Moonsong Glacier I'll never forget my mother's face; that was real

"Anita," Phocion repeated, nodding his head curtly. "Nice to meet you." He would normally let his guard down a bit with a small, but he was still prickly at her discovering his tears. She was a traveler, then, moving around in search of food. And had come looking for company. Heh. That's the opposite of why I came here.

He said as much. "I came for some solace. I find myself in the company of others quite often and need a break from time to time." He turned his cool blue gaze over to her, voice impassive. "Though I won't turn you away now that you've spent time and energy scrabbling up the ice."

Phocion nodded toward the forest below. "As for food, you won't find much here on the glacier. You could find it down there"--he pointed his nose toward the trees--"or up here," he continued, looking back towards the mountain. "But you're between a rock and a hard place, as both lands are taken. I can't speak for the forest wolves, but there are several up here who'd gladly rip your head off and leave your body to rot if you trespassed and hunted on pack lands." Here he let a grin slowly spread over his face. "Myself included."

"Why do you run alone, Anita?" Phocion queried, his tone beginning to lighten. "You'd have much better luck in a pack. It's hard times for a lone wolf, these days."