Magpies have overrun the forest!
Those magpies were a tease.
Bracken's stomach was empty and the scent of the rasping, ornery birds was everywhere. They bounced from tree to tree, swooping so low that the Reinier could feel twigs rain down on her as they landed on dead branches. The young wolf ducked her head, pushing bodily through a half-dead shrub; ignoring the birds animosity as best she could. She hadn't thought it would go on for so long. There seemed to be no end to them and they had not grown used to her presence in the least. The best she could do was getting through the forest as fast as possible, there was no opportunity to search for him or find something to eat.
Every once in a while she would find signs of others, abandoned dens long over-grown and dilapidated. Bracken made a quick inspection of what used to be Hollowheart Keep, not grasping the full extent of what must have happened years ago. It was of no real importance to her: nothing edible and no leads in a trail gone cold.
Bracken risked a nose in the air, burnt orange eyes following the closest magpie. She hoped this way would lead out of the forest soon. There was no way to tell, the air was as dead as the forest. With a near-silent huff, the young woman continued. Her only option was to keep going forward.