The rustling stopped, leaving Eren on edge as his eyes flicked through the canopy. Despite his instinct to check the trees, he was convinced that what he 'd heard was something running across the forest floor. On high alert, he silently sniffed the air and leaned across the branch to check down below, his pulse starting to calm now that he knew the threat wasn 't in the trees. Whatever was down there had no way of knowing they were up here, and even if it did, it was likely incapable of reaching them.

A twig snapped, and Eren 's head whipped towards the source. He watched the ground closely, eyes jumping between several gaps in the foliage and getting frustrated at the lack of clearance. Despite the obstructions, he soon caught sight of something scurrying around in the dead and fallen leaves. His eyes widened at the gleam of purple scales, sporadically dashing across the ground in a seemingly panicked state.