Posioned thoughts were nothing out of the ordinary; not in these lands were drama and tragedy lurked at every corner, consuming not only families as a whole but feasting too in the most lonesome individuals.
Ciervo had, like Sinnaq, once fallen prey to those thoughts and thought they were not as frequent they were painfully reminiscent of the utter terror that had flushed through his veins as flames of an inferno ignited her skin and bones as they extinguished her life.
While he had fortunately! not seen any of this, the vivid images produced by his mind were enough to haunt him.

The harsh cold of Winter was his only companion, that did not fail to make an appereance that morning. Even if the mangly agouti had been taking cover inside the den he had stolen from the old fox a few days ago, the small improvised shelter was not enough to shield him from the unforgiving cold that wafted inside, chilling his body and making his feet shiver.
He pulled his limbs closer to his body but again the uninvited hands of the wind reached out for him, this time running across his spine and prickling all the hair along the way.
He woke with a gruff growl -- that was Ciervo, never wasting a chance to greet the day with his radiant attitude.

Slowly he brougth himself to slither from the den, and without making any stop to even fix his tousled fur he set off, leaving quickly the base of the Heartwood and weaving his way into the forest that stood parallel to it: Neverwinter.
As he made his entrance he could not help but notice the scent of another male lingering in the atmosphere. While he did not particularly crave company and Sinaaq didn't either? he began to follow it anyways, his tail swinging carelessly as advanced. Soon his eyes fell onto the dark figure another wolf; the one he had been idly following.
He studied the man for a couple of seconds before decicing that he had nothing better to invest his time in.
With his tail held at a neutral position and his ears locked in the man's direction he gave a bark to call the man's attention onto himself.

Even in the darkest, most lonesome nigths the stone barricade and silver armor Ciervo wore over his heart crumbled. It was only in those brief, yet excrutiantingly painful, moments of weakness that the Ostrega admitted to himself that he needed another being to cut through the loneliness.
This was simply natural; and whether he (or any wolf really) wanted it or not, the desire or craving for companionship was simply written in his nature.
Wolves were solitary animals by choice but they were social animals by need.

With the features of his face never betraying his interest, the Ostrega returned the other loner'sstare with a calm, almost bored, demeanour. His insides were not nearly as cold as the man's but the strings of his heart had been equally laced with ice, presenting the obvious barrier that prevented him from getting attached.

He ignored the first word that the coal colored male threw into the cold air, not really showing any type of reaction to the male's foreign tongue. "Nothing, unless you do have something to offer.."He barked with a careless roll of his shoulder as he continued to rake his eyes meticulously over the male's face and body.
He could prove to be a fine hunting partner or a sparring mate.

While the dark male preferred to keep both the knowledge he had of others and the knowledge others had of him limited, the Ostrega did not seem to mind sharing some of him -- especially because when he did so, he held the ulterior motive of showing off or in many other occassions, especially if there were females involved, setting a good image of himself.
The only thing the golden-eyed man guarded from other's was his persistent vulnerability and fear towards the idea of death; a trauma that could probably be attributed to the early end of both of his parents.

Likewise, the Ostrega also disagreed with Sinaaq's second principle.Whereas the dark man did not bother to pry, Ciervo had a certain penchant for other's tales and troubles -- even if more often than not he was included in them, he still enjoyed listening to them. It was after all through the information he recieved from others that he was able to refine his skills of deception.

With an equally indifferent expression the Ostrega returned the other's stare once again. The fact that the man wanted to be left alone was clear for the russet wolf, who despite it all, remained rooted to the spot; his eyes never hinting a desire to leave. Like Sinaaq would not offer things freely, Ciervo would not give him peace without a cost.
He wanted entretainment.
And despite how much more easy it would've been to leave the dull and dry male in front of himto his own devices, Ciervo knew he could make this encounter more eventful."Shame" he barked with a huff as the male affiirmed he had nothing and wouldn't offer nothing to him in case he did. "You looked useful, but I guess I was mistaken. Very." he barked, his tail curling with amusement as he scanned the Sinaaq's face for a rection to his unspoken accusation of him being, worthless.