The dense thicket gripped tight as Azure raced through the gloom, relying wholly upon senses newly honed to far surpass those of mortal man. Each breath drew deep the verdant scents of loam and leaf, filtering nuances which guided his fleet footed passage. The rustling trill of nocturnal creatures guided his surefooted tread along hidden game trails known only to the dawn's first light. And borne faint upon the copper-tinged breeze came the howls, growing louder with each pounding stride until he burst into a broad glade dappled by silver moonbeams.
Skidding to an abrupt halt, Azure took swift stock of the scene unfolding before him. Three hulking wolves circled a petite elven maiden barely more than a doe in their shadowy midst, pale face etched in terror as circling paws edged ever closer. Her limbs trembled visibly, yet fingers remained clasped tight around the gnarled staff comprising her sole means of defense. Against such savage opponents armed with tooth and claw alone, it was small wonder she appeared on the verge of collapse.
Yet somehow the stranger sensed within her an inner steel which refused to yield while breath remained. Eyes of lambent amber flecked with gold met his own for the briefest moment, silently pleading yet defiant even in the face of almost certain demise. In that heartbeat something beside simple duty to protecting the defenseless stirred Azure's soul.
A howl rending the tense silence heralded the first wolf lunging forwards, massive jaws agape to deliver the killing strike. Without pause Azure drew and loosed in one fluid motion, arrow slicing sure and true to pierce the beast's open maw. It crumpled with a piteous whine as two companions whirled to face this new threat, hackles bristling as they scented his own inhuman heritage.
A guttural snarl poured from fanged jowls, announcing this no longer a simple hunt but a challenge to their dominance over this territory. Azure welcomed their provoked rage, relishing the chance to test mortal skill against predators whose instincts bordered upon primal magic. Slowly circling the glade's perimeter while beckoning with taunts and jeers, he drew first one, then the second into rash attacks easily evaded. Swift blade drank deeply as it darted beneath shaggy underbellies, spilling viscera upon the loam while the forest rang with pained howls cut brutally short.
Breath steaming in the cool glade, Azure turned to find the maiden on trembling legs surveying the carnage with mingled awe and lingering fear. Her guise of delicate waif dropped away to reveal steely resolve, cold pragmatism assessing whether this new stranger posed threat or ally. meeting those piercing amber orbs now gleaming keen as her gaze, Azure knew an accord had been reached between kindred souls unwilling to bow before the cruelties of a dark wood.
"My thanks, strange warrior, for rousing my guard yet sparing my life this night. Few in these forests would risk themselves so for an elf alone and unknown. I am called Aisha - what name may I grant in return for your timely aid?"
Azure noted the subtle edge beneath welcoming words, respecting her caution though harboring no wish to deceive. In this glade beneath watchful stars a communion had begun, fate entwining their paths on a journey neither could foresee.
"Azure is my name. Now come - the perimeter hides further dangers as the forest wakes. Together let us seek shelter till dawn light returns."