Silvertip Mountain Warm me up!

Mason had had very little contact with Copper – he usually avoided wolves that his Dad had not introduced him to as he was wary. Luckily for him, he did not know of Zaria’s penchant to poison a packmate – this would not have sat well with his moral compass. If nothing else, he knew that Dad was struggling to enlist wolves so that they could hunt efficiently. They needed every body they could get their paws on.

He listened intently as she spoke, keeping his eyes on where he was going so that he didn’t trip over and make a fool of himself. She had been scared of enclosed spaces – suddenly his hollow-den idea was not seeming too stellar – but her culture had always appreciated mountains. This made sense. Mason felt anger and discomfort stir deep within his soul at the thought of her father biting her enough to make her bleed. Obviously Fitz had always chastised him if he was bad, but never enough to make a mark on him.

“I’m sorry to hear about your Dad – I hope your neck is better… Er, an’ I hope we made you feel welcome here. Our Mountain is great. And when I die, I want to be buried here.” Mason spoke with the straightforwardness of youth. He had never even thought about dying enough to fully comprehend what it was, but he knew that wolves were not usually eaten like prey when they died. 

They took a sharp left and the hollow suddenly loomed ahead of them both. Well, perhaps loomed was a deceptive word, given its small size. Stunted trees of a variety Fitz did not know the name for, twisted together. Their branches entwined to create a leafy roof above. A shelf of rock at the back of the trees caused a near-complete house which was simply missing its front wall. However, the trees dripped various slender branches across the entrance which almost hid it from view. It was a safe haven – even more so for Zaria who had mottled fur and would blend in better with the vegetation than his pale form.
“Here, Zari,” he smiled at her shyly, avoiding her green eyes as he used the nickname which had prompted her new name, “this is a hollow, and it is safe from wind and rain.” He hastened to add – in case this was not what she wanted – “but I know other places, if it’s not good enough.”