Bern

Writing Prompt: Forest
"Bern! I hoped I'd find you here."
The wolf turned and smiled. "I suppose I've made myself rather easy to find, haven't I?" he called through the trees.
"Always a wolf of habit."
"Come and see what I've found! You'll never guess what it is."
He was standing at the base of an enormous fallen tree. The trunk was as thick as she was long. But her mate wasn't talking about the log. Whatever it was would have to be a true oddity for him to be this excited about it. So, naturally, she was excited as well. Thrush trotted down the ridge she had been standing on, and then up the next one. Bern shifted as she approached.
"Here, come stand right where my paws were. Now, look at the base of the roots. See that?"
"Oh! Oh, what is that?"
"That's what I've been trying to figure out. I haven't touched it yet, but when I poked it with a stick, it squished inwards. Now, the root isn't completely solid, but it's not rotting. If we step back…"
"It shimmers. Okay. Let me try something." Thrush leapt onto the trunk and started to hop about wildly. The roots shook slightly.
"Hold on, stop! I think it just cracked?"
Thrush jumped down from the log. "It's still cracking. Maybe we should step back. A lot."
Both wolves scrambled back a few paces, wary. They watched the root in silence. It seemed to be opening. Eventually, Thrush edged closer.
"Bern. Come here."
"I don't want to."
"I promise I'll protect you from the root. Just come over here."
When he saw what it was, he burst out laughing. Thrush joined him.
"We can. Never. Tell the pack. That we've. Been. Cowering before. A giant moth crysalis," Bern finally choked out between laughs.
"I can't. Agree. More."

His mate, Thrush.