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haunted forest
Merit did not typically venture so far from home. Indeed, Jaded Shadows had housed the majority of his exploration for the first three or so months of his life, though he was very close to his fourth. Merit was growing far too bold for his own good, and his journey into the Haunted Forest had only proven so. He'd been observing the forest that existed just beside Jaded Shadows for what seemed like forever. He'd been startled by their winds and shadows one too many times, and now the pup was ready to face his fears and enter. If his mother had seen him, she probably would have stopped him, but that didn't yet click with the youngster as a sign that he likely shouldn't be doing it.
It did not take very long to get into the forest, but once he was inside, he was rather unnerved. He moved at a slow pace, observing the marked gravestones, some with wording, others without. The forest gave him a chill, but he continued to move forward, tiny paws leaving vague footprints in the dirt. He was unsure how long he'd been walking, but he'd been careful to leave a clear path to lead back to the territory. He had not been predicting, however, what would come next.
A large crow, that Merit noticed to be completely unlike a regular black crow, came shooting out of the canopy and strait at his face. The pup ducked away as the crow veered upward, cackling its cruel sound. The crow, Merit realized with horror, was a ghost. The crow stared him down, and Merit glared right back. The crow cackled, Merit said nothing. And then the crow dove back for him, and Merit took off running. Leaping over logs and hurtling over bushes, Merit ran from the ghostly cries until he could run no more, and collapsed beneath a tree, where the crow paused to rest as well in its branches. Unaware of just where he was now, Merit whimpered, wishing he'd never left home.
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