night wanderer

It wasn't that he was breaking the rules again. No, definitely not. He was just... toeing the line. Again.

He couldn't help it. The territory was just so enticing at night, especially during Greenleaf; the sounds of the insects coming alive were like music to him. Even now, at the tail end of Leaf-bare, he could hear them call his name beyond the edge of the camp late at night.

Sneaking away was easy, even with his larger stature. Ravenstep got his name for being light on his feet, and once he was free of the camp, he was all too happy to prance through the woods, following curious scents and peering at the sky through the underbrush.

It wasn't that he got scared out there on his own. No, definitely not. He was just... surprised.

The growl was loud and low, and close—far too close for comfort, especially considering the scent marks put in place by the patrol earlier in the evening. With a muttered swear, he skidded back toward camp, thundering through the underbrush and almost trampling over Lilycloud in the process.

Ravenstep veered to the side at the last second and almost tumbled tail-over-head in the process. His pupils were enormous in the dark, chest rising and falling rapidly as the adrenaline slowly left his system. "Oh," he said dumbly, glancing past Lilycloud to the dark beyond before focusing on her again. "Uh—hey." 

The silence stretched for a moment or two before Ravenstep's claws sunk into the soft earth—beginning to knead anxiously. "Sooo... what're you doin' all the way out here so late at night?" It came out casually—like he hadn't just nearly taken them both out in his hurry to get home.