Tormented Tarns you got time to reconcile with your fear

He had been waiting for Merrit for some time and, when the boy failed to arrive for his latest lesson, he grew impatient. Not worried, not angry, but impatient. The man had grown bitter after spending so long within this valley; he had come to this place anticipating danger, perhaps combat, and had half a mind to start a war just so he could feel more at home, and yet all he could find were passive wolves raising weak-willed children. He did not dislike Merrit. Truthfully, Tulimaq thought the boy held much potential. A part of him wanted to assume control of the boy's future in a rare show of paternal instinct — and that would start some kind of war, but Tulimaq did not want to enrage an entire valley just for shits and giggles. He was eager, not stupid.

But, yes. He waited due south for the boy to arrive, and when the light began to haze over from cloud-cover and winter winds, Tulimaq found something else to do. He traveled south across the fields and foothills, scouring the grassland for signs of prey so that he could at least get some blood pumping. The further he went, the lighter he felt. His frustration ebbed away as he crossed through the valley, until he came upon the lower hills of the mountain range.

The ground was boggy but the cold had solidified most of it. There were patches of pale white where the trees did not cover the soil, and Tulimaq was pleased to see it. The first bits of snow heralded the cold season and he anticipated the struggle — in a way, longed for it — and plunged himself across the snow-capped tarn. Thoughts of food were briefly banished as Tulimaq gave in to his whims, feeling the crunch of the snow and snapping at patches, feeling it melt on his tongue.

He stopped for a moment to catch his breath, but some of those sounds continued — and thus he was made alert. He looked around but did not immediately see the other wolf until they moved again (if they moved again), and his ears pivoted towards them. Tulimaq lost all thoughts of play as he watched the stranger, letting out a small snort from his nose to simultaneously focus his senses and greet the wolf. A bit of snow fell away from his snout, giving him a grizzled appearance.