He was out and about! Finally, striking out on his own – like an adult – or a hopeful adult, at least. He really should be more excited than he felt; the on and off drizzle of the morning seemed to mirror just how he really felt. He had hoped his departure wouldn’t be on such a sour note, and yet… Things were really very topsy turvey at Grizzly Hollow right now. He could only hope things would settle down by the time he returned later this year!

(That the pack might not be there, or key members might be missing never crossing the young boy’s mind.)

But before he could get too melancholy (or worse, change his mind and turn around altogether), a voice echoed from nearby. Curiosity had always overruled any of his better senses, and he found himself loping towards the sound of a wolf without any alarm, or notion this other soul might not actually want company. “Hello?” he called, ears straining as he came upon the strange geological structure. There was nothing like a cavern in the cedar wood forests! Small feet danced as he circled around towards the mouth, neck straining as he took the entire feature in. “This is amazing,” he murmured before his eyes finally fell on the other wolf. “Uh, hi! Is this…yours?”

“Oh. Sorry,” Felix replied sheepishly, not quite realizing the other boy might have come to the interesting caverns because he wanted to be alone. Solitude was not a concept often applied to the young Hollow wolf – wait, could he still call himself a Hollow wolf? He was born there. Had every intention of returning there (given he would be having siblings sometime in the spring), he was simply…exploring a bit first.

But the other yearling hadn’t asked, so he shrugged it off, focusing instead on the delightful offer the larger wolf had made. His tail began to beat behind him furiously, ears pricked forward – no one at home ever wanted to explore with him! he hummed, smile growing across his fine features. “I’ve never seen anything like this before…I love exploring.” The last admission was made a bit sheepishly as he stepped further inside the caverns, glancing up at the ceiling with a soft sigh. It occurred to him then that he’d completely forgotten all manners in the excitement of the discovery. He glanced back over at the large boy. “I’m Felix. Felix Macieo. It’s nice to meet you,” he hummed, tail waving behind him happily.

“Mathuin,” he hummed, intent on committing the name of his new friend to memory. They were friends, right? No one else even shared an interest in exploring – especially not his sisters. He supposed Flair might be an option, but he’d gone in the wrong direction to find himself at Secret Woodlands. If he went to the northern thickets again, he’d have to ask the redhead girl if they were friends. If she wanted to go exploring, too.

Felix shook out his coat and tried to free himself from his thoughts, lest he ruin his new little adventure by wandering off into his own mind. “Let’s go further inside,” he suggested, breaking into a steady jog. The caverns seemed to go quite a ways back – perhaps they were tunnels? But they would probably smell it, and instead of fresh air, it smelled a bit…stale. Old? That was fine, though. An adventure was still an adventure, after all.

Eventually, he came to a halt as the cavern seemed to narrow, coming to a fork. His tail swished, and he glanced back over at Mathuin. “What do you think? Left or right?” he asked, mismatched eyes bright as he waited for a suggestion.

The silence… Well, if he was honest, the silence was a bit strange. Ophelia, on the rare occasions she deemed him worthy of her princessly presence, would all but chatter his ear off (no matter what she might be scaring away). Even Joan wasn’t exactly the quiet type; it was quite possible that outside of Pip, he was the quietest animal in the entire pack. All the same, he was quite content to enjoy it a little longer, giving a small nod when Mathuin answered the question easily.

Eventually, though, the click of nails against stone started to wear on the nerves, and Felix cleared his throat. “So, uh…where are you from?” he finally asked, keeping mismatched eyes keenly on the strange rock surrounding them. “Do you have a pack around here, or something?”

He could have continued, but the path came to an abrupt halt where a pile of rocks reached almost to the ceiling of the natural tunnel. His tail stopped and Felix sniffed, creeping forward to touch the mound curiously. When nothing happened, he put both feet on the stones and craned his neck, wondering idly if the where stable enough to climb – or if there was anything on the other side. Curiosity won out.

“I’ll race you to the top.”