Jericho has spent a good part of the past week using whatever free time he has (and it isn't much — who knew running a group would keep you so busy?) to get to know the new territory.  As Helion he feels like he should somehow know the place like the back of his own paw already, as if somehow he's missed whatever knowledge is supposed to be magically bestowed upon leaders.  It's embarrassing, walking blindly into trees and struggling to find his way back to camp when he turns around at night.  How can he act like he's in charge if he hardly knows what he's in charge of?  Inadequacy gnaws at him with every step, and yet he wanders, trying his best to get a feel for the mountains he now calls his home.

When he walks his movements are slow and hesitant, cautiously testing the ground before each paw falls into place.  Small and weak as he is, he takes breaks every now and again — often to pick flowers and herbs and place them gingerly in his satchel.  Jericho is stopped now, leaning over a patch of chervil with lightly parted jaws to taste the air for their familiar, bitter scent.  But something else hits his tongue — an unfamiliar smell, a nearby creature not of Sunhaven.  His head lifts, distracted from his herb-gathering, and suddenly his white-tipped paws are carrying him towards the source.

He hobbles to a quiet halt, ears pricked and unseeing eyes wide, starting just past the child blindly.  His whiskers twitch and he can sense that she's small, likely young; he hears her rapid breaths and can almost feel the fear that radiates off of her in waves.  "H-Hey — " he begins to speak gently, cutting himself off with a small smile.  Jericho's tone remains soft, and though his eyes do not focus on the stranger they fill with warmth.  Perhaps he's too trusting, but he wants to help.  "Are you... uh, a-are you alright?  I mean, um, do you need h-help?" the Sunhavener asks with polite kindness.  She's clearly frightened, but the tom can't figure out how to ease her anxiety or what has caused it.  He lifts a paw as if to take a pace forward but pauses and blinks, awaiting a response of some kind.