I don’t need the gods, the emaciated man had stubbornly sworn to himself after pushing away his alleged “guide” and striking out on his own, blindly stumbling into the unknown, literally. He’d gotten this far by himself, after all; he would be just fine.

Of course, he had been only "alone" in the care (if one could even call it that) of a pack, where he’d been guarded from danger deep within a cave and provided with food, albeit sparingly. This… was different, obviously. He had no one to tend to him, no one to protect him, and no mental map of the area around him, as he had with his homeland, so, truth be told… Constantine had probably underestimated the situation, just a bit.

He honestly had no idea where he was going or what he was going to do when he got there, aside from “anywhere but here” and “try to survive”. The only thing he’d ever been expected to do before now was lie around half dead and wait for some “prophetic dreams” to ensnare his consciousness; which, in actuality, had mostly just been hallucinations brought on by severe malnutrition. Hell, he'd rarely even left that cave, so he didn't even have to worry about traveling within his pack's territory... and now he was alone, in a foreign land, with three million different ways to turn. Only a few hours into his determined walk through the wilds and he already felt lost and confused about what he should be doing.

It seemed now he had managed to waltz into a forest of some kind. Unlike the barren beaches of the Broken Coast, low vegetation now brushed up against his legs as he walked, and his overly sensitive guard hairs could feel the towering presence of something massive around him, which he would eventually dictate to be trees on account of the heavy pine scent in the air and the fact that his shoulder had roughly bumped up against one.

As he went on, a feeling of dread slowly began to creep up on the man, rising and forming like a monstrous storm cloud and swallowing his defenseless body whole, the smothering sensation getting worse the longer he walked in this foreign environment. He didn’t know where he was… He didn’t know what creatures, prey and predator alike, might call this forest home and be stalking him from the shadows. He didn’t know what lied around each twist and turn- hell, wasn’t even sure where each twist and turn was! And it was all… unnerving… but he tried not to let it get to him... tried to keep a sour, unconcerned expression thoroughly etched into his features as opposed to one of fear and worry.

One had to be tough when going through life completely shrouded in darkness, and looking scared would only make him seem like an easier target…

Vaguely, the image of Morpheus bounced around in his head; the guide that he was meant to call upon whenever ready, but the idea was angrily pushed away.

‘Don’t want to, don’t need to. I’ll be just fine. It’s just a fore-’

Then, he fell.

The ground disappeared from beneath his paws, earning a shocked yelp from the man’s muzzle as his body pitched forward and sent him tumbling down an unseen incline. Scrawny limbs flailed frantically as he struggled to right himself and find hold, but momentum didn’t release him from the tumble until he hit solid ground, forcing a harsh “umph” from his lips when he finally made impact.

Heart hammering and sides heaving to accompany his rapid breathing, the male’s sightless eyes flung open, darting to and fro but obviously not seeing anything. He did feel though, and he could feel that he’d fallen, landed on his right side, and only sustained minor scrapes and aches that would likely go away within a few minutes. Nothing bad, nothing bad... yet.

The gray pelted man, now caked with dirt, took a few moments to relax, then slowly rose to his paws, startled but otherwise okay.

‘It’s fine, it’s fine, just a ditch, nothing too serious. Just get out…’

He turned around and gingerly crept forward a few paces, now more wary of his surroundings and not bold enough to walk at a confident pace, yet found himself soon met with a steep wall of dirt directly in front of him. Mm. Okay. Must’ve been where he’d fallen. So, turn around…

He then went in the opposite direction and took another few steps forward… but found himself blocked again, causing his heart to drop into his stomach.

Though he couldn’t see it, the man had managed to fall into a ditch that had been carved from a river which dried up in the summer. Theoretically, he could turn either way and keep walking, but he didn’t want to do that. He wanted out, back on level ground, where he felt more prepared and knew what to expect, for who knew what other holes or drops might be found along the river bed…

After turning in a few circles, pacing like a caged animal as he tried to figure out his next move, he sighed and pinned back his ears, knowing there was no way to escape on his own, not without spending all day and night going up and down the river bank in search of ground he could climb on. He needed help... even if calling for said help might come with a risk…

Maybe someone was nearby?

Huffing, he swallowed his bitter pride, tipped his head back and called out to whomever or whatever might be around. “‘Ellooo~? Anyone out therrrre~?”

He froze, blind eyes going wide.

What… the hell… was that?