Winter was approaching and there was nothing the shadow could do to stop it. The air was growing colder in the lowlands as his fur grew thicker, giving the scrawny Archer a thicker (fluffier) appearance. He preferred his thinner coat; he was not one to care about his appearance, but the whole skeleton vibe was precisely what he was going for. Greer certainly was not a threatening wolf by any means, but if liked to appear that way. The whole ‘half dead’ look generally wasn’t that inviting — which suited the Archer just fine.

As the sun rolled over the horizon Greer streaked across the lowlands, no particular path in mind. Unless he was directed by Craw or Morganna, the shadow never had a plan in mind. He went wherever his paws took him — which typically led him somewhere near the scarlet wolf he was sort of, but not really, but totally fond of. A frown creased his mind as soon as she entered his thoughts, and he quickly dismissed her image with a shake of his head. He did not want to pine after some girl, no matter how wonderful she was. Nor did he want to visit her too often, for he worried she would grow tired of his silent, awkward demeanour. Another shake of his head followed the thought as soon as it entered his head. Greer did not even know why he cared about what the girl thought of him — he did not care what anyone thought of him. Why was she any different?

A third shake of his head came and went, followed by a frustrated growl bubbling from his chest. He liked himself much better when he did not care about anyone — not Kyna, not his family, not even himself.

The shadow pushed forward, cutting through the trees that separated the river wolves from the lowlands. While he had not encountered any of the wolves that resided in the forest (yet), Greer knew that they were nothing to worry about. Their leader had met with Craw several weeks ago and, from his understanding, things had ended on a pleasant note.

As he neared the edge of the lake he stumbled over something on the ground, causing another growl to roll off his tongue as he glanced down at what had caused his steps to falter. An apple? How peculiar. A frown cut into his maw as realized he was surrounded by a handful of apple trees. Blinking, he studied the apples that littered the ground through narrowed brows. Curious, he began to nibble on the one that had caused him to trip — as punishment, of course. A little sour tasting, but not awful.

Three and a half apples later, the shadow was slumped against one of the trees, his head feeling fuzzy and disorientated. How bizarre… A hiccup disturbed his thoughts, a frown still pressed to his dark lips. 

He did not know if he liked this feeling. His head did not hurt… it just did not feel right. Were… were the apples poisoned? Was he dying? His lips tightened, brows pinched as another hiccup caused his shoulders to shake. If this was dying, it wasn't awful. His insides were warm, fuzzy — and his mind was void of the never-ending thoughts that plagued him. The longer he sat, the more the feeling intensified. Greer could feel his body swaying, his muscles relaxing as he leaned against the tree for support. No, this certainly wasn't awful… it was oddly enjoyable. It felt nice not to be wound up so tight for once. The shadow constantly felt on edge, even atop the monadnock. It was his own doing, and he knew that. Greer wasn't so good at loosening up. Even as a little tuft of fur, he had always been the serious one out of his brothers, never partaking in playtime or roughhousing. He was a rock; a statue; a wallflower. He had always observed, lingering in the shadows that birthed him—

‘Greer! What are you doing out here?’

The familiar voice pulled him away from his thoughts, expression contorted as his head tipped in the direction it had originated from. A wide, sloppy grin formed across his maw as he caught sight of the redhead, his tail giving an excited thump behind him. At her question he shrugged, the lazy smile still perched effortlessly across his lips. “Greer do’no,” he slurred in response as he attempted to pull himself away from the support of the tree, his body swaying slightly. He was very, very happy to see his friend. It had not been long since she had visited him in the tundra, but any time (no matter how short) between their visits was too long. She was the only wolf that the Archer truly enjoyed spending time with. He liked her company. And her face. She had a good face. “Ky do ‘ere?” He slurred again, his head tipping to the side. He was feeling very warm and fuzzy at the moment, and he liked it very much.

His cheeks felt warm and flushed beneath his obsidian fur; his mercury gaze struggled to stay on focused on his friend and he swore, at one point, there was two of Kyna. What a treat that would be… one Kyna to stay in the Bend, and the other to come back to the monadnock with him.

