Scruffy’s Adventure

Written by Scruffy–hime

Edited by Luciferia

Chapter 3: Admiring the Scenery

As the pair wandered through the forest, they constantly had to duck under branches, move them out of their way, or climb over some of the larger roots that protruded from the ground. After a few hours of walking the sky grew darker, plunging the forest into deep shadows.

“Should we find somewhere to camp for the night?” Scruffy asked.

“Probably.” Airi replied.

The pair began looking around for any sort of cover they could use as a makeshift shelter for the night. Looking at various trees and large bushes, they tried to decide if they could huddle under one or the other. They found a damp cave that looked to already be inhabited by strange sleeping creature. They decided that they would rather not intrude on the vicious beasts that might call the cave home. So, they began their search anew and wandered through the thick forest in hopes of finding safer shelter.

After a while of searching Airi called out to Scruffy, “Come look at this.”

Airi had found large tree with a hole in it a several feet off the ground. The trunk was hollowed out by something, but no claw marks were apparent.

Scruffy ran over, being careful to not trip on anything and then looked inside what she had found, “It would be a bit cramped with both of us in there.”

“I don’t mind.” Airi teased.

“Are you sure?” Scruffy asked in a concerned tone.

“I don’t want to be alone…” Airi replied sadly, folding her ears down.

Airi playfully climbed into the tree making her tail bounce back and forth in the process. Once she reached the hole, she turned and motioned for Scruffy to come and sit by her. Scruffy clumsily climbed into the tree, and when he managed to make it in the hole he tripped and fell, landing with his face in Airi’s lap.

Blushing furiously, Scruffy stammered, “I–I’m–I’m sorry!”

Airi laughed at him as he tried to rearrange himself out of her lap.

“Should probably get some rest.” Scruffy said after a moment of trying to calm himself.

“Oh? Already eager to sleep with me?” Airi teased.

“I– I–“ Scruffy stammered.

As he turned a dark shade of scarlet. Airi laughed and then proceeded to lay down and began gathering leaves under her head to function as a pillow.

“I wonder how cold it gets at night?” Scruffy asked to try and change the subject.

After looking at him thoughtfully for a moment she then replied in a serious tone, “If it gets too cold I’ll just cuddle up with you to keep warm.”

Scruffy blushed but didn’t say anything.

“It’s alright I promise I won’t bite… well not much anyway.” she said as she flashed a smile showing a small pair of fangs at him.

“I’ll keep watch while you get some sleep.” Scruffy said changing the subject again.

“Wake me if something interesting happens” she replied and then rolled onto her side, tucked her tail close and shut her eyes.

After a long moment of silence, he began to hear her breathing slow and get softer.

“She fell asleep already?” he said to himself quietly.

After an hour of sitting quietly and listening to the wildlife outside their small shelter, Scruffy decided to go look around outside to see if there was anything they could eat or drink.

“How will I know if it is safe to eat anything though…”

He climbed down from the tree and began wandering off in a random direction, making sure that he kept track of the tree Airi was sleeping in.

Scruffy noticed some small wildlife running around under his feet from time to time. They were small quick creatures covered in long dark fur.

“These are really cute.” he said to himself as he caught one that darted between his legs.

He picked it up and took a better look at it. It had large blue eyes with black pupils and a tiny pink nose. Its ears were large and pricked back and forth at all the sounds in the night, trembling in fear of the man holding it. Scruffy decided that he thought they were too cute and he did not want to harm the creature, so he placed it back on the ground and watched it scamper away.

Scruffy began wandering around again, making sure that he remembered how to get back to where Airi was sleeping. He found a small river that had a lavender scent to it as he got close. When he reached the bank, he cupped his hands underwater and then lifted them to his face, taking a small sip. After he was satisfied that it was not going to kill him instantly he took a few more gulps and then began searching for any sort of food he and Airi could eat.

He froze mid–step when he heard a low growling nearby. Pivoting to see if he could find what had made the noise, he spotted an emaciated creature that came up to his knees in height and almost resembled a canine , sitting under one of the nearby bushes. The creature had a jet black hide and razor sharp claws, each as long as Scruffy’s foot, the creature’s fangs were large and stuck out from under its lips. Large globs of drool dripped from its chin. Its eyes were a bright yellow with slit black pupils. The creature looked hungrily at Scruffy as they stared at each other.