Ordinarily the young man would be content to remain amongst the sentinel trees that had looked over him since his birth, slipping in and out of sight like a wraith, watching, waiting, searching… But lately waiting had begun to chafe and the oppressiveness of a single location weighed heavily on his shoulders. Taima had long since fled the forest, but whats to say she hadn’t moved on to the Lagoon, or the Marsh, or anywhere else nearby?
Trusting that his brother wouldn’t come looking for him in the next day or so he had set out with the intent of stretching his legs and taking up the search where he had left off, but all pretence quickly melted away when he was finally able to stretch his limbs in the stark snow blanketed openness and run. The cold air whipped through his fur and the snow slowed him down but it was just what he needed.
Feeling rejuvenated he had decided to extend his journey, not terribly long but long enough to reach riddle heights at least. He had long since reduced his speed to a casual wolf trot, head canted to keep better awareness of his surroundings. It wasn’t so odd to bump into other wolves on this side of the mountain it would seem, and he wanted to be ready, to avoid reverting to his old startled persona.
As the sound of frantic scratching came to his ears, brows drew down and he slowed to a walk, allowing his eyes to focus on what his ears had been unable to see. Snow was flying everywhere as the girl dug, and he couldn’t tell from this range if perhaps she had found a lemming colony under the snow or perhaps she was seeking some long ago buried treasure? As he drew closer and his presence was still unnoticed he unleashed a greeting bark, stopping and allowing his pale tail to wave a friendly greeting over his back. He could only hope she was as harmless as he.
Since she did not care if he answered as if he was not there, she began digging again. This time only into the earth where there were no dead flowers. Just the frozen ground she could rip into if she was doing more than wrecking damage to this untouched place.
If she did not find what she sought, she padded away, and over to a large stretch of pure mud. Why she did not have her back to the stranger, she still did not over him a direct glance. No, she scouted the ground finding a fresh set of rabbit tracks. With him here she wasn't sure if she should try to pursue game. She had no mind to share, nor let someone else take what she needed to take bring home.