The scarlet wolf began to close the distance between them, concern written clearly across her face, but Greer did not notice. He was too enthralled by her close proximity that he failed to notice how worried his friend was. Wait — she had been coming to see him? His insides bubbled with excitement, his sloppy grin forming once more as his tail thumped behind him. The shadow was ecstatic. It had not been long since she had visited him beneath the auroras, but any time between their visits was too long. He’d very much like to see her all the time, but he knew that wasn’t possible. At least not now.

And he’d never admit that aloud. No, he did not want to scare Kyna away. He liked her too much.

She leaned forward, examining the shadow, before recoiling, her golden eyes filled with concern once more. Crestfallen, his lips tipped into a frown, ears falling flat against the back of his skull. Had he upset her? His chest grew tight, tongue suddenly dry, as the girl spoke, voicing the worry that was etched across her features. He certainly was not okay now — not with Kyna upset. His shoulders sagged, mercury pools tearing away from his friend as he focused on his over-sized paws. “Greer do’no,” he slurred again, his ears still flat as the words tripped over each other. He swayed and motioned with his nose to the apples on the ground somewhere behind him. “A’ples,” he mumbled, shoulders rolling into a shrug. “Gree’ ok. Fuzzy.” 

Guilt consumed him, tightening his throat as he refused to meet her golden gaze. The shadow felt as though he had upset her again with the change in his demeanour. He always did everything wrong. He chewed, nervously, on his lower lip as the redhead went to examine the fallen apples. He should have known better than to eat fruit off the ground… what if she thought he was an idiot? Oh boy, oh boy… how could he be so dumb.

The fuzzy feeling in his head intensified, blurring his thoughts as the girl spoke once more, this time a flurry of questions rolling off her cherry tongue. The questions made his head hurt. He winced, brows pinched together as he shook his head, slowly, in response to her question. “Jus’ fuzzy,” he answered in a low voice, his mercury pools still fixed on his paws. “N’bad fuzzy. Greer goo’fuzz.” He wasn’t making any sense. A frown tugged at his lips as he lifted a forepaw to rub his brows. No wonder Kyna was so worried…

“S-s-sorry Ky,” he mumbled quickly as she voiced her concern. “Greer n’mean u’set Ky.’ His words were jumbled together as he shied away from the redhead, his head hanging from his shoulders in embarrassment as he refused to meet her gaze. 

Stupid.

Stupid.

Stupid.

He had been so foolish to munch on the fallen apples — what if he was dying? The shadow had made so many promises to the scarlet wolf and just because his stomach had been a little rumbly he could have possibly thrown them all away.

Stupid.

His eyes squeezed shut as Greer gave his head a quick shake, hoping that would help to get rid of the fuzzy feeling that had taken over. He did not like this one bit. The shadow felt as though he did not have control over his body anymore and he hated it. His skin did not feel as though it belonged to him anymore. But, if he wasn’t Greer, who was he?

Frowning, he heard his friend’s voice once more, pulling him back to reality as he finally allowed his silver gaze to fall onto her distressed face. He was upsetting her again. The realization sat heavy in the pit of his stomach, like a rock, as a low whine escaped him. “Greer u’set Ky. Greer bad,” He slurred, shaking his head frantically. “Bad, bad, bad…” This was why he kept to himself. Greer was nothing but a problem; a problem Kyna did not deserve to deal with.

The pressure of her body against his released a wildfire in his body, the fuzzy feeling subsiding as she spoke, hurriedly, in a soft whisper. There was one word, spoken so quickly Greer almost didn’t catch it, that immediately sobered up the thin shadow. He leaned into her, instinctively, with his ears still flat. “Love?” He repeated so softly he wasn’t even sure if he had made a sound. His tongue still felt heavy, but he was feeling more together; more like Greer. “Greer no leave. N-never leave Ky.” He paused, his mouth suddenly feeling like a hot summer’s day, as he struggled to understand what the redhead had said — and what he wanted to say. “Greer miss Ky all the time.”