The air felt crisp and cool as its frozen fingers stroked through his deep thickening fur, causing a chill to shimmer down his spine as his lean figure snaked through the curtain of trees towards the lowlands. The world had been alive with hot, fiery colour; the autumn leaves had once brought a warmth that had radiated from every blanketed surface, even when the sun brimmed along the far horizon. Now, that warmth was gone; the rich autumnal colours faded out beneath a thin sheet of freshly fallen snow.

A heavy breath teased past the corners of his hot charcoal lips, forming a gossamer cloud that was swiftly swept away in the morning breeze. As the male moved, his hot aching paws melted through the snow, exposing the red leaves which lay just beneath the glistening white surface. Golden eyes peered onwards through the dark silhouettes of the trees towards the hot flickering of the sun as it rose up from beneath the horizon, casting light across the lowland expanse - and the monadnock which nestled within it. Home.

Lorcan would have yipped in delight had his jaws not been clenched firmly around the fragrant bouquet of medicinal plants he carried with him. The subordinate wasn’t sure how long he had been gone, two weeks, maybe three, it was hard to tell when the days all seemed to blur together. With a rejuvenated sway in his step, the healer traipsed onwards, ready to settle back into pack life.

The woodland was quiet, aside from the single robin which sang fervently from a branch high up in the bony canopy, and apart from the gentle crunch and splash of his paws as they traipsed through the thin layer of crisp snow, everything around him seemed still and frozen. It was almost as if all the fauna that usually began to appear in the early hours had today decided to remain curled up in the warmth of their ice-laden burrows, which for a small fleeting moment, meant that Lorcan felt almost completely alone.

Though as he took a deep breath, to breathe a contented sigh, a familiar odour tarnished the fragrant scent of the herbs he had clasped between his jowls – and he found himself snorting out a cloud of hot air in contempt.

Askan was apparently around nearby.

An irritated flick of his tail was given as he considered what could happen if he bumped into the brute again. Lorcan was only just making a full recovery from the last injury he had received during their scuffle; with help from the golden rod paste, only a few small scars remained - only visible due to the section of fur that had yet to completely grow back since the attack.

He paused to briefly shake his pelt, deliberately not bothering to look around, before he continued to casually snake his way through the trees in the direction of the lowlands. The whereabouts of the swarthy male did not deter him from returning home with the herbs he had collected, having spent weeks away from the pack, Lorcan was adamant that he should return as soon as physically possible. That meant there was simply no time for petty distractions.

The sun rose further in the sky, casting a brighter light across the glistening white snow that blanketed his path back home. Askan’s scent still lingered potently in the air. Even as the agouti male continued to traipse further away from where he had originally caught the brute’s scent, the thick musk clung ominously to his nostrils. Still, Lorcan continued to pay the swarthy male no mind, unwilling to be distracted from the task at hand, or at least while Askan still remained out of sight. Out of sight, out of mind — or so the saying went.

Alas, the sharp crunch of the snow and the serpent-like rattling of the leaves alerted Lorcan to his location. Russet ears flickered in response to the sound and his hackles rose for the briefest of moments when he realised that the brute was positioned somewhere behind him. Was he being followed? Lorcan daren’t look back. White brows furrowed, golden eyes glared forwards stubbornly and his shoulders hunched over as he continued to march through the trees; trying to convince himself that he hadn’t been spotted, regardless of that fact that the familiar odour was growing stronger.

He heard movement to his right and without even a second glance, he knew who it was. He would have gritted his teeth had the herbs not been between his jaws. The skin along his muzzle wrinkled, exposing a flash of white fangs, although he was careful not turn his face towards Askan so that the expression may go unnoticed. He could feel those daffodil yellow eyes upon him. They sent prickles down his spine. The feeling of being watched was uncomfortable and unnerving, but Lorcan refused to be intimidated.

He let out a snort, sending a hot cloud of air out from his nostrils.

