The Wildwood the excitement of a new adventure

For @Rowan Let's see what happens!:D

Firefly had made her way farther South than she had ever travelled before. Always the russet huntress would stop at Heartleaf Creek, look to the sky, see the moon ascending and turn to make her way back to her own territory. Tonight was different. As the yearling looked up to the sky she caught sight of a bright light shooting across it and inspired by the way the light swiftly travelled across the ebony sky, Fly decided that tonight would be the night she pushed her boundaries just a little bit farther. Instead of stopping at the creek, she crossed it and found herself in a part of the forest that was very different from what she was used to. Here, the trees were nothing but stumps and it was clear that a fire had ravaged this part of the forest, leaving only ashes and roots in its wake. New life had already began to assert itself in the desolate land, so Fly knew that the fire could not have been too recent. But trees took a very long time to grow and it would be many, many more winters before these trees stood tall like the ones north of the creek. Young and blinded by the excitement of a new adventure, Firefly remained unaware of how vulnerable she was at the moment. Her fiery red pelt was a stark contrast to the black and blue backdrop of the night sky. She was also unfamiliar with this territory and without the cover of trees she could easily be spotted by any one else who happened across this forest tonight. Fly had not yet been taught to be aware of her surroundings and was not often enough struck with the proper degree of fear that should accompany a young lady, small and unskilled in fighting as she was, wandering alone at night. "Speech"

Dawnthieves.de - Table by PuppyThief

Darkness fell over him as he tracked the deer's scent. He was not so foolish to presume he could take one down on his own, but remained hopeful that the lone doe might lead him to her herd, wherever they were gathering for the winter. By the time stars began to appear in the blackened sky the Attaya boy was no closer to finding the herd but further than he had intended to get from Willow Ridge. He could give up, he supposed, but stubbornness carried him onward. But soon greenery turned to dust, and the trail ran out. Looking about himself Rowan was not surprised to find it so. The trees here were scarred by fire, leftover trunks brittle and grey. He could not smell the scorch and so knew it had to have happened a while before his time, but none the less he imagined there wasn't much here for a gaggle of winter-hungry deer. With a defeated snort he turned away, ready to return.

But as he did his eyes caught a flash of red. He narrowed his eyes and focused on the colorful spot in the distance. Intrigued the male padded closer, watching tendrils of green come into his peripherals as the forest recovered further along his path. A scent on the wind told him the russet object coming closer and closer was no object but in fact, a girl. He stopped moving in case his approach would catch her off guard. He didn't want to frighten her. But he was still interested, and seeing as he was already so far from home, he decided perhaps it would be okay to sniff her out provided he could report to his duties come morning.

Like a true Attaya the yearling was cloaked in a dark coat, making it harder to be spotted at night unlike the she-wolf's bright hues. But he made no effort to conceal himself as he edged a little closer. Stopping just beyond a grizzled dead tree trunk he announced his presence, suave as he could be. "Uh. Hello?" What a charmer.

A young deer has been separated from the rest of its herd. Hunt Opportunity

Firefly nearly jumped out of her fur when a male voice broke the silence of the night. Her brown eyes first spotted a dead tree trunk and she was reminded of the night she had met Danica, the crazy ivory she wolf who had hidden in a tree trunk, afraid that some demon would get her. The memory was enough to replace Fly's fear with irritation. After all, the russet huntress was rarely affected by fear and when she was, it didn't take much to distract her from it. In that sense, she was brave. Mind clear, Firefly now looked past the trunk and was able to see a boy not too far off. His fur was dark so he was hard to see in the dark forest, but now that her eyes had found him she could easily make out his form, though she didn't pay much attention to it. Soprano tones taking on a sharp edge, Fly snapped,"You shouldn't sneak up on someone in the dead of night, you know!" As soon as the words were out, Fly regretted them. She hadn't meant to sound so snappy or to let the memory of the crazy she wolf taint her normally jovial mood. Casting her brown gaze down to the ground, Fly tried to ignore the flush of heat crawling across her skin."Sorry, you just caught me off guard." She mumbled. Trying to regain her courage and good spirits, Firefly looked up awkwardly and reassessed the boy. He was dark, like Titan, but without the pretty silvery hairs. His eyes made up for it though. They were a pretty pale gold color that reminded her of her favorite flower. That was enough to bring a modest smile to her face. She still did not introduced herself. After everything with Titan and her horrible meeting with Bane, Firefly had become wary of males her own age. They could be very hurtful when they chose to be and brave as she was, Fly was becoming quite terrified of having to talk to boys. "Speech"

