The (text-colour:grey)+(bg:white)[Moon] is rising high above the clouds. The sun has long since set. The edge of the woods sprawl out in front of you, beckoning you to enter.
The pine trees stand tall, stretching off into the sky, surrounded by underbrush and foliage, most of it too dense to easily traverse. But just in front of you lies a neat gap into the wilderness ahead.
//(text-colour:green)[Your tail sways lazily in the gentle breeze.]//
[[Go Home->Hub Grove]]The grove around you is unfamiliar, but surrounded by nature and beneath the light of the (text-colour:grey)+(bg:white)[Moon], you feel at home.
The (text-colour:grey)+(bg:white)[Moonlight] is filtered through the dense overhead canopy formed by the trees. It trickles down in shafts and provides dim, spotty lighting across the grassy forest floor.
Your tall, felty ears flit about in different directions, surveying your surroundings. Amidst the gentle rustling of swaying greenery and the low whistle of the moving air, you hear a stream to your left, through a narrow passageway in the underbrush.
Ahead of you is an incline, seemingly trivial to scale. At the top appears to be more plentiful and unblocked (text-colour:grey)+(bg:white)[Moonlight], catching your eye.
To your right is another gap in the greenery. Peering more closely reveals an old cabin, seemingly abandoned.
//(text-colour:green)[A wide ray of light strikes you where you stand, drawing a shadow of your tall, beastly form on the grass.]//
[[Find the stream->Creek]]
[[Climb the hill->Hill]]
[[Enter the cabin->Cabin]]
[[End & Credits]]As you pass through the opening, you spot the source of the soft rumbling of rolling water; a narrow creek running through the woods, with water clear and fresh, and colorful plant life flourishing all around it.
You step closer, feeling as the ground beneath your hindpaws shifts from grass, to silty dirt, to the smooth gravel immediately surrounding the stream. As you kneel down next to it, you see your reflection, staring back up at you.
Your striking gold-colored eyes stand out vibrantly from your dark, volumous fur, even with the distortions the gentle current creates in the reflection.
You lean in closer to better inspect the water itself, briefly sniffing and looking for anything obvious, before concluding that it's safe to drink.
//(text-colour:green)[You idly fidget with your forepaws on your lap, tracing along the edges of the pads with a claw.]//
[[Return to the grove->Hub Grove]]
[[Drink]]The climb to the top of the hill was brief, bringing you up to a small clearing, bathed in the unblocked light of the (text-colour:grey)+(bg:white)[Moon].
Before you is a much sharper incline, one much more treacherous to traverse, and thick foliage surrounds you on either side. The elevation is not quite enough to peer over most of the trees, but the view down below is still much like the rest of these woods: vibrant and lush.
But try as you may to take in other elements of your surroundings first, there are only mere moments before you look up into the (text-colour:grey)+(bg:white)[Moon]. Unblocked by clouds, and in this small clearing, unobscured by trees, you feel your eyes widen as you stare up into it.
Its comforting allure and warm, guiding light is like nothing else in this world. Staring up into the moon, you feel a powerful, primal urge building in your chest.
//(text-colour:green)[The fur along the back of your neck bristles and your ears stand tall at attention.]//
[[Howl]]You approach the cabin with caution, sniffing at the air to detect any recent signs of occupants. As you draw nearer, you find yourself certain that there's nobody inside, nor has there been for a very long time.
The building was made partially out of stone, but mostly from wood, seemingly all local. Though, it was immediately obvious that it was all designed for human occupants.
As you reach to the door, you find minor difficulty in operating the doorknob. Despite still having thumbs, the size of your paws made them noticeably less dextrous. But, you manage to open it, and you duck to pass through the doorway.
//(text-colour:green)[The various old yet lingering scents surrounding the building have you on your guard, yet curious.]//
[[Return to the grove->Hub Grove]]
[[Look around inside]]You cup your forepaws together and dip them into the cold water, then bring a portion up to your muzzle.
The water is pleasantly refreshing, and as you finish, you feel beads of water clinging to the fur around your lips. You shake the moisture off your forepaws, and take a deep, calm breath as you listen to the creek's current.
//(text-colour:green)[The chill of the water sends a brief shiver up your spine, momentarily raising the fur along it.]//
[[Return to the grove->Hub Grove]] Despite the familiarity of the urge, such intensity born only from such an immaculate view and presence of the (text-colour:grey)+(bg:white)[Moon] is rare.
Taking a deep breath in, you conjure all the strength your voice can muster, before letting loose a primal roar from deep within your chest. The deep, gutteral sound quickly smooths out and raises in pitch to form a long, beautiful howl.
Moments before you feel your breath giving way and ending the howl, you hear others, far off in the distance, joining in and echoing through the forest. Most are recognizably ordinary feral wolves. But a certain few, somewhere off in the distance, are others, like you.
You take a few moments to regain your breath and compose yourself. You feel relieved, sanguine, and happy to have been able to share such a thing with other beasts like yourself, and of course, with the (text-colour:grey)+(bg:white)[Moon].
//(text-colour:green)[Your tail wags happily.]//
[[Return to the Grove->Hub Grove]]//Hu-''SHHOOF!''//
You sneeze almost immediately as you step further inside, as the dust inside agitates your sensitive nose. You decide to rely primarily on your sight to investigate further.
The interior consists of a single room, fitting maybe one or two humans. The empty bedframe against one wall was far too small for anything you could comfortably curl up on. The small kitchen against the opposite wall was likewise too requiring of small hands to be of much use, and you found yourself feeling slightly disappointed at finding all of the cupboards empty.
Save for the bedframe and built-in kitchen cupboards, this place was empty. Whoever previously resided in it had clearly packed up and left long ago. Yet despite the poorly-sized accomodations, you felt a pull to this place. Or, maybe not this place specifically, but the idea of living in such a peaceful little home, perhaps with another like you, in a place like this grove, was immensely inviting.
Maybe, someday, you could stay long-term in these woods. Your home.
//(text-colour:green)[Your nose twitches and itches at all the lingering dust.]//
[[Return to the grove->Hub Grove]]Thank you for playing!
Written and edited by Sierra Wolfblood (it/its) of the Dax System, AKA Dax Fugue.
For more of our writing, check out https://daxsystem.itch.io/ for more projects and up-to-date contact information.