<span style="color: #408000">High among on the treetops, he walked on silent feet, treading lightly over the damp bark. He paused briefly, crouching down, and sniffed the air. An unfamiliar scent, delicate in nature, met his sharply-sculpted nose, adept as any woodland creatures' as a product of his ancestry. He turned his head to the side, his pointed ears moving ever-so-slightly as he listened for any indication of an alien presence in the forest. This was his home--it had been for the entirety if his young life and for that of his family for generations--and it was his duty as such to protect it from intruders or any who wished it or its inhabitants harm. He could hear the canopy quieting, feel the tension in the abundance of creatures hidden in the branches around him. Something was off here, and he could not quite determine that which was causing the disturbance. <br/><br/>He descended to a lower branch and hid himself mediocrely, too intrigued to be more cautious, and he waited, watching intently the land beneath him. He was not unaccustomed to humans passing through the forest--travelers seeking shorter paths, children from nearby villages who wandered too far from home, and even quest-bearers seeking the fair folk themselves often found themselves lost within the depths of the forest, to be guided out by the magic and wiles of those whom they could only dream of meeting but would never truly see. Leaving these woodlands had only occurred on rare occasions, and yet he remembered vividly being in the presence of folk from far-off lands--the stubborn and strong dwarves in their mountain halls, the audacious giants of the Great Valley, and the malevolent trolls living in cave fortresses lined with the bones of the living and dead, among others. And yet, he could not find traces of any of them in that which he sensed slowly approaching his post now. <br/><br/>Unable to predetermine the origin of this creature, he resolved himself to patience and eagerly awaited it. Extending his arm some time later, he estimated that the sun had moved nearly a half-span since his descent to his present position. He suspected the trickery of one of his fellows and stood to walk away when he heard a rustling to his side. He snapped his head in the direction of the sound, his shoulder-length chestnut hair wildly swinging around his face like an auburn raven taking flight, and froze.</span>