Pati

When the outer river of The Heart of the Forest crested its banks, Pati didn't run. They were too busy watching their mentor, a seasoned tracker, get swept away by the current. The last thing their mentor did was toss a crimson cap toward the shore. Pati snatched it from the muddy water, the bright red a stark contrast to the churning brown chaos. They have worn it ever since. The locals in the amber-leaved clearings see a quiet wanderer with perpetually wide, shocked eyes. They do not know that Pati is not looking at them. They are forever staring at that raging river, at a hand disappearing beneath the waves. The cap is not for warmth or style; it is an anchor to the moment that taught them survival is just another word for being left behind.