The longer he went on his thin frame carrying across the terrain of the mountain the more the days ran together. Sometimes he even felt like his brain wasn't working at all and he feared death would he near for him. The only thing that seemed to keep him alive was the occasional carcass that he stumbled​ across. When he going then he would feast until all the meat was gone. Whether it took mere minutes to pick the bones clean or days. Despite the condition his body was in he would fight for the smallest morsel of meat on the bones. He needed every little bit he could luckily he hadn't had to fight for a carcass yet but he expected his time was running out. One day he would have to fight and he expected that would be his last day.

The dark agouti couldn't remember as he plotted along one large pale foot in front of the other when the last time he'd had something that he'd killed himself. His mouth watered at the thought of the blood from whatever animal it was running into his mouth. Weakly he shook his head to get that thought out of his head, he wasn't able to chase down anything in the state he was in.

How long he'd been traveling over the mountain he wasn't exactly sure but when the green of the forest seemed to sprout up around him Tik was surprised. He hoped that he might have better luck finding something to eat among the trees. The further he traveled into the forest had yet to prove fruitful until two scents mingled. One of a pack and the other blood and as he searched for the carcass he found the borders of the pack.

The thinning male kept his distance not willing to put himself in a position where things could go badly for him. He soon found the deer blood not yet dried and no one seemed to be in the area. He took that as his cue to take his fill, possibly for the next couple of days. Going to the carcass he started with the abdomen where the best meats were.

It was a lucky find that Tim had found, the nearly freshly killed deer that was most of the way intact. There was enough meat still on the animal that he could have his fill for days to follow. It was instance like this that kept him going, having enough food that it could put a little of what had left his thin frame back on. He didn't waste any time digging in either quickly or as quickly as his uncoordinated paws would allow her made his way over to the carcass and began eating. He didn't care about keeping himself clean or anything else for that matter as he torn into the belly of the deer.

He was so concerned with how much meat he could get into his belly before he felt full that he wasn't watching for any other wolves that might be in the area. However, he did hear the snapping of twigs causing a flick of his pinna but he didn't look up. If someone was approaching and wanted to pick a fight with him it would not end well for him, no point in greeting that with a smile.

It was the from voice that finally broke his focus on the meat in front of him. Tik looked up but hesitated before gaining his full height. With was rather obvious he had cared more about filling his belly then how messy her become. The fur of his chest, muzzle, and forelegs was smeared in the blood of the deer. Licking his lips his ears were erect as he studied the female. Her scent made it clear she was from the pack whose border he'd passed. “Hello, miss I assure you I have not encroached on your territory.” If that was what she was here about.

He did not acknowledge the snapping of twigs aside from a flick of his ear as he continued​ ued to chew the bite he'd taken only a moment before. He didn't​ really see the point, if it was another wolf they would make themselves known soon enough. As he predicted a female's voice got his attention though he did not raise to his feet or acknowledge her right away. It wasn't easy pulling what weight he did have off the ground but he did finally raise to his full height and acknowledge her by telling her he wasn't breaking any rules.

Having grown up in a pack all his life he knee the most important of rules, don't cross the borders into another pack's territory. He was sure to be careful of that when he'd passed by them on his way to find such a life saving meal. She too seemed just as curious about him as he was her. So far he'd deduced that she was of the pack whose lands he'd crossed, she was we'll fed, and she didn't seem to start any trouble with him, if course he could be wrong about that last part. She had however confirmed that he had been correct when he'd said he hadn't crossed their borders. “Fair enough,” he agreed that he warranted her attention as he was too close for comfort it seemed.

He watched her movements closely as she took a step toward him but he stayed rooted to his spot. He'd laid claim to the carcass, it was just too good for him to let it slip away from him not when he needed it so badly.

As she apologized for interrupting her meal before taking a seat, he watched that movement as well he shrugged, “As long as you're not planning to take it I don't mind the interruption.” He didn't as he could continue later and probably needed a break anyway. She then gave her his name which he guessed was his cue to give his own. “It's a pleasure to meet you Kuwindwa, I'm Tikhon Artemieva and I am merely here for this deer,” he said indication it with his nose. She did have a interesting name but now wasn't the time for him to be complimenting her name. “So tell me while you have my attention what is it that you are curious about?” he asked as he started to make himself more presentable.

He knew she was watching every move he made just as he did her, the few steps toward him and her taking a seat. He had to be sure she wasn't a threat to him just as much she had to make sure he wasn't to her pack. Tik understood that which made him cautious of his actions, the last thing he need was to aggravate her into attacking him. He had begun cleaning the blood and Leftovers from his face and pelt. A sight he must be for the woman before him, how was she to believe he wasn't a threat when he looked as he did. If the conversation wasn't last longer he thought it best to at least be a little more presentable. Well as presentable as he could be in his current condition. He was most certainly. It the wolf he once was and he had his brother to blame for it.

