The forest seemed to stretch endlessly in every direction. Kiva had long since stopped trying to remember which way she’d come from. Every towering trunk looked much like the last, every patch of moss blended into another, and every unfamiliar scent only reminded her how little of this world she truly knew. She was beginning to suspect that admitting she was lost might actually be easier than pretending she wasn’t. Not that she intended to admit it. Instead, she wandered with deliberate confidence, nose drifting over the scents that lingered beneath the cool forest air. Crushed, fallen leaves. Damp earth. The faint sweetness of wildflowers hidden somewhere beyond the underbrush. It was peaceful enough that she almost forgot, for a few precious moments, how alone she was.

Almost.

A fresh scent drifted across the breeze: wolf. Her ears shot forward. Not old, nor faint. Recent! Without realizing it, her pace quickened. Excitement bubbled up before caution had the chance to catch it. She had spent the last several days meeting strangers, but each familiar scent still brought with it the same spark of relief. Every wolf she found made this place feel a little less impossibly large. She slowed as she followed the trail, making an effort not to charge blindly ahead. Whoever this was moved differently than most wolves she’d encountered. There was purpose in the scent’s path. Few unnecessary turns. No lingering. They weren’t simply wandering.

“They know where they’re going,” she murmured to herself. Lucky. Her amber gaze swept between the trunks until movement finally caught her eye. Dark fur slipped almost silently through the oak trees ahead. Kiva’s tail gave an involuntary wag.

“Oh! Hi!” The greeting escaped before she’d fully considered whether announcing herself was the smartest idea. Realizing she had probably just startled the stranger, she immediately slowed to an easy walk, leaving several body lengths between them. “Sorry,” she said with an apologetic smile. “I promise I wasn’t trying to sneak up on you. I’m actually terrible at sneaking.”

Her ears tipped sheepishly to the side. “I was just excited to see another wolf.” She glanced around at the endless forest surrounding them before looking back. “This place has a way of making you feel very small.” The words slipped out a little more honestly than she’d intended.

A soft laugh escaped her as she rubbed the back of one foreleg against the other in an awkward habit she’d never quite outgrown. “I’ve been trying very hard to look like I know what I’m doing.”

Her eyes flicked briefly toward the trail the stranger had been following. “I’m guessing you actually do know what you’re doing.” Curiosity shone plainly across her face, though she resisted stepping any closer.

“I’m Kiva.” There was no expectation in the introduction, only an open invitation. “If you’re busy, I won’t keep you. I just thought I’d say hello.”

Serrune

A laugh bubbled out of Kiva before she could stop it. “So it’s not just me.” She tipped her head, amusement dancing in her amber eyes.

“I was worried I’d interrupted some incredibly serious forest inspection.” Her gaze lingered on Serrune for a heartbeat before drifting toward the weathered log she’d climbed down from. The faint scratches etched into its surface hadn’t escaped her notice, though she couldn’t quite make sense of them. “I have to admit,” she said, lowering her voice as though sharing a secret, “you looked very mysterious.”

A crooked grin tugged at one corner of her muzzle. “I was halfway convinced you were about to uncover some ancient secret hidden in that old log.” Her tail swayed lazily behind her, the last of her awkwardness fading away. When Serrune mentioned sneaking up on others, Kiva let out another soft laugh.

“Oh, you’re one of those wolves.” She placed a paw dramatically against her chest before continuing to speak, “The quiet ones always make me nervous. You all move around like ghosts while the rest of us are busy announcing ourselves to every squirrel in the forest.” Leaning forward just a fraction, she added with a playful smile, “I think I stepped on every crunchy stick between here and you.”

Her gaze flicked back toward the markings in the log. “Were you trying to map the area?” she asked. “Because if so, I might’ve interrupted a professional at work.”
There was a teasing warmth to her smile as she glanced around at the seemingly endless stretch of oaks. “I’ve been trying to memorize landmarks, but every tree keeps introducing itself as the same tree.”

She gave an exaggerated sigh before looking back at Serrune. ”So maybe it’s a good thing I bumped into you.” The corners of her mouth lifted again, softer this time. “You seem like the sort of wolf who actually knows where she’s going. I could probably use a little of that.”

The tawny wolf followed a few paces behind, ears swiveling as though the forest might suddenly decide to reveal all its secrets at once. Her gaze bounced from the moss to the branches overhead, then back to Serrune’s face, trying to piece together the puzzle.

“So,” Kiva squinted at the nearest trunk with exaggerated concentration. “I’ve concluded it’s definitely a tree.” The declaration came with all the confidence of someone who knew they were spectacularly missing the point. A beat passed before the corner of her mouth tugged upward.

“I swear, I’m trying.” She stepped closer, nose brushing the bark where the darker moss clung stubbornly to one side. Until now, she’d always searched for the things that stood out—a crooked boulder, a fallen log, a stream that smelled faintly of mint after the rain. Little landmarks that told her she’d gone the right way.

“I always looked for things to remember.” Her amber eyes wandered upward through the canopy. “Not reasons they were there.” The realization settled heavier than she’d expected.

