The night broke through the trees like netting, he could see the shadows dance of branches and dapple the ground before him as clearly as he could see the nose at the end of his muzzle.
Gildedheart swept forward, his paws silent and swift, his blue eyes wide and alert. He was patrolling, it was a habitual duty he had performed long before it became his job.
He liked to know his clan was secure, he liked to know it was safe.
As the golden dappled apprentice ambled forward he began to become increasingly aware of another presence, like a thought that slipped his mind was tugging violently at it for attention.
Without making any sudden motion he stopped walking, his gaze dropped to the ground yet his ears remained erect and sensitive to the sounds that danced within the marshy forest.
He wasn't alone.
His muscles tensed into coiled wires ready to spring at a moments notice, his claws were unsheathed and clutching at the earth for support.
Gildedheart did not lift his gaze up from the ground, but he kept his senses aware of his surroundings.
Where? Where was this other presence?
He could see nothing and it worried him.