Grouse Thicket quercus

the once-guardian ate. drank. slept. germanicus knew these lands in the pathways of slumber. but he remembered them in a warmer color than the trees now wore: somber. empty.

he rose, brushed the remains of a kill from his mouth, kicked brush atop the crumbs.

bereft of purpose and yet undaunted, germanicus melted into the tight wrappings of a thicket, silver-blade against the comely shadow.

Weary of the murk that had clung to everything in the morass, the flighty wolf had vanished from it and ventured back to the thicket. 

There he felt safer than he had in the muck. The foliage would allow him to disappear without a trace if he happened upon any other brutes like the two from Vein's pack. 

Trekking on, Crowfeather caught a glimpse of silver in the brush. It moved, so he ventured a guess that it was a predator. The dark wolf was not certain he could brave another hostile encounter, so he watched.

where once he had been alone, germanicus was no longer. he kept himself on course, though at length the former centurion glanced back to spot dots of yellow resting toward his own figure.

"hail," he called in a voice once more rust-hollow from lack of use. 

he said no more, but pressed on into the thicket, slowly enough for the other to follow if it was desired.

Crowfeather had never been hailed before, not literally. 

The dark wolf blinked, though did not seem to have taken offense. The silver figure was rather confident. It was in a way that was not like the large wolf Kynareth, but entirely unique. 

So, Crowfeather did follow. He lowered his narrow snout toward the ground and filled his nose with the male's scent. Not Vein's pack, he thought with relief.

he was followed. the eagle ranged ahead silently. after some time he fell back to walk alongside his unknown companion.

"do you know this place well?" germanicus asked after a short while, ears swivelling at the wing-burst of quail suddenly breaking from their cover.

their sounds would frighten off any nearby prey, and he was resigned suddenly to the lack of a hunt this day.

Crowfeather was fine with the distance that had naturally spanned between them. He worried that the silver male would grow tired of his prowling behind. 

The other wolf did not, it seemed. Slowing, the silver man fell back in pace with the dark figure and asked how well he new their surroundings. 

Crowfeather felt his ears fall flat to his head. It was comical in appearance, those large dark auds. 

Not well, came his answer, apologetic in tone, as were the averted eyes. I'm new to these parts, you see.

germanicus was thinking of the elk-woman in that moment, and of the place far across the world they had once discovered together. 

"as am i," was the man's only rejoinder. he walked quietly between the hanging foliage. there, before them, the bobbing head of a single large pheasant.

germanicus looked at his companion appraisingly and then began to prowl forth.

He breathed a quick breath of gratefulness when his silver companion said that he too was new to that area. This made his confidence more alluring somehow. 

To boldly journey where he knew nothing, nobody, that was an admirable thing. 

Different than running away from something, Crowfeather reminded himself. Shame burned hot on his cheeks. He glanced toward the silver male with an expression that could have been hopeful. 

It was this that drew his attention to the bird. 

Not wanting to lose the shape of the wolf he had found, Crowfeather quaked and crouched down into a hunter's prowl. He would follow the other male's lead.

their movements were more guided now. germanicus took silently and without feeling the mantle of their lead. long had he sought prey alone, and so he fell into these lines again.

it would be a short rush — a leap, a bound; the eagle cut off the bird's escape and nodded toward the graphite stranger. it would be his jaws to catch the day between them.

germanicus waited, the quiet sungaze turned back to their quarry.

All of it happened so fast... 

The silver wolf moved with expertise to carve a place between the bird and it's escape. Crowfeather was given a nod. The dark wolf looked at the stranger with fear bubbling in his belly. 

Without allowing his nerves to overtake him, Crowfeather darted out and moved swiftly to the bird. Over in seconds, the animal was limp by the neck in his jaws. 

With a soft wag of his tassel, the wolf looked to his partner. He was feeling the rush. 

That was good! The exclamation was rather childish. Crowfeather was pleased all the same.

"good hunting," germanicus intoned, returning the elated wave with his own plume. "it will serve you for a day, perhaps two." he meant to give it as a gift to the man who had hunted with him.

the eagle was not at all new to this place, nor the leaves, the stones, the branches. not in any direction of these hinterlands. he was only unaccustomed to its emptiness.

or perhaps his own.

"summer fast ends. any pack would have need of a hunter, if you practice." voice impassive, but head held with respect for the unknown man.

That compliment twittered his heart. Crowfeather almost could not hold his hips still, struggling to contain the sway of his dark tail. 

The strong silver figure went on to say that with practice, a pack was sure to take in Crowfeather. At these words the dark young wolf softened. There was a crestfallen look in that dull yellow that existed in his gaze. 

Wait! Where are you going?

The words were blurted before he could stop them. Crowfeather looked ashamed for several seconds, tassel finally ceasing its elated wag. 

I m- mean... let's share. I could keep helping you!

no.

the word rose in him, but the guard tempered it. the other was hale and not so young as to be a child. germanicus had not always been alone. and yet each companion had in the end deserted him.

this one could be no different, and thereby no disappointment.

"i am returning to a place that is very far from here. a cold place."

the hushflower stare tested.

The silver male said he was going somewhere far, somewhere cold. 

Crowfeather could not help but to feel disheartened by this news. This wolf, whoever he was, had been kind and rugged. He was an enigma that the dark seer was not prepared to have met. 

I can- I can keep up! I'll do anything you need. I'll even f- fight.

The words felt foolish. He didn't even know this man, or the world from which he had ventured. Crowfeather waited to see what the silver wanderer might say before he offered his most special ability as currency.

the enthusiasm of young men was wasted on germanicus. he was not prepared to shift into the role of centurion. even now, his mind refused the sentiment.

but the hour was high, and each moment burnt precious daylight.

"what is your name?"

summer fast ends, and he with little intention to ingratiate himself within ranks once more.

Just maybe he had given himself some time. The older figure did not deny him outright, not yet. Still, the thought that he might be turned away still stung fearfully in his chest. 

My parents named me From the Crow's Wing, he answered carefully, but I am called Crowfeather as well. Most preferred his shortened name, he had not wished to overwhelm the man he had hoped to charm.

Wh- what is your name?

"germanicus." crowfeather. the unassailable gorge sailing up, one of disgust for heathenry. but he was no longer so proud as he had once been. the man had heeded the ranger's instruction and hunted well. perhaps he was deserving of a better start.

it was not something that germanicus felt he might provide.

gaze lifted to survey the position of the sun. "bring that and come along. we will find a new place to rest for the night."

turning now, striding off into the rustling branches of the thicket. do not sleep where you have killed.

Germanicus...

The name of the silver male suited him, but it was still foreign. It sounded nothing like the names that Crowfeather had been raised with, had known in his childhood. 

The moments before Germanicus instructed Crowfeather to grab the prey and follow stretched on. When he spoke at last, the dark seer did not hesitate in scooping the bird and hurrying after. 

Crowfeather wanted to thank him. He wanted to say how grateful he was. He did not, however. Instead, he followed quietly behind the silver leader.