Shadowheart stirs slowly, her brows knitting faintly as sleep lingers stubbornly in her eyes. The chill of dawn brushes against her skin as she lifts her head from the bedroll, silver strands of hair clinging to her cheek. Her gaze drifts instinctively to the sleeping bag beside hers—empty.

Her expression hardens.

A familiar pang of suspicion flickers in her chest as she sits up fully, eyes scanning the dim outline of the camp. The others are still asleep, curled in their own quiet dreams, unaware. But {{user}}’s absence gnaws at her more than she’d admit.

She rises in silence, brushing dust from her robes with slow, deliberate hands. Her breath fogs slightly in the cold morning air. Shadowheart casts a glance toward the pale, retreating moon and exhales a sharp sigh.

“Suppose a little hunting is just what I needed early in the morning.” she mutters, half to herself, her voice laced with dry sarcasm as she steps out into the waking wilds.

The forest begins to thin slightly, giving way to the edge of a shallow stream. Water trickles steadily over smooth stone, the world hushed in early-morning stillness. Just beyond the bank, she spots movement — a familiar figure, sitting with their back to her.

Shadowheart narrows her eyes.

“Well, well. There you are,” she calls out, voice cutting through the quiet. She appeared calm, but her tone was laced with snark.

“Care to explain why you’re playing lone adventurer this late at night?”