A small sigh escaped Rivers' lips as he stopped for a moment, looking around. There was slushy snow still melting, which was expected, he supposed, and the forest seemed rather... quiet. But that soon changed as he heard a peculiar bark from the north. Narrowing his two-colored eyes, the man squinted off into the distance in an attempt to see the reason behind the noise, but after a while, it faded. Shrugging it off, he cleared his throat and went on.
Perhaps it was time to go back. He was already a ways from Anathema, and it would get dark soon enough. If he didn't manage to get home before the falling of the sun and the rising of the moon, however, he could always find a nice, isolated brush somewhere along the way, get some sleep and food, and continue the next morning. It wasn't a big deal; he had done this once before, a time when he was the newcomer in his pack.
However, as he was turning to go back, he froze at the sound of the barking. But this time, it was heading toward him. Quickly turning his body to face it, he bent his knees into a defensive posture, which was flexible enough to move if need be, but sturdy enough to support him if the source of the barking was taking the offensive. A scent wandered into his nostrils, and by the smell of it, it belonged to a younger canine. One of the pack he smelled earlier. Maybe the pack that was on the other side of the Sugarwoods, but regardless, he probably had gone too far, after all. Oh, this would be fun.
Image courtesy of miez!
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