Neverwinter Forest At the edge of the woods

The sun had hidden itself away for most of the morning behind a flurry of wind-whipped clouds. They eddied together like cotton, while the fringes of them, far off and away, looked like they had been pulled and separated in to spider silk. What might have been a bright and warm spring day (well on the way to summer) hadn't felt all to pleasant to the old man. He had never been particularly susceptible to the cold, being a northern beast, but lately he'd noticed a thinning to his coat. And by lately, he meant for the past year or so. The famine did not help matters. Njal's hunger seemed to perpetuate things, as if the stress to his aged body was manifesting as hair loss. He'd already bleached considerably compared to how he used to look, so why not lose half his pelt while he was at it? Hrumph.

But, back to the point: it was cold, he was cranky, and the calm of the day was inturrupted by a seemingly endless howl which brought him out of a weak nap. The old man needed to rest after traveling so far; he'd only been given a place among these wolves a day or so ago. But when the call rang out it roused something in him. It had been quite a long time since he had defended any borders, yet he felt compelled to now, the fire of his old life being stoked by that unending summons. Whoever the stranger at the forest's edge was looking for, it sure as hell wasn't him — but they were in for a surprise.

It took some time, but Njal did eventually make it. His body was sore all over from his rest, and his hip smarted something awful with every step, causing a scowl to permanently etch itself upon his rugged face. When he caught the scent of the foreigner he tried to pick up his pace, but that only made him grumpier - and by the time he spotted the stranger in the fringes of the territory, Njal was the absolute antithesis of a happy host. He grunted as he came to a halt and raised his chilled gaze to meet the stranger, uttering a single broody What. He would've followed up with get off my lawn, but it wasn't his lawn this time.