The sun was setting, as Seeker walked onto the clearing. It was no use to continue the search in the dark, and this seemed like a good place to rest. In the fleeting light, he tried to get a fire running. "Good thing I collected some firewood on the way", he thought. Seeker heard a rustling nearby. The local wildlife started to wake it seemed. He wasn't afraid. The locals had told him that there were no really dangerous creatures in the Whitetail Woods, and he had traveled the outskirts of the Everfree Forest before. He just hoped that Blacky was alright. After the Running of the Leaves, Seeker had spend hours asking around the other participants and the bystanders if any of them had seen his dog, but he only earned blank expressions. Oh sure, some of them remembered him striding around Ponyville, but noone had noticed anything past that. Without thinking to much, Seeker had bought food and water for a few days and had set out into the Whitetail Woods, looking for Blacky. This had been the longest they were separated for years, and Seeker was unusually worried at the moment. Blacky was smart enough seeking out a water source, surely, but just how long would he be able to sustain himself with just water and grass? Seeker just couldn't get a fire going. Maybe he was to preoccupied with his worries to concentrate properly, or maybe the wood was too damp. The weather seemed to be stable, and he couldn't see a single cloud in the sky, but it was autumn, and naturally it was getting colder by the minute now the sun went down. It was times like this when Seeker most missed the deserts. "In Celestias name, distracted again. I need to get this fire going!" he thought. And so he continued rubbing sticks together, silently cursing into the night.