January 18th; Mid-morning; Freezing fog; -2 ° F, -19 ° C

Grief had taken its toll. Through the first of the winter months and through the quiet dawn of the new year, Rook had stripped himself down, emotionally and physically. Once well-built, his barrel-shaped chest hinted now only at the possibility of what he could have been with regular, weekly meals. It had been tough to merely pray his sorrow away - no, he had resorted to several means of releasing his inner feelings. In nearly every place where he and @Quil had searched for Cinder, he clawed at the trees, broke their brittle branches and uprooted the dry grass blades from their places beneath the snow. He wanted to make sure that whoever else happened to come upon that place, he wanted them to know that he, Rook Lyall, had been there...

Steely, mismatched eyes scanned the edges of his family's expanse of forest, unsure if he could try again to return home. Sleeping on the edges of what was once his domain, he supposed it was best to keep @Tomen from witnessing his fits of rage and disappointment. The cycles of grieving had long since passed, however, and there was merely nothing left for the young patriarch to feel but a longing for something familiar.

Being back at square one where the home he was coming back to was still missing its core members. He knew by now that some was better than none. At the very least, he was aware that @Veho was still there, shouldering the responsibilities that were once his to bear.

His heart felt as if he skipped a beat; and, all too suddenly, it was as if he remembered what he had left behind. What love and security he had abandoned, if only briefly, to take care of himself and to attempt to put his mate's worries to rest. Things would be different this time around, he decided. Especially now when he truly believed that a truce had been executed at last between Grizzly Hollow and Willow Ridge, his Uncle Angier's side of the family. Things would be all right. Better even.

With the slow lifting of his paw, he drew forward, perusing the bases of the trees for the places where his pack mates had been, if only to add his own signature scent to it with the touch of his toes.

Leaving Grizzly Hollow in the paws and jaws of his most trusted companion - @Veho - had been a good call as anticipated. Who Veho had chosen to fill Quil's role in her stead, he wasn't so sure; he had let Quil take charge of that (while he had whispered some lengthy goodbyes to his other significant other). One of his bear-like ears swiveled to one side as he was made aware of someone or something nearby. He withdrew his paw from the base of a rough-barked tree and assessed his surroundings, looking hard at the gaps between the ancient giants. The thin veil of fog didn't help in the slightest either; and it was here that he remembered to brace himself, to recall who he was beyond the Hollow: Gaheris. A lone, wandering knight...

He inhaled deeply, the frigid air chilling his lungs. A bit of shake, which was more due to the cold rather than nerves, in his left paw urged him to begin moving; perhaps he could find his pursuer or seeker first. Eager ears pressed forward atop his skull and his alertness was rewarded with the subtle scampering of this individual somewhere off to his right.

Rook stopped in his tracks and he dared to let his tail wag out of mere curiosity. "Hello?" he called out into the haze, alerting the other to his precise location now. "Is someone there?"