Guided Walk Explore the Wilderness

Date: 22 September 2026
Time: Morning
Location: Somewhere in Uagadou
Weather: Fair, misty
Storyline: Explore the Wilderness Arc
Word Count: 438

Waking up to the misty wilderness of the Rwenzori Mountains was a novel experience.

Rosamund barely slept a wink the night before, fascinated as she was from experiencing her first night out in the woods. She had wanted to spend the whole night under the skies to see the constellations this side of the world. But, she was pretty sure that the professors would've imposed a curfew regardless, so she fell asleep listening to every tiny creak and trill and sound of the forest outside instead.

When she got out of the tent early that morning, she was greeted with the soft rays of the sun peaking through the mist and the mossy branches of giant heather trees. Even as she broke her fast together with the other students, she couldn't stop staring in silent awe at the majestic forest around her. She's never seen a sight so beautiful since the night she first saw the Geminid Meteor Shower.

And then it was time for the first event of the day, which was apparently a guided walk through the forest to look at some local flora and fauna! So excited was she at the concept of exploring and encountering plants and animals she'd never seen before that she didn't even mind that she can't touch anything. She would've wanted to at least collect some of the moss along the way, but she's also prudent enough to acknowledge the dangers of touching unknown magical things. Her mind promptly reminded her of her father's story about a cousin's unfortunate accident involving a family artifact, and she involuntarily shuddered.

Yes, it is best to keep my hands to myself, at least until I know for absolute certain that nothing is going to harm me, she thought to herself.

A small ways into the path, the forest gave way to a field, in a path lined with African Olive Trees. Their guide suddenly stopped and she watched unabashedly as they mimicked a bird call and a majestic bird in vibrant blue, green and red came flying towards them and through a grove of trees beyond.

That was the most glorious thing that she's ever seen in her life.

She barely paid any attention when the group continued on down the path, so busy was she looking at her hands and attempting to mimic the way their guide's hands looked like when they made that bird call.

And so, while the other students were looking around, learning how to track animals, Rosamund was standing distracted on one side, cupping her hands to her mouth, utterly focused, trying to make bird noises with it.