Shadewood I heard voices

With the knowledge that Cry had departed for a time, Kai had thrown her energy into fixing herself. She wanted to be be better when the titan returned, hopefully she would surprise him with the progress she had made. She practiced her words, tended her wounds, and tried to put some meat back on her bones while spending her days taking care of the raven's domain.

@Kovertol seemed to have made a pact of sorts with Cry, though she could not be certain the nature of their terms. 

Still, the naiad was hesitant about the territory when she smelt his fresh scent amongst the trees - wild and dangerous. It would take some time to get accustomed to the alliance they had formed with the predator. 

With an unfamiliar type of a bird - a grouse - clenched in her speckled jaws, the dryad sought out the ursa to pay homage of a sorts. 

 Kovertol could be found close to the meadow that opened to the sky. There, he'd found some very tasty berries and was risen on his hind legs, knawing them from the tree.  He wasn't one to be bothered by the presence of wolves, much less so now that he knew that he was wanted by the others. He could share, and maybe one day would help provide them. But not before himself.

He paused his feeding and dropped back down to all fours, his muzzle stained with the rich berries that were slowly rotting as winter pressed into the lands. He loathed the winter and relished in spring.
It was in spring only that he could be sated.

As the strongest scent of the berries faded, it gave way to the scent of the she-wolf. The one that smelt like the ocean and salty sands. His head swung around and body followed to allow his eyes to find the face of the speckled fae. Her frame appeared from the trees, a grouse clutched in her jaws. The scent of it drifted towards him -- hunger wearily clawed at his insides, begging him to fulfill himself. 
No.
The beast restrained his urges, remembering the promise he'd made to Cry. A promise to protect, not to harm. He took a step forwards.
 Don't.
He paused amidst his next stride, head lowering in inspection of the sea-wolf. He had the control to not charge at the wolf, but to retreat the step he took, and not to rip her cache from her smaller jaws, but to wait and see why she sought him.

The naiad felt a rush of trepidation as her eyes landed on the bulk of Kovertol, despite Cry's reassurance that he was on their side, her eyes lowering instinctively. 

The bear approached, peering at her curiously, and the dryad let her tail wag hopefully. Kovertol seemed to know she was a friend, for he leaned back - waiting for her next move as she was the one who sought him out. 

Resting the slain bird upon the ground, she stepped a pace back and gestured to it with her stained muzzle. 

"F-For..y..you," she managed to get out, a small smile on her features. Her words were coming along nicely and she was proud of herself for beginning to remaster them. She waited in silence, her offering of gratitude for the bear's protection waiting between them. 

He watched as she placed the lifeless bird upon the ground. An offering. He cast a gaze about before allowing himself to step forwards and sniff at the grouse before lifting his head and again looking to the naiad. He heard the stutter in her speech, but surely she was fully grown. She should be able to speak properly. 
This confused the close-minded creature, but still, he attempted to pass his name on to her, much like he had with Cry. And he'd learn hers, being if her name wouldn't bee too much for the bear to repeat.

In his corse tone, like shingle running off a mountainside and the contented grunting of a boar, he pronounced his name, "Kovertol." He wondered if she would be understanding at all.

Her ears pricked ever so slightly at the rumbled title he offered. Kovertol. She dipped her spotted head once in understanding. Perhaps it was her connection to other creatures that helped her with his language, perhaps it was luck.

"Kai," she offered in return, glass eyes inspecting him curiously. Could he understand her?

The titan nodded slowly, however, his frown unmoving -- unlike it did with the dark king --  but it didn't change how he felt.
"Kai." His gritty tone grappled with the syllables, but it wasn't too different from Cry. Just crisper. 
He felt happy and accepted, a strange feeling a solitary bear should be feeling. He accepted the food she'd brought him, and made a promise to himself. 
Something no bear has done before. He promised he would hunt for this pack in the spring.
Maybe just one kill for them, a fawn, an offering to help the winter-stricken. He hoped that when the dark king returned, it would be soon so he could sleep.

He exposed his teeth as he reached for the grouse, taking it up with the care of a mother to her cub, and looked at Kai. He watched her for an unmoving moment, letting silence fill the void as he wondered if she were to speak again.

Her head dipped once, a smile on her features as if to say Well done! 

Kai watched with a mixture of awe and hesitation as he beared large incisors to gently lift the bird into his maw. 

"Bye," she mouthed, leaving him to his devices. It wouldn't do well to disturb Kovertol while he was preparing for hibernation. Turning on small paws, the strange girl disappeared into Cry's domain as suddenly as she'd appeared. 

Thank you so much for this! I'm sure they'll meet again

The night-bear watched the sea-wolf take her leave. As intriguing as was, he didn't follow.
Instead, the ursine turned with a grunt and made to find solitude in which to devour the offering; then to find a place to sleep. 

It was with a pang of sorrow that tore at his core, he realised that all his life he'd been lonely, and now he was not. They were his friends. And he'd stop at nothing to protect them.