ivory tipped toes carefully padded their way through the undergrowth, long tendrils of vines and ferns smacking themselves well into the snout of the child. dull azure orbs danced warily over the surroundings, taking in every sight of a new tree, every large rock that the fragile frame would pass by, and take into account how long the small one had been waking. it felt like ages. his little journey hadn’t been too long, but it felt like days, weeks even. reality was, he just had short legs and couldn’t make it too far on a daily basis. he was usually lucky to come across a water source, but most of the time couldn’t drink it due to the possibility of getting sick. he couldn’t afford to be down and out with a severe infection now. the one time he had screwed up it had almost killed him. gotten a scratch, scratch became infected, he had found himself ima trance like state for a solid week, fever induced hallucinations and a horrible case of the stomach flu. he’d decided that being careful was better than being sorry, as he would pay for it later no matter what the circumstance was .

audits were aimed up towards the sky, on alert in case some big monster was going to leap out of the shadows and chase him down as his next meal. zudios couldn’t run too well, nor did he have the time or patience or even stamina to run at this point. the easily knocked over child was about as meaty as a starved squirrel. even if there was a big bad wolf out there, he wouldn’t be a good meal for that poor sucker. he decided this all in a matter of milliseconds, and it felt like eternity. honestly, he had no sense of time.

the young prince let a soft breath escape from his lungs as he continued walking, his mind worrying about all the stupid things that could happen to him. he should just join a pack, get some help, and there, he’d be good to go. he’d heard of the pack with vampires, the creatures who sucked blood out of a harem, but protected them with their lives. he was sure they would maybe take him in, but how would he survive? he didn’t know. maybe he wouldn’t, it was all a big game.

a noise ripped through his ear, the vibrations dripping with sorrow and loneliness. the young boy could feel his heart tear in two with it. “hel...hello? is anyone there? my parents.. my parents are gone... and im lost. please.. i need help.” he wasn’t the biggest or strongest wolf, in fact he was just a pup himself, but he felt horrible. he quickly scampered along the path, trying to listen for anymore voice. none came. he then stumbled across a body- literally. he hadn’t seen it all too well and tripped over it, slamming into the ground across from the boy.

“oof-“ a grunt escaped the small boy before he quickly scrambled to his paws, turning around and looking at the boy, sheepishly. “im.. im sorry. are you okay? were you then one calling for help?” he asked gently, his small frame aching from his act of clumsiness before. “i know im not big or strong or anything, but i can try and help you out?” he continued, letting his haunches slide onto the dirt floor. his dull eyes scanned over the child, one like himself in ways but.. so so different. this boy had scales. was that the magic of blossom forest? he didn’t know.

“im zudios,” the young lad began before sliding his whole body down to the dirt floor. “what’s your name?”

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