Despite the forests lacking green, prey, and members, Aaron refused to feel defeated. He walks proudly through his forest still, his tail waving highly behind him. He worries heavily for Amara, who has been shaken by the locusts despite her strong demeanor-- he knows her too well by now. He is worried for his beloved Rosings as well, but nothing would ever be as important to him as his beautiful wife was.

He soon comes across the red form of Hosannah, a female who he'd saved from his own territory not long ago. He'd paired her with Gotham, who had recently passed. She was doing something-- praying it seemed-- and he did not bother her immediately, instead pausing somewhere behind her and waiting for her to finish, his tail wagging slowly behind him. 

He waits for her to finish, and realizes that she was perhaps scavenging for herbs-- or something. He watches as she buries them, but does not think twice about it. He had never asked the woman what she had planned on persuing as a trade-- he could only assume that she had saved some herbs from the locust swarm, and was keeping them safe for the time beind.

"Hosannah," he replies in kind greeting, his head dipping. The man is still large and muscular, but it is clear that he is weakening from the lack of food and reasources. "I am well, I came to ask the same of yourself," he tells her, sitting and lowering his head slightly to see her clearer. "When I discovered you in my territory you were weak and injured, it would ease some of my stress to find that you have at least healed. As well as you can, anyway, with the swarm and all."

He smiles, watching as she spins to show him her healed scars. "This is wonderful," he says, but as he does she suddenly drops-- falling forward as she is unbalanced. He jerks his head towards her to stop her from toppling over, but it seems she had gathered herself enough. He nods slowly as she speaks, posture straightening again as he viewed her.

"I wish I could offer you something to eat," he tells her, lips pursing. "I would be lying if I said I had not fallen dizzy recently either." He watches her lower herself and looks off for a moment. "The forest will heal, Rosings will prosper," he says, but more to himself.

He does not remove the woman from him, and instead allows her to use him as support. Aaron is not one to shy away from touch, especially that of a woman-- no matter her appearance. As she speaks, he lets out a soft sigh and shakes his head. "That is not a bad idea, Hosannah," he begins slowly. "But it would seem that these bugs would have devestated everything. I would not doubt that they have destroyed most of the Teekon Wilds. You saw the swarm-- there must have been billions." He stares forward for a moment, thinking about the topic with much concern.

"I suppose you would want to go out and search though-- those who ask often seek," he adds, his blue eyes glancing to the crown of her red head before focusing back into their dirt covered home.

"It is not up to us, Hosannah," he tells her quietly, sharing her concern and confusion. He had searched the territory for prey and herbs and found nothing-- not even the stinking foxes lingered in their home. The few places he'd wandered outside the territory had held few promises, and the small peak he'd climbed had shown him no hope. He did not bother to send others on missions for fear of losing members of his beloved pack to hunger and fatigue. It was selfish, but he truly believed that there was nothing within reach for them. 

His head falls back, and he looks up to the sky with a perplexed face. "I do not believe in one specific God-- I assume you are aquainted with that term-- but I believe there is someone higher than us out there," he begins, his crown tipping back down. "If we were meant to leave, we would have found reason to-- I have found no reason to leave." And, in few days time, Emily's return would only further motivate him to stay in Rosings to defend the land they'd originally claimed.

"I believe we are to protect one another at all costs-- and there is no need to venture from Blackfoot in order to do that."

She raises her head from his shoulder, bowing it forward. He watches her for a moment before shrugging gently. "There is a lack of food everywhere," he tells her quietly before sighing. "As for numbers-- that I cannot help, I only pray that the pack holds together as it is now." His ears then perk, and he looks to the woman with much appreciation. "I am grateful," he tells her honestly, a smile resting on his features again. 

"I will not stop you if you wish to venture forward, Hosannah," he then says, falling back into her previous topic. "Not that you do or do not-- but if you wish to find green lands or foods, I only ask you be safe."

"Mm," is all the man replies. He watches her disappear into the forest, and is dissappointed when he realizes that it takes longer than it usually would. The overgrowing vegetation usually takes hold of a wolf after a few feet, but now he sees that she is in well within view for quite some time. He watches her thin hips as she ducks through branches and shrubs before standing and letting out a soft sigh. He turns and leaves, hoping to find the thin figure of his wife somewhere in the territory.