploration

The Wolf prowled amongst the bushes, he was not hungry, yet his gait was slow and precise, each paw placed with the utmost care so as to not alert anyone else of his presence. The only thing he wanted to give him away was the breeze that carried his scent or perhaps a tuft of his hair snagged by the thorny branches of the bushes he navigated through. The creature’s coat would suggest he was not from here, but in all reality, this region, this southern territory it was his unmarked home despite his reluctance to traverse it all.

He was young, only two and a half, he had his whole life to explore and yet, he had refused to do so, but today was different. Today, for whatever reason when he awoke he had an urge to go further than before, he wanted to know more about the land and its inhabitants. He would start here, in the grove, surrounded with small prey and potentially large and dangerous predators, particularly, bears. Fattening themselves for the winter a large enough bear would not think twice about attacking him. Thus, he moved forward as quietly as possible. Pausing here and there to sniff at a different type of berry. The berries had perplexed him, but he refused to eat them. Even when he had been hungry, he knew better than to eat what he did not know about and he knew not whether these berries were toxic to him.

Stark was alert, as he meandered within the berry bushes, his nostrils flared frequently, his ears twitched at every sound. At the rustle of the thorny bushes ahead, his stride stopped, limb in the air, head lowering just below shoulder height. His nostrils flared, anticipating the breeze that would flow his way. Still, he readied himself to face a hungry bear, making a note of the way he had came and how quickly he could get away on that route.