neonthewrite:

A noise that didn’t fit in with the rest of the forest sounds reached him, and Bowman sucked in a breath. His ears pricked to the sound of something walking through the foliage, something with enough mass to push aside many of the low bushes that grew throughout the woods.

He thought of deer, gentle, enormous creatures that hopped through the forest on light steps on occasion. They migrated near the village sometimes, but often not for long. A deer wouldn’t be an issue.

Then, he thought a wolf. Not as common as the deer, the hulking canines were still a much fiercer predator than their cousin the fox. Wolves walked on enormous paws and bared teeth the length of a sprite’s arm. Not many sprites could boast the bravery to face one. Bowman only knew of one, and it wasn’t him.