A huff was let out at the thought of his brother and had he not left him things might be going a lot better. Here he was in a forest he didn't know talking to a wolf from a pack he didn't know surviving on carrion when he could have eaten a freshly caught deer. It wasn't that he didn't know how to take care of himself, he did. Things had just turned from bad to worse and now he wasn't sure he could come back from it.

The woman spoke again as he came around to the front if the deer, which he did cautiously to not alarm her. “You should be every bit curious when protecting your pack,” he commented evenly as he ran his foreleg across his cheek in hopes to clean it a bit. He moved to a seated position as it was much more comfortable than standing on his paws that had brought him to this place. “What is this place anyway?” He asked taking his turn, not that he actually had one to ask a question. He wasn't sure he liked the denseness of the forest much but he hadn't liked the mountain either. Idly he wondered if she might know of his brothers. If he were to seek either of the it would be Lorcan, the one smart enough to get out before banishment.

A slight smirk crossed his maw as her imagination seemed to spin wild ideas about him. It was the first time he'd done that in a long time, since before his banishment he assumed. A light shake of his head sent that away. “I assure you what you see is what you get I'm afraid. Perhaps if I were more wicked I wouldn't be in this situation. It's an honorable thing being so determined to protect your pack.” Tik would have too until he was banished., It hadn't made sense then and it didn't make sense now though he felt if he thought hard enough about it he would make sense of it or he already had. “I suppose you could if you feel it's safe to do so?” Did she really feel that it was safe to leave him so close to the border with his deer? Tik fully expected her to go them and leave him to eat his meal but she spoke again, “You're doing well for yourself now, how did you fare when you were alone?” He spoke in a quieter tone. She had found herself a pack that she seemed happy in. Since she wanted to protect it so badly, “What helped you get through?” It was his first time being alone in the wilds.

He knew he would not be able to get all of the blood off just by grooming it away but the fur that had been stained wasn't as red as before. A Wade in a gentle pool would take off the rest, he feared he wouldn't have the energy or the strength in him to enter into water with a stronger current.

When he was finally satisfied with the level of cleanliness he'd been able to achieve he met her gaze once more as she turned back to him seemingly​ not so eager to leave him to his meal. The place, she called it Umbra Copse and as he surveyed it while she spoke of not being fond of it. The brush wasn't easy to navigate which he took as the reason she wasn't fond if it. “I suppose it would take some getting used to especially finding your way.” He had noted the denseness of the forest around them. “It's a little unsettling really,” he added his attention back on her. Anyone could come and he might not see them until they were upon him. In his current state he couldn't afford to be unaware of someone approaching especially if they meant to do him harm. Yet he may not have noticed her until she'd spoken to him had it not been for her snapping twigs and she approached.

“I have no doubt about that,” he commented when she spoke of her pack not being defenseless. For the pack smelled strong and she seemed to take her role seriously so he felt the others in the pack might as well. It didn't matter to him as long as he kept any trouble from coming to him during his stay. It had become more apparent to him as the time passed talking with her he’d had his fill for the moment. His plan still was to stay with the deer until he couldn't pick anything else from it.

He hoped she might be the only one of her pack that he ran into. He came to find he rather liked talking with her and wondered if they might have more conversations during his stay. The deer he hoped would put a little weight back on his thin frame. Then he felt he might be okay until his next meal, he didn't know when or even where that might be. He may even be able to start hunting again once he was able to get his strength back up.

He was rather curious of how she had gotten through her time alone because it might help him to make it through. He wasn't expecting more than a simple answer but that was not what he got. As she talked about what she had done he felt that he could relate to her because he too had felt some of the same feelings toward being alone. “It is a lonely existence which can be made much harder depending on the time of year you are going through it.” That was what had happened to him after all, left during the winter when food was scarce the weight falling off him with each passing day he went without. “I’ve been living on what I can find everyday but most days I don't find very much, just enough to get by.It’s not something I’m exactly proud of either.” He looked at his paws, the more she described to him how she'd gotten through he felt more and more like he knew how she had felt when she was wanting by herself. “I try not to give up,” he admitted quietly, “It's a hard thing to do when you've gone through days without anything to eat and every night is spent with your thoughts which aren't always positive.” The kind wolves she talked about he assumed were the ones in the pack she belonged too and in the moment she stated she had been barely a wolf at all he knew exactly how she felt because he had felt the same on more than one occasion. “Do you feel more like a wolf now?” He wanted to know if it would change for him too.

She changed the direction of the conversation back to him and why he was out wandering alone. Tik regarded her for a moment, she had shared something personal with him, he did recognize that and thought it only fair he do the same. “I was banished from my birth pack with my brother and then in the thick of winter he abandon me,” he explained not bothering to keep the bitterness he felt from his tone.