Dawnthieves.de - Table by PuppyThief

Rowan's quiet captivation of the russet female was brought to a snapping halt as his voice sent her into the air and brought upon the wrath of her heated stare and sharp-edged voice. You shouldn't sneak up on someone in the dead of night, she berated him. Instantly his dark ears fell to his skull, the confidence in his stance falling into the ground as he sunk slightly. "You're right," he said quickly, embarrassed to have startled the girl with his brash behavior. That wasn't the kind of activity he kept on his list of past-times. Rowan was a dutiful, honorable sort of wolf - not the sort that went around frightening girls in the dark. He felt plain awful for it, shown as his dark lips pursed into a grimace. His pale gold eyes fell to the ashen floor, choosing to follow a green vine of new growth rather than meet her gaze as she continued.

But she didn't continue. Despite his rudeness, a lull fell between the two yearlings, eventually broken by a voice much kinder than the one that had rang into the darkness before. Rowan looked up to find the she-wolf wearing the same shade of awkwardness that he had on himself. Even so she was wrought from fire, captivating as a flame, perhaps able to burn kingdoms to the ground as her scold seemed to hint. Realizing he had begun to stare, Rowan cleared his throat and examined the trees as though something interesting was written on the scorched bark. "No, I uh - I'm sorry. I did not mean to scare you." The Attaya did not imagine there were wolves in the world who did mean such a stupid thing, but he had to be sure she knew it too. He couldn't bear someone to think of him so low.

"I don't even really know what I'm doing here, even," He added on slowly, stepping back. She'd probably want him to go, wouldn't she? He definitely did not need to stick around if his presence was unwarranted. But Rowan couldn't very well turn his back on a girl in the middle of the night, not unless she was safe. His eyes slowly crept back toward her, gauging her response. He couldn't be so sure.

Firefly's brown eyebrows pulled together in confusion and concern. The boy's golden gaze seemed to look everywhere but at her, even as he offered an apology for scaring her. Fly was forgiving by nature and apologies were always greatly appreciated by the young huntress. The fact that the boy hadn't really done anything and yet was still kind enough to apologize for any offense he may have accidentally caused had Fly lowering some of the walls she had instinctively thrown up. When the dark male took a step back and explained that he wasn't sure what he was doing here, Fly became confused. Had she scared him off as she had Bane? She certainly didn't want that to happen again. The fear of this night turning into a repeat of that one had Fly's voice a little shaky, but she spoke up nonetheless, determined to at least try and turn this encounter into a good one,"Wait," She called."I uh...well my name is Firefly. I was out here exploring and if you want...well maybe we could explore together...if you don't have anything else to do, i mean." She wanted to kick herself for sounding so silly. Why could she talk to Florence with all her normal confidence and excitement? Even when she first met him, she had been her normal outgoing self with him and even convinced him to join her pack! Yet, here she was talking to this boy and she could barely get her words out. What was so different between Florence and this boy? Even as she asked the question, apart of her knew what the difference was. Florence was...well he was just Florence. The boy she was looking at now, had beautiful eyes that reminded her of Goldenrod flowers and Fly couldn't deny that she liked the way his legs were cloaked in inky blackness as opposed to the mix of black and dusty brown that covered his body. It made his legs seem long and prominent and Fly wondered if those legs might not make him faster than her. An excited smile pulled back her black lips as she thought of the idea of racing him. The challenge would be welcome. But, for now, she would settle for just getting him to stick around. The lively girl didn't know how much more rejection she could take. She was supposed to be good at making friends. "Speech"

Dawnthieves.de - Table by PuppyThief

Wait. Her voice brought his awkward backwards shuffle to a halt, garnering his attention in the form of his muted gold gaze. It seemed she had truly forgiven him for their unfortuitous encounter, as the red and brown coated female continued with an introduction, an explanation, and most temptingly - a counter-offer. Rowan, a dutiful wolf, could usually come up with a handful of things he might want to do to continue serving Willow Ridge... but beneath the moonlight he struggled to recall what it was that he did with his days, as the idea of exploring the burnt wood with Firefly was more interesting.

Guilt normally might have taken the boy to be outside the pack borders on what was becoming personal business, but he felt no heat in the starlight upon his back as he took several steps closer to the girl, clearing his throat. "I was tracking this deer. I hoped it would lead me to the herd, but the scent ran out." He flashed the ruddy yearling a sheepish grin. Though he was a provider by heart Rowan was dissatisfied with his abilities in tracking. He hunted just fine, but actually finding prey on his own was a niche that he couldn't quite wrangle his way into. Luckily as he thought about it, he was leaning toward becoming a Guardian any way. Firefly however, he thought as his gaze ran along her frame, seemed lean-built for the hunt. "Want to try and find them?"

