Great. The water was beginning to freeze over. The temperature had steadily been dropping, the end of autumn upon the woods. Vaken had been in denial, ignoring it for the most part. He turned a blind eye to the occasional snow fall, pretended not to notice his winter coat coming in. He was fluffier than normal, his shaggy fur extra bulkly. The yearling felt his stomach drop. Winter was coming. His second winter, but completely without his mother, his brother. He didn’t have anyone else to rely on. He felt a cramp in his gut, the nerves of having to survive alone. He was a lone wolf, through and through- but this? He hadn’t done it before. He wasn’t sure it could be done.
He had options. He could join a pack, but would he even be able to do that? Could he genuinely expose his throat to another wolf, to let another lead over him? No way. His upper lip was beginning to raise just at the idea. He was snarling at nothing, foolishly. He dropped it, clawed aimlessly at the dirt for a few minutes, then took a seat and grunted.