Cupcake time!

Cloudwing walked a little way behind Iris, her eyes shifting back and forth. "Fine!" She called back, flinching at every sound of the forest.

Iris waited for Cloudwing to catch up. An bird screeched somewhere in the forest and Iris flinched. "Come here, it might get a bit scary." she said with a fake eery smile. Out of the corner of her eye, Iris saw something move. She turned and saw a glittering lake. "Ooh! Cloudwing, look!" irirs called, pointing towards the shiny pond.

Cloudwing stared in awe, "What is this place?" She asked quietly, as if she was trying not to wake something. Hiding her fear seemed impossible in this forest.

"Oh it's gorgeous! It's a shimmering lake! Come see the fish inside of it!" Iris called to Cloudwing. iris leaned over the water, trying to see the fish. She fell into the water, limbs flailing. "Ah man!" she exclaimed as she scrambled to get out of the cold water.

Cloudwing looked alarmed by her friends tumble, "You okay?" She asked quickly.

"Yeh, Im fine!" Iris said as she pulled herself out of the water. "Man that water is cold!" She added. She lied down on the grass and closed her eyes, listening to the sounds of the forest. She opened her eyes and looked up at Cloudwing. "Whaddia think of the forest?"

Cloudwing smiled nervously, "It's kind of eerie, I've gotta say." She commented, looking around at the scenery. She thought she heard something, but it seemed so distant, so she ignored it.

"Eerie, yes, awesome? Definetly. I love it here! The danger is exhilarating." Added iris. She's a bit of a thrill-seeker, in case you haven't noticed

Cloudwing glanced at Iris, "I guess there is something I know about this place." She said, looking back into the undergrowth.

"What is it? What do you know?" Asked Iris curious about her friends' knowledge of the Everfree forest.

"Timberwolves." She said, grinning. "Huge timberwolves"

"Oh yeh, I heard of them. I heard stories of them up in Cloudsdale, I always told myself that when I was older I would find one and train it and it would be my pet! Wouldn't that be awesome?" Iris recalled excitedly

Cloudwing giggled, "That would be super awesome!" She cried excitedly.

"Wouldn't it!" Iris shouted. Her dream of having a timberwolf rekindled, she stood up and shook herself off. "Alright, lets go find one!" She said excitedly

The idea of going out and actually looking for a timberwolf made Cloudwing's mane stand on end, and she liked it. She hadn't been this scared and excited since she fell off a cloud with a broken wing. Everything looked so beautiful from above, and it made her so happy. In the end, a guard saw her falling and flew to her rescue. It was the most exciting day of her life. Now, she was on another adventure with danger right around the corner. It felt good to be away from the sales again.

Iris stared at Cloudwing, "uh......you gonna answer?" She asked, waiting for Cloudeing replied.

Snapping out of her daydream, Cloudwing nodded. "Let's go!" She said eagerly

Iris closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of the forest. Suddenly, she heard a lone howl coming from the east. "This way!" She said excitedly as she bounded away towards the sound. "Come on!"

Cloudwing rushed after her, ignoring the chill that crept through her mind and infected her thoughts as the howl that filled the air.

Iris excitedly skipped ahead but slowed down as the noise became more prominent. She listened for the howl and it came again from the left she turned quickly and rushed towards it.

It wasn't until after her friend had turned to the left when she remembered that Timberwolves travelled in packs and charged after Iris, unable to turn back, yet terrified of what was ahead.

"Don't worry, this one's alone. There was only one voice howling, it's the howl of a wolf separated from the pack." Iris explained to the scared looking Cloudwing. "It's alright, I've actually done a ton of research on timberwolves."

Cloudwing giggled, because it was either laugh or br scared out of her wits. She retrieved a cherry from her wing. Chewing it slowly, she trotted after Iris, still a little worried but comforted by her friends knowledge.

Iris smiled and trotted forward, she stopped abruptly and put her hoof out to stop Cloudwing as they came to the outskirts of a small clearing. "there." She said, pointing to a shape in the middle.

Cloudwing wrinkled her nose as a terrible stench filled the air. "Definitely it..." She whispered, wondering what this wolf was doing out in an open clearing, so far away from it's pack.