Chapter 7: First blood
The next day, just as planned, Noctis started moving towards the deeper forest. As he moved closer and closer to it he got the similar feeling as when he first visited the outskirts.
He felt as if he longed to go into the forest. Deeper into the woods. No. More than going, it was more akin to returning to the forest.
As he walked among the rows of lush green, he felt a peace different from the usual feeling he got while gazing at serene landscapes.
Rather than taking joy in the beauty of nature, this felt like being part of it.
He grew more and more curious about his origins as he stopped thinking for a moment to just bask in it.
The first thing that came to his notice the moment he crossed the symbolic threshold of the outskirts was the heightened activity around him.
His instincts flared warnings in all directions of various dangers and opportunities.
The density of foliage and trees gave much better protection to prey as well as much population to predators.
As he moved deeper and deeper in the forest, the canopy almost entirely blocked out the sun leaving the floor damp and atmosphere humid.
Barely any signs of human activity could be found. Noctis had to carefully pick his prey and plan his movements here.
He did not want to end being a Mantis stalked by Oriole while hunting a cicada.