AARYN
He'd barely made it to the bottom of the path down the mountainside from the disformed cave when he stopped dead.
Directly across from where he stood, where the paths intersected and a thick patch of trees sheltered several bushes, two bright eyes peered out from between the branches of a large bush, watching him.
Aaryn's breath stopped. He swallowed convulsively, staring, uncertain what to do.
"Mom?" he breathed.
In a blink she was gone, her silver-white fur flashing in the gap where her eyes had been. There was no noise at her passage, though one of the saplings nearby quivered briefly.
For a moment, all other thoughts fled his head and Aaryn launched himself into the bushes, crashing through to look for a trail, a track, anything. But as soon as he pushed through that initial barrier, he got one fleeting glimpse of her tail disappearing between trees deeper in the forest and he staggered to a halt again.
