It's been two hours since the group left their old home behind and journeyed into the forest, yet they still haven't found even a hint of the path that leads the way. Confounded, Luke pauses to burrow into one of the many packs he carries on his back, pulling out a large, tattered map.

"That's weird..." He mumbles. "We've been stickin' to the directions here, and we haven't seen no dirt path yet. Y'all sure we didn't take a wrong turn somewhere?"

Claire stands on the tip of her feet to check Luke's map, then looks back to her own, small, but detailed, with extensive, wordy instructions. "I don't think so... my map's been pretty accurate so far. Had we gone somewhere we shouldn't have, I would've known. Jeez, it would've been easier to just draw down where to go instead of relying on a trail of dirt?"

She turns her head up, and between the branches and leaves, sees Umbra doing her best to fly up for a better view. "Tell me if tou see anything!" She yells.

Above the forest, Umbra sees nothing but bushy treetops, as far as the eye can see, in nearly every direction. "Not a thing!" she replies before fluttering back down, her wings retracting in a tired state.

With nothing to follow but the map and a compass, the creatures regroup and head further east, hoping to find any sign that they're on course.

Another hour passes.

"These maps must be quite older than I thought," Claire continues. "If the trail's recent, then the smartest way to find it would be to just keep... an eye out for it...?" She trails off, hearing the sound of her footsteps change ever so slightly.

Before they noticed, distracted by the constant fuzzing over the old maps, the group found themselves on the right path. There wasn't less to fuzz about after that, the tension in the air escaping through the ever-denser greenery.

Ollie seems bothered by something. "So, quick question... where does the path lead?"

Claire answers immediately. "To the forest's village, like Luke's friends said."

"Yeah, I know, but..." Ollie keeps at it. "Where else does it go? If we didn't find it until just now, then it must go from the village to someplace else, right?"

This takes the group by surprise.

Ollie finishes his thought. "Wouldn't that mean we could maybe be going away from the village, then?"

Startled, but refusing to stop walking, Claire hastily checks her map. "Maybe, but maybe not! I'm not entirely sure what else could be up ahead if we're going the wrong way, but if we're actually right, and we keep walking just a little more, we might eventually walk straight into..."

As she turns her face up to check her bearings, sunrays begin to pour from ahead, and the wind picks up, rushing through them.

"A clearing."

The path below them swivels past a clearing; an open space occupied by little more than the soft grass they walk, and the clear blue sky that fills the horizon. While Claire and Umbra take a moment to bask in their discovery, and sigh, relieved that they're indeed on the right path, Ollie tries his best to keep himself from sprinting past them and frolicking in the wilderness.

Yet, he can't keep himself from doing just that, and gushing about it. "Oh my god, look at this place! It's so bright in here and the grass is so green and mushy...! Luke, are you seeing this?! It's perfect!"

As the three watch Ollie look at everything in awe, Luke waves at him, not even trying to hide his goofy smile. "Ha ha ha! Look at my ol' pal go!" He rests his tired body on the soft grass. "Man, lemme tell ya both a li'l somethin'. When Ollie and I go out hiking together, this... this is just the right kinda place for us to roll around and wrestle and stuff. If I went and did that right now, I bet he'd get real flustered about it, heh."

Umbra looks at Luke, with that impish smirk she always shows at times like these. She nods at him eagerly. "We'll just be over here, buddy."

Feeling his face turn red, he hurries off. "Hey, Ollie! Wait up for once! They'll be watching this time!" A distant "Ehhh?!" is heard.

Though entertained by the boys' antics and relieved to have caught a break during their trip, Claire still keeps her eyes on the path. If it's as recent as it appears to be, she thinks, then wouldn't that mean creatures have started using it often? The thought of seeing even more new faces is giving her her own kind of bliss. Umbra can feel it, too, shimmying up next to her to follow her eyes more closely.

However, Claire's eyes then turn to what's even farther ahead; the other side of the forest seems to go on longer, grow deeper. She hopes that having a clear trail to follow will keep them away from any mishaps this time.

For some reason, she feels like their little journey is just getting started.