<span style="font-family:Philosopher">Avi relaxed his hand and let it drop to his side, watching as the girl silently stared at his arm. At first, he was almost offended that she didn’t reciprocate his introduction, but quickly extinguished his ire upon realizing that she heralded from an entirely different race. Was a simple handshake unknown to the girl? Perhaps human customs were foreign to her, along with the thousands of other gesticulations that his culture possessed. He let out an amused huff before dropping his gear.<br/>
<br/>
For a species so similar in anatomy, their cultures were polarizing to one another. <i><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000">Maybe that</span>’<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000">s why our ancestors never got a along</span>; <span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000">pure and absolute ignorance</span>, <span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000">followed by an inability to fully grasp each other</span>’<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000">s intentions</span>, <span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000">culminating in a war that led to the systematic slaughter of millions</span></i>. Avi clenched his jaw and glanced at his sword. Had he been born just a few decades earlier, the very weapon he pledged to assist the elf with would’ve been lodged straight through her back. He smirked at the irony of it all. “<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000">Naya</span>, <span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000">huh</span>.” His eyes followed her as she stripped herself down, save for her undergarments, and descended into the pond. For a moment, he simply stared at her body, choking back a whimper when he finally pried his eyes off her form. Surely any man would be forgiven for ogling those curves; those shapely hips and prominent mounds. Shaking his head, he undid the buckles of his pack and emptied its contents. It’d been three weeks since he last stopped at a city, the most recent of which being Belmere -- a former elven metropolice that bordered the Red Groves and the Hearth, but was besieged and occupied by the humans during the war. By the time the war was over, the once proud city was ransacked, reduced into nothing more than a brothel-infested pit stop for travelers and soldiers. Avi clicked his tongue. His supplies were running low; his rations almost depleted. He’d have to do some hunting and foraging soon, lest he get this far only to starve. <br/>
<br/>
“<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ff4dff">Do you have any gauze or something I could pat myself dry with</span>?” <br/>
<br/>
The elf’s voice disrupted his train of thought, reigning his mind back to reality. Avi glanced at the contents of his bag, and then back to Naya. A brief silence passed before he grabbed a roll of bandages from his bag, took off his coat, and walked over to the shore. The cool breeze brushed against his newly-exposed skin, causing his body to involuntarily shiver. “<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000">Here</span>. <span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000">To dry yourself</span>.” He placed the coat down. “<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000">And this to wrap your leg</span>.” He set the gauze on top, watching intently as the elf hopped out of the water to grab a cadmium colored flower before crushing it in her palm. Perhaps the elves withheld information that scholars would only dream of. Feats in art, medicine, and technology; All lost thanks to the quarrels of man. Wordlessly, he left the girl to her own devices and walked back over to his belongings. <br/>
<br/>
The sun was almost over the horizon, the fleeting light casting long and dark shadows against the forest line. He’d have to set up camp; get a fire going too. Methodically, he pulled out a small dagger and worked the earth, digging a small pit in the gravel before wandering into the woods. He blinked a couple times as numerous branches and shrubs snared his legs and whipped at his cheeks. It was getting harder to see through the sheer amount of vegetation as the once lush greens of flora shifted to dark violet. For a few moments, Avi simply relished the sounds of the night. The continuous hum of life put his mind at ease as he gathered twigs and leaves. Suddenly, his eyes snapped onto something moving in the dark. Multiple somethings. He paused, his body tensing up as his eyes panned the stygian depths of the forest. His human eyes could only see a couple meters before everything congealed into a uniform shade of purple. All he could see were dark forms churning in the shadows, constantly moving through the dense brush. Avi took a weary step backwards, a pile of dead leaves crunching under his weight. <br/>
<br/>
The only way he could describe what happened next was as if death itself swept over the forest. Nothing but a deafening silence filled the air as the world held its breath. The air turned cold and empty, as if the sounds of the night went quiet in response to his sudden awareness of the approaching danger. Avi’s heart began to slam in his chest, his breath quickening as adrenaline began to course through his veins. With increased haste, he scourged the forest floor for dead leaves, grass, and twigs, prying off the lower branches of a dying tree in a frenzied effort to gather supplies before back-peddling towards the pond. Then, and only then, did he turn around and scramble to where his belongings were. “<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000">Naya</span>, <span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000">we</span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ffffff">’</span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000">re not alone</span>.” His voice came out surprisingly alarmed, almost panicked as he reached into his bag. He swore silently, striking his dagger against a chunk of flint until sparks flew on top of the tinder he conjured from the dead leaves. His eyes snapped towards the tree line as low growls reached his ears. The sun was long gone now, only the low embers in his hands illuminating what little earth surrounded him. But then, he saw it. A pair of glowing eyes that penetrated through the dark. Then two, three - up to a dozen eyes that bored directly into him. He cupped the bowl of leaves in his hands and blew, watching as the fire took, emitting a large amount of smoke before igniting in a bright orange flame. Avi’s joy caught in his throat, only to drop to the pits of his gut. The fire pulled back the shadowy veils that once concealed the beings of the dark, revealing their beastial forms in the light. “<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000">Direwolves</span>.” His voice came out below a whisper, his body seizing up entirely. At least seven of them emerged from the forest, forming a semicircle a few meters away. He took a steadying breath, not breaking eye contact as he placed the burning tinder in the center of kindling, blowing on the fire to encourage it to grow. The wolves saw this as an opportunity to advance, their huge forms pacing forward without a sound.<br/>
<br/>
Avi drew his sword and angled his blade at the beasts, preparing himself for death.</span>