---Fenris' POV---

Dawn came and passed and for the first time in ages, I woke up well rested. Stretching myself completely, I let out a whine before venturing outside. So far nothing has changed over the past few days I've spent here, though I did detect a few surges of energy at times.

It seemed as if this realm was frequently visited by some creature but I had been lucky enough not to bump into it. The sun shone brightly and I enjoyed it immensely, spending most of my hours lazing around when it was a sunny day.

Today would be no different, seeing as I had done enough to make my den and I wasn't inclined to make a food stash any time soon. I'd rather hunt when I needed it, not kill any critter in advance and risk spoiling it.

My paws thudded on the forest floor as I started in a mild trot, picking up speed as I went until I was nearly flying. Oh and how I enjoyed it. All the smells that greeted me, amplified by the air dashing past as it tugged on my fur.

For the first in a very, very long time, I was content. The foxes no longer fled when I approach but yipped in greeting, minding their own business and even the misty buck kept to the background, eying me warily.

It had nothing to fear; I only feed when hungry and I preferred the sweetness of the fruits rather than its meat.

A distant roar made me slow down and come to a halt before pricking my ears up. The wind was quickly picking up and I saw several long-tailed birds flying up in a panicked state.

The trees flexed suddenly in the wind, as if invisible hands tugged at the branches while passing by, the roar of air dashing past made me whine and paw at my ears. I had to turn away from the wind, squinting with my eyes at the dust that was kicked up.

I could hear something flying past, wings fluttering in the air as the following air waves made me back up into the bushes and lay down. As I managed to peak an eye open, I caught sight of immense electric blue wings, all four of them effortlessly pushing down on the air as the creature landed.

But what landed wasn't a bird nor was it an angel. Sleek fangs glistened in the bright sunlight as the creature yawned and stretched its body, causing the sunlight to spark of its scales in an blinding show of colors.

I blinked and shook my fur out, pawing at my eyes before looking over again. If my eyes didn't betray me, I had just seen a winged serpent land in the clearing a few feet away.

Anxiety gnawed at my stomach, causing me to raise my hackles slightly as I stayed in the shadows. Surprisingly the wild life didn't seem frightened at all; in fact, they all ran towards the serpent as it folded its wings and changed.

In the place of the serpent stood a man. An enormously ripped male that didn't care he was naked and instead crouched down as the foxes dashed towards his feet, yipping happily. His hands petted through their fur, gentle of their delicate wings.

Tilting my head, I kept to the shadows but slowly moved around to get a better view. The man greeted the foxes with warmth, pursing his lips to whistle softly as the fog grew thicker.

The buck slowly materialized, majestic as ever as it strode up to the man, lowering its head slightly to accept the soft scratching. It huffed slightly and shook its head, making the man chuckle softly.

"It's great to be back home. And such a warm welcome." He chuckled as the foxes yipped, leaning on his knee with their front paws. The buck snorted, pawing its hoof at the soil and succeeding in making the man look up.

"Oh really?"

My ears flickered at his voice as I sniffed the air, trying to figure out what was going on. Clearly he had some sort of connection to these creatures, was even able to understand them but I didn't know how much when the buck lifted its head to look in my direction.

The man instantly looked over, easily spotting my white fur in the darkness and stood up. "I thought I detected something out of the ordinary when I arrived." He stepped carefully over the foxes and took a few calculating steps, only to pause at my venomous snarl.

"Easy there pup, I've no intention to harm you. I just want to get a better look at you."

I nearly scoffed at that, instead allowing my hackles to rise up fully and backed up a few steps. Whoever he was, whatever he was, I didn't trust him. People had a way with words, to twist and turn them so they promised nothing, hollow and empty words underlined with bitter cruelty.

His body rippled with power, the creatures of the woods calmly watching his every step without fleeing. I on the other hand was tensed up, ready to defend myself if it was necessary. My own body rippled and shifted, growing larger and proceeding to stun the man slightly as he paused and observed in wonder.

"Curious...How did you slip from my attention before? I've known every creature on this realm up until you popped up." He took another step and I snapped my jaws in warning, backing up slightly.

Yet He didn't. Instead he followed my steps until I snarled at him and leaped forwards in a fake charge. Dust kicked up as I grinded to a halt yet the man kept watching me with a deep curiosity. My attempt to scare him off had unintentionally brought me closer to him; all he had to do was reach out to touch me.

And he was already doing so, his hand hovering inches from my fur until I turned tails and ran. This wasn't a question about losing face and pride; pride didn't keep me alive all these years. Caution did.

I yelped, paws digging into the soil as the man appeared before me in an instant, blocking my path with outstretched arms. Pushing off against a rock, I darted in another direction, leaping into the woods as an attempt to shake him off.

Still, I could hear his feet barely touching the floor, hooves following in the distance. I had no idea if the buck was trying to help either of us, but the fog was welcome and I quickly slipped in it, trying to use it to my advantage.

I kept on pushing myself, paws thudding on the soil in a constant pattern as I dashed through the forest and onto the rocky slopes beyond. If I could just make it over those rocks, I could circle back to the woods and hide for the next few days.

Looking over my shoulder, I panted and slowed down a bit when I realized I was no longer followed. Perhaps I had already lost him in the woods thanks to the buck?

Panting from exhaustion, I shook my fur out and sniffed the air but detected nothing. Still, there was this metallic scent in the air, the scent you'd expect after a heavy thunderstorm on a hot day or when the air was pregnant with rain and thunder.

Looking up at the clouds, my ears instantly flattened as I tiredly bared my canines. The winged serpent was effortlessly floating on the currents. Its long body curling around itself, tail flicking slightly.

Tossing its head back, it roared as I turned and ran the other way. But instead of being able to flee and hide, I yelped and grinded to a sudden halt when a sudden twister spiraled out of the air and smashed on the floor.

The roaring of the air intensified as several other twisters formed, circling around me in a wide circle and preventing my escape. Wherever I turned and looked at, a twister was touching down until I found myself in the eye of the storm, the wind forming an impenetrable wall around me.

My lip curled up in distaste as I sneered and looked up at the eye of the storm, the only light shining down from above and revealing the Serpent casually circling down to hover and land a few feet away.

A God. Of course he was a God.

I growled but didn't move, knowing I had nowhere to go. All I could do was watched as the man shifted back and walked around me, blue eyes sharp and intelligent as he looked me over. By now I was too tired and simply laid down, allowing my body to shrink to a smaller size.

A low growl still rumbled to my chest but I wasn't able to defend myself against this...this creature. I just wondered what it wanted from me. Because there is no way it chased me all the way over here and pinned me down, only to get a good look at me.