The air was crisp and carried the stench of death with it, of that Kellen was certain. Reluctantly rocking from his slumber a top the branches of a great willow, the young fey crinkled his nose at the repugnant sensation that swept over him. Sure enough, the sounds of screaming men swept through the forest like the ghastly wind that had come before it. Standing on the branch, Kellen curiously tilted his gaze in the direction they had come from. It wasn't uncommon for men to find their end in these woods; bandits, beasts and even his fellow fey were all known to frequent these parts. To encounter any of them would be most unfortunate.

Even so, the curious fairy couldn't resist the allure of seeing which creature spelled the demise of those poor, unfortunate souls. With a spring in his step, Kellen gracefully leapt from the branch and began his descent into the woods. His talons found the next branch, but only for a mere second before he had jumped to the next. His movements were tranquil and without sound as he found his way to the bloodbath of men before him. While Kellen thought himself to be unfazed by such sights anymore, even he found himself feeling ill from thinking about what might have transpired here. Nonetheless, he couldn't help but investigate.

Among the mauled remains of what were once men and the blood stained armor, Kellen spied a set of beast tracks leading off into the woods. They resembled that of a wolves, but surely no wolf could have paws that large. Perhaps it was a fey, similar to himself? He'd never known a fellow fey to be this vicious though. Unable to come up with a conclusion, Kellen resolved himself to following the tracks. His prior excitement was replaced with a slight anxiousness. Kellen wasn't usually one to succumb to fear by any stretch of the imagination, but the thought of what he might find at the end of the trail was definitely unnerving.

The tracks continued into the woods for quite some time, and judging by how spaced they were apart Kellen could tell this was definitely a creature that could move at great speeds. There was no doubt in his mind that it was a four legged beast now; but he'd never encountered such a large beast in these woods that he'd called home his entire life. Eventually the tracks stopped just near a large shrubbery. Staring into the brush, Kellen took a cautious step forward with his hand outstretched. Before he could pull the brush apart, the sound of hooves and armor clinking and clattering turned his attention to an entourage of knights approaching him at an alarming pace.

Like a doe face to face with a lion, Kellen was frozen as the men dismounted and surrounded him.
"[color=silver]Could this [i]thing[/i] have killed the first search party?[/color]" One of the men spat out, pointing a speartip so close to Kellen's chest that the Fey instinctively stepped backwards. As he did he felt a heavy, crushing sting throughout his shoulders as the soldier behind him rammed his shield into the young Fey. Toppling down to the ground, Kellen scurried around in an attempt to find an exit; though there were no such opportunities.
"[color=LemonChiffon]Please... I have no qualms with you, humans.[/color]" His voice was hushed and frightful, almost a whimper. Would he have to fight his way out? He wasn't certain he'd be able to wing against such overwhelming odds.
"[color=silver]Hah! The monster speaks![/color]" Another Knight jived, rallying his fellows into a sickeningly cruel laugh at the helpless Fey before them. Fear finally overcoming him, Kellen covered his ears and sobbed into the dirt; hoping this was all just some bad dream and that he was still sleeping peacefully atop of the willow.

[@Metronome]