The agouti boy wasn’t sure how he felt about the crimson forest to the south of the Shallows. It was not an obnoxious colour, like the orange that plagued his birthplace, but it wasn’t exactly a pleasing colour either. It was loud, intense, and excitable. But it also worried the tawny Leigh, for it was also a colour he associated with danger and frustration. He frowned. He would have to get used to it eventually, especially since the forest bordered his new home.

At least it was better than—shudder—orange.

The scent of another deterred him away from his path, his nose wrinkling as he pursued the stranger. Moving in with Askan and the Edgy wolves had given the boy a surge of confidence—a trait he had not possessed while living in the Vale. Normally he would have shied away from the loner, for he enjoyed his time alone. But things had changed during the move. The group he belonged to had become his family and he would do anything necessary to protect them (especially Pumpkin Eyes). Which meant approaching strangers when he didn’t want to.

Lookin’ for something? He called out at the mahogany wolf, a frown creasing his dark lips. The brilliant pools of topaz nestled in the stranger’s skull were awfully familiar, but that wasn’t Sachiel’s concern. Not now. The wolf was getting closer to Edge territory and that was definitely not okay.