Across the snow plains and icy brooks, the lynx and ermine were steadfastly approaching the source of the sound, at least according to Lewis' nose. As the former kept sniffing the air, the other stayed close to his side, despite all the snow splashing onto him. But even the repeated icy flurries couldn't abate Edward's lingering agitation.

The further they ran, the more he noticed that the encroaching trees were becoming congested in this neck of the woods. Their long, rickety branches stretched over the pair, daring to encapsulate them within. Compounded with his fear, he realized he had never gone this deep in the haven, considering the vastness of the area itself. They say that at the deepest center of the woods lay the fallen, where hundreds of souls have wandered to and fro since the war. And with superstition comes paranoia, where some describe the trees as having burls of blinking eyes, while others were nearly engulfed by a circle of flames. While some of these rumors amounted to hearsay, it couldn't stop the tremors from wracking the ermine's body.

"H-Hey, maybe we should come back another time? We already ran this far, and there's nothing else here," Edward nervously stammered, quickly looking around. Before bumping into Lewis' hind leg.

"Stop. Look over there," Lewis muttered, his voice low. Crouching towards the ground, the feline quietly crept up towards a grove, where a couple of crocuses managed to break through the ice. Their purplish-white petals adorned their petite stalks, giving way to a blooming flower amidst the snow. Flames of firelight danced from tree to tree, becoming like garlands strung from each bough. And right in the middle of them sat a puddle of viscous blood. Unusually shaped remains were strewn about—like confetti after a human's party, Edward would imagine. As the two neared closer, the stench of it was becoming unbearable, but it didn't dissuade Lewis from creeping closer. And his nose twitched at the sight of entrails lying before his paws, still fresh and beating with life.

"What happened here…?" Edward asked, his beady eyes wide with both puzzlement and anxiousness. In this serene part of the woods, where even the forest itself was in deep contemplation, the abhorrence of this scene was enough to make the ermine scoot away. Gulping nervously, his teeth went to grab at Lewis' leg, desperately trying to drag him. "C-Come on, we have to go! Who knows what kind of beast lives here?!" he insisted with a fistful of fur in tow.

"Wait, this scent…" Lewis muttered, his nose sifting through the pool of scarlet. "It's no beast, but…" Catching a whiff of earthy wood, the odor of stale sweat, and the smoke furling from the area, his canines were set in a growl. "...It smells like a human."

"Ha, you're joking, right?! Even if they came from the nearest village, nobody would dare leave them be! Haven't you seen how many corpses are left unburied around here?!" Edward shouted, his eyes wide with trepidation. Calming his breaths, the ermine ruefully continued, "The difference between a real human and us is that we'll always revert when we've reached the end. But for a human to cross over our borders, it'll only spell senseless slaughter by the Keepers."

"...The Keepers?" Lewis repeated, his ears twitching to the unfamiliarity.

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"You really are just a seasonal resident, aren't you?" Edward muttered, paying him a sidelong glance, before grimacing. "They serve as the haven's most ardent guardians…ever since the Forest Keeper's disappearance. But for someone to become inducted into their group, something…incredibly strange happens."

"What do you mean by that?" the lynx asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Erm…I can't quite put my whisker on it, but…" As the ermine's body stiffened, he admitted in a low voice, "Their human forms look more animalistic, from what I've seen. Especially that fox—Fitzgerald! He gives me the absolute creeps whenever I'm testing out my prototypes at sundown. Saying things like "You shouldn't be out this late, you little twerp", or even, "Bet you're tastier than you give yourself credit for." An absolute carnivore, that guy."

"By animalistic…Is that really so different from the talking animals in the children's storybooks? Like the ones who learn to walk on two legs?" Lewis inquired.

"No, no! They still act and appear like humans, but…" Shuddering at having remembered those large glowing eyes from between the trees, as well as the residual blood seeping between those sharp teeth, Edward mumbled, "...Their faces are more akin to an animal's. Y-You'll just have to meet them in person to see what I mean! Oh, wait, actually, maybe it would be better for you not to meet them at all! Because believe me…" Pressing a paw to his chest, he exclaimed, "I felt like I might as well faint right then and there after seeing him lurk in the shadows!"

"Hm, with how easily scared you are, perhaps you're exaggerating this to some degree," Lewis remarked before looking in another direction. "The scent is faint, but there's still a trail left behind…" he shrewdly observed, despite the loud complaints of his companion.

"Hey, who said I was scared?! Having your heart run like a hedgehog on ice doesn't always equate to being scared! And where do you think you're going?" Edward cried before quickly following behind Lewis.

"Whoever must have done this isn't too far behind. I'll confirm who the culprit is, and it would be best if you could alert those Keepers about it."

"Great, dealing with another human that'll be used as fertilizer for our haven. A marvelous plan, my friend." Edward shrugged, a smile twitching on his face, before angrily bickering, "Now if only the Keepers didn't feel like kicking me out every time they see me, then this plan would go off without a cinch."

"So why are you still here?" Lewis asked, quickening his pace.

With a proud grin, the ermine snickered, "Because I always find a way to make it back in. But aside from Fitzgerald, the others aren't as bad, I'd say. The longest-standing Shaman they have right now is someone called Thiago. Who knows what animal they are to live that long."

"Thiago…" Lewis mused to himself while wondering, "For my family to never bring up the Keepers, perhaps we're simply seasonal residents after all."

"H-Hey, wait up! You're running too fast—!" the ermine beside him wailed, leaving the lynx to scoop up the creature into his mouth.

"At least he'll stay put for the time being," Lewis groaned inwardly as Edward froze up between his jaws.