Shy Deer Steppes ♣ positive thinking and a metric flip-tonne of good luck

The terrible twosome were two bulbs short of a light show, but the Wild had plenty of wandering souls to offer. Vlad had moved north from the mire, reluctantly abandoning the reserve of fat, slimy morsels to scout for another couple of bodies with which to share the winter. Fish were all well and good, but they didn't have much to offer by way of conversation.

He rather liked the look of the flat, dry steppes, and lingered there much longer than he had in any of the other fields connecting the mire to the flatlands. It was a wholly uninviting territory, but something told him this was a year-round deal - and that was a good thing. Whatever prey lived here was unlikely to desert the place when winter rolled around.

The scrappy male put his nose to the ground and had a good sniff around, tail swaying lazily behind him.

Set before the Rosalyn/Njal thread.