I stare the pile of bare bones that once was a rabbit and feel my sanity surging in with regret in tow. That solves the mystery of my personality problems, when ever my stomach ends up empty, no matter what, the instinct is to stop everything and hunt for food even if I don't need to eat. Instincts of a predatory animal are scary. But now I know that as long as I keep eating I'm me, like that advertisement taught us, ha ha ha... But does anything else than meat work? I mean I'm quite sure I heard "this is how it supposed to be" when I was eating that rabbit. Only meat, any food? I'm screwed if it's meat, I might start hunting humans. I stay there for a moment deep in thought, till I decide to bury the rabbit's bones.

I'm been trying to find my way back to the castle since while ago, but no matter what it feels like I'm walking in circles. That means my phone, my other less important stuff and free clothes and bedding are no go anymore. Can't even talk to the guards, or even see if they can talk. Well, I did find the trail multiple times but following it to the castle is impossible, my nose nor eyes can't locate a path there and memory from wolfme times it too hazy to trust. At least I had the sanity to completely evaluate my health in the mean time. No fractures, nails completely healed and nothings hurting or restricted while moving or resting. And the clothes are fine too, just little bloody...

I locate the trail one more time and walk away from the castle while following it, while carefully maintaining iron focus not to slip up again. The trail ends quite suddenly with an enormous plain stretching as far as eye can see, my eyes, or the wolfs, so that's pretty big distance. As try to gauge any landmarks or roads I could use as my next objective, I see a man riding in the distance. He's coming this way, has he spotted me? Maybe I should head back to the forest while I can.

I think as I hear the man calling me to stay put. The man is too far away to actually believe that someone could hear him yell, but thanks to my ears I hear him just fine. Can't go to the forest with him having seen me, that would be suspicious, oh, isn't that why he shouted? Yes, indeed, just because normal person can't hear what he's yelling, doesn't mean they can't see him pantomime the act of shouting and that would drop them on their tracks, if they're innocent or even if they only pretend to be. So I waited.

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The man reached me quite fast, so he has to have a good ride, maybe a warhorse? I think as the man stares down on me from his saddle, well as down as you can stare guy reaching your chin with his stare, I'm tall after all. "You're tall fella, ya know?" Says the man or asks, I'm not really sure but he keeps going so I don't answer. "You know, not that many come to these far woods here." Now I answer: "Kinda figured that out from the lack of roads.", while wearing my smug, thin lipped half-smile. "In fact you're the first to ever come out of these woods right here." The man keeps drilling about.

"Hard to believe, you know, with the only track being the one in these particular woods." I answer smug as ever. "In fact, I think it so weird, that you must be an enemy spy." He retorts and keeps going with: "What's your name, boy?" I think deep and decide to lie to him, after all, my full name might be weird for a commoner to have: "John." The man looks me into the eyes and ask "John what, how come noble like you doesn't have name or a horse?" Oh yeah, I was wearing the nobleman's garments. "John Doe- Khm, John Dove, got robbed while traveling." I lie. "Tell me, Lord Dove, why do you speak like common man?"His barrage continues. "Sir Dove, not a noble but a squire of a knight, as my lord's servant's servant I traveled with the nobles carriage in our way east, but we got ambushed and robbed." I take in breath and continue: "As the knights, including the one I squired for got severely wounded and the noble was killed, my liege promised to knight me if I can avenge him, so I thrown a rock, hit the murderer as he was riding away, he fell and died." "Oh, and so my liege knighted me on spot with a name he got from a bird flying by." I keep lying. "Is that so, must have felt blessed." The man answers. "Not as blessed as I was that mule or donkey didn't walk by as I was being knighted." I retort. The man chuckles, and I grasp the moment to ask: "Then who might you be?" "A knight, Sir William Hardhelm, traveling from east without seeing any such scene or place where it could have happened, and it doesn't really explain what you're doing in a forbidden area in the west." He says puffing up his chest.