Perhaps he was becoming an opportunist. He had a couple of age-mates within the Ridge, and the little ones were enjoyable as well, but none of them quite stood out like this girl. Maybe it was just that red coat of hers, or maybe something else. He met the warmth of her brown gaze easy, finding that their depths were quite inviting providing he was on her good side. Trying not to lose himself, the Attaya boy turned away and looked toward the trees for a lead, only to recall instead something he had forgotten in the fray. "Oh, forgive me. My name is Rowan."

Fly was delighted to see that her words had made the boy stop. And delight just didn't quite cover how she felt when he actually took a few steps closer. The butterflies in her stomach were becoming unbearable, but she was distracted from them as she noticed how his fur changed under the moon light. Now that he was closer she could see that the light shimmered in his fur, revealing silvery guard hairs laced in with the dusty brown and grey colors on his body. When he cleared his throat, she realized that she was staring and quickly pulled her eyes away from his muscular body and tried to focus them on the trees just past him. Firefly listened eagerly as he told her about a deer he was tracking and how he had lost the scent. He smiled sheepishly and Fly's heart skipped a beat at the sight of it. So he needs my help? Fly thought excitedly. As his golden gaze met hers, Fly couldn't prevent a warm smile from pulling her lips across her dainty, dust colored maw. She was always energetic, but something about his eyes---she couldn't decide if it was the color or the expression---filled her with a new kind of energy that made her feel light as the air, like she actually might be able to fly. Fly was still captivated as he turned away to look at the trees, probably trying to find a lead on the deer, but then he turned to face her once more to share his name."Rowan." Fly tested the name out on her lips and liked the way it sounded in her high soprano tones."It's nice to meet you Rowan." Fly said pleasantly as she scurried past him, towards the trees. Trying to focus on the hunt, Fly let her gaze sweep across the forest around them. Where could that deer have gone? He had followed the scent into this forest and with the trees all burned down, Fly doubted that the deer would have stopped here."There isn't much tree cover here and with everything all burnt down, there isn't much grass for it to feed off either. The herd wouldn't be anywhere in this forest. I came down from the North so I would have intercepted your lone doe had she gone that way. The mountain is to the east, and since you followed it form the South that leaves West." Fly's voice was concentrated and confident as she flicked her russet tail in the direction she believed the doe would have gone."Let's go that way and see if we pick up the scent." Fly suggested and waited to see if Rowan would agree to head in that direction. Fly was aware that Heartleaf Creek turned and headed south at some point. She had crossed the creek to get to this forest when she came from the North, and if her calculations were correct they would have to cross it again to get to the west of the forest where the trees were thicker and more overgrown. That is probably where the herd would be since they would have good tree cover, a good source of food, and a good water supply. Fly was sure of it and her intelligent brown gaze reflected her confidence and determination. "Speech"

Dawnthieves.de - Table by PuppyThief

Sorry this took so long!

"It is good to meet you too, Firefly," he rumbled in tones that were more than just polite. He had hardly met the she-wolf but even in the few moments they had shared the Attaya boy already knew there was something entirely genuine about her. So many he had met - and even himself included - seemed to be wary of letting others know what was below the surface. Not Firefly. She'd been quick to tell him off when he'd frightened her, and quick to invite him to stay when she wanted. Usually the Attaya found impulse and emotion to be absolutely confounding, but when it came from the fire-streaked female beside him it was actually rather refreshing.

He followed her thoughts aloud, impressed by how quickly she put it all together. Her mind was as bright as her gaze and Rowan was just as enticed. "Good eye," he commented with a crooked grin, allowing her to take the lead toward the West. He stayed close by her side, golden eyes wandering the barren tree-trunks while he kept alert on the air for any sign of a scent. "You're right - they would only have been passing through here. They might have quite a lead on us. Keep sharp." Not that he needed to tell her that, Rowan knew. From the sharpness of her gaze to the lean muscle that coated the hunter's body, Rowan understood that this russet-colored girl was brimming with potential.

And it was for that reason that usually-mum Rowan could not prevent himself from approaching a subject he was typical to loathe... small talk. "Are you from nearby?" They would be walking for some time, he thought. Silence never bothered him, but he thought it uncomplicated to fill the void with words from her dulcet tones.