“I guess I never asked the forest for directions.” A quiet huff escaped her, half laugh, half embarrassment. “Which, in hindsight, explains why I ended up here.” She glanced toward Serrune again, warmth returning to her expression.

“So,” A paw gestured vaguely toward the surrounding trees. “Teacher, where else is the land talking? Besides the moss.”

The red wolf’s ears remained fixed upon the scout, amber eyes following every motion as though afraid to miss some invisible thread weaving the lesson together. Her gaze drifted from the prints in the dirt, to the canopy overhead, then back to the earth beneath her paws. Tracks. Wind. Birds. Clouds. The land itself. It was a lot, she’d admit to herself. Silence settled for a heartbeat as Kiva looked around again, but this time the forest felt different. Less like a collection of trees and more like something alive. Something speaking in a language she’d never realized existed.

“I think,” she began slowly, brow knitting together, “I’ve been treating the forest like a map.” Her nose wrinkled.

“I keep looking for places. Big rocks. Funny-shaped trees. Things I can point at and say, ‘I’ve been here before.’” A sheepish grin tugged at one corner of her maw.

“And meanwhile you’ve been reading an entire book.” The comparison lingered in her mind, earning a quiet huff of amusement from herself. Kiva lowered her muzzle, finally giving the ground the attention it deserved. She noticed the staggered line of Serrune’s pawprints. Her own, crossing over them. Tiny impressions where a squirrel had darted across softer earth. Things she would’ve walked straight past only moments ago.

“I don’t think I’ve ever actually looked before.” Not like this. A bird called somewhere high overhead. Instinctively, Kiva’s ears flicked toward it.

“So,” she glanced sideways at Serrune, an eager curiosity softening her expression, “how do you tell which things matter?” Her tail gave an absent wag behind her.

“Because if I stop every time I see a pawprint or hear a bird, I’ll still be standing here tomorrow.”

A beat passed before another grin surfaced. “Though I suppose I’d know this oak tree really well.”

For the first time since arriving in Mythris, Kiva made no effort to fill the silence.

It settled comfortably around them, broken only by the gentle rustle of leaves overhead and the distant chatter of unseen birds somewhere deeper within the forest. Until now, quiet had always been something she walked through on her way to the next conversation, the next destination, the next interesting thing. Now she found herself lingering inside it instead.

Her amber eyes wandered slowly across the woodland. Not searching for a particularly memorable tree or an oddly shaped boulder this time, but allowing herself to look the way Serrune seemed to. Their own pawprints crisscrossed the soft earth beneath them. One set sharp-edged and fresh, the other already beginning to soften where loose soil had started slipping back into place. A tuft of flattened grass bent away from the trail. Nearby, moss had been scraped from the base of an old oak, exposing darker bark beneath. Things she’d never once considered worth noticing.

The breeze stirred again, brushing through the canopy before weaving around her muzzle. She closed her eyes for a heartbeat and simply breathed. Damp earth, oak, wildflowers hidden somewhere beyond the underbrush. And then, something cooler drifted beneath it all. Faint enough that she almost dismissed it before remembering Serrune’s words. Water.

She couldn’t hear it, couldn’t see it, but she was almost certain it was there. A slow smile spread across her face.

“I think,” she murmured, more to herself than anyone else, “I’ve spent my whole life looking at forests instead of into them.”

The thought lingered just long enough for her ears to tilt sheepishly. “Which is honestly a little embarrassing, considering I spent years running messenger routes.” A quiet laugh escaped her as she lowered her muzzle again.

This time, the ground seemed impossibly busy. Tiny claw marks stitched across a patch of loose dirt where some small creature had darted toward the shelter of nearby roots. Several delicate hoofprints crossed one another before disappearing into taller grass, the edges still crisp enough that whatever had left them couldn’t have passed very long ago. A broken fern leaned awkwardly to one side, its stem bent but not yet wilted.

Without realizing it, Kiva found herself stepping around the tracks instead of through them.

“Oh.” Her voice came softer now, touched with genuine wonder. “They aren’t just footprints.”

She followed the trail with her eyes for several body lengths before it curved gently around a cluster of shrubs and vanished into thicker vegetation. “They slowed down here.” Her brow furrowed thoughtfully. “Maybe they were feeding… or listening for something.” She paused before giving an uncertain shrug. “Or maybe I’m completely wrong.”

The admission came easily, accompanied by an amused flick of her ear. She looked back toward Serrune, excitement shining plainly across her face. “Either way…” she said, gesturing toward the little trail of prints with one paw, “I don’t think I would’ve even noticed those five minutes ago.”

Another breeze slipped between the trees, carrying with it the gentle whisper of leaves rubbing together high overhead. This time Kiva’s ears followed the sound instinctively before her gaze lifted toward the canopy. She listened for several long heartbeats, smiling when the birds resumed their chatter after only a brief pause.

“I think I just read my first sentence.”

The grin that followed was impossible to hide—bright, proud, and carrying all the quiet excitement of someone who had just discovered there had been an entirely different language surrounding her all along.

( sorry for not bolding her speech, I’m in a rush )