A few tense moments of silence passed before Lorcan finally rolled his eyes and shot a glare across to his unwelcome companion, a single white brow raised in question. No words were spoken, but the message was clear: What do you want?

No sooner had Lorcan momentarily diverted his attention towards the swarthy brute, did his russet ears swivel around at the sound of rustling ahead of him.

Unfortunately for Lorcan, with the bouquet of herbs hanging right under his nose and Askan’s strong musky scent engulfing the air immediately around him, he did not notice the bear’s scent lingering on the autumn breeze – and so, he ignored the subtle sound of disturbance up ahead, presuming it to just be an arctic hare darting out from its burrow, and continued to remain focussed on moving forwards whilst all the while keeping an eye on Askan.

To his irritation Askan didn’t even bother to utter a response and instead seemed content to just taunt him, floating silently by his side like some bothersome bloodsucking parasite.

Parasite. Lorcan scoffed inwardly at the thought, as his golden gaze broke away from the dark brown of the brute’s fur and flickered down to glance at the crisp white snow that melted beneath his hot paws, enjoying the cool wet feeling between his toes as he moved.

A thunderous shout snapped through the brief moment of satisfaction, and in an instant Lorcan had turned back to look wide-eyed at Askan, noticing the panic in his voice. Golden eyes immediately narrowed in to the area ahead of them where the swarthy male’s attention was focused and he took a sharp inhale when he spotted the large bear who was now staring right at them.

His paws slammed to a sudden halt and the dark fur along his spine bristled in fear as Lorcan immediately coward down submissively, not wanting to appear threatening towards the foraging beast, herbs still gripped between his teeth.

Frozen with fear, he prayed the grizzly wouldn’t charge.

Lorcan didn’t want to die.

He crouched down, completely terrified, watching wide-eyed as the intimidating size of the grizzly bear doubled as it shifted up onto its hind legs. The bear grumbled, curling its fleshy top lip back to flash its sharp yellow fangs. The agouti male whimpered, curling his tail up tightly between his legs.

A petrified glare was shot across to Askan out of the corner of his eye. The swarthy brute was lucky enough to be positioned somewhat further away from the disturbed beast. Lorcan on the other hand, being right in the firing line of the beast, didn’t know whether to stay still or run. He couldn’t even whimper as the bear took a few steps closer, not with the bouquet of herbs still stuffed in his mouth.

Refusing to let himself become a mangled heap of flesh and fur, Lorcan decided to take some kind of action. A forepaw lifted up to hover shakily above the ground and paused, before he slowly placed it back on the ground to take a single step back. Golden eyes shot back up to the bear who continued to voice his annoyance with grumbles and snarls. Slowly another step back was taken. His plan seemed to be going well…But then Askan had to go and interfere.

The brute’s voice roared through the air and Lorcan grimaced, watching in horror as Askan charged straight towards the angry bear. The bear charged forwards a few paces, unhappy with Askan’s advances. With the bear distracted, Lorcan made a dash for it, scrambling to his feet and twisting his body around as fast physically possible so that he could sprint in the opposite direction away from the imminent danger.

Now a safe distance away, Lorcan turned back around in search of Askan, who was lunging at it. He wanted to shout at him to leave it and run, but he still had the herbs he had spent weeks collecting preventing him from making much noise at all. He wasn’t about to just ditch them.

For a moment he considered running and abandoning the lowland wolf. He had caused all this mess after all. No, he couldn’t! What if Askan got hurt?! He might have been an annoying arsehole, but the brute didn’t deserve to get mauled by the grizzly. Lorcan shook his head in turmoil. Dashing to the nearest tree, he quickly discarded his precious bouquet at its base and then immediately sprinted back a little way towards Askan, before he could change his mind.

“Askan! Come on!” He snarled desperately, hoping the male would hear him over the sound of the bears growling. “Askan. Run!!!” He barked impatiently, muscles tensing as he prepared to make a quick exit.