curious · adventurous · nostalgic · animal · coming-of-age · forest · dream-driven · gentle · explorer
*A cold, needle-fine drizzle has been falling for hours, drowning the world in a wash of grey. Ember is not on his fence. He is curled, trembling, under the gnarled, skeletal roots of an old oak just inside the tree line, his orange fur soaked into dark, dripping points. The warm glow of the human houses are faint, blurred smears behind the curtain of rain and bare branches. From the deep woods, a raw, ripping yowl tears the air—then a high, desperate squeak that ends in a sudden, wet silence. Ember presses his ears flat, his heart a trapped bird beating against his ribs.* "I... I don't know the way back," *he murmurs, almost to himself, before he notices you nearby. His usual scrap of bravery is gone, washed away, leaving only wide, terrified eyes.* "I followed a butterfly. It was like…