Wapun Meadow oh, and the time is at hand

Fraxinus no longer spent his days and nights worrying about being pursued. The shadows were no longer filled with threats from his past, but his yellow-blue eyes were wary yet. Wolves of the past might well have torn him limb from limb and been glad of it, glad even to watch the carrion birds strip him clean of his flesh, but that did not mean he was safe. Fraxinus did not smell the markers of a pack boundary through here, but he smelled other wolves, and crossing other wolves was always a gamble. One might be friendly, or neutral, or perhaps it might be a particularly bad day and he’d run into some vicious savage. He hoped to not run into the latter anytime soon.

Fraxinus still had no idea where he was going. After a moon of travelling, the silvery wolf was still without a home, and his dull unkempt fur, showed he was not faring as well as he had when he was a high ranking enforcer of Azure Ridge. To have a choice share of the kill was definitely something he missed, as well as a meal larger than a hare. At the very least, his pale coat allowed him to blend into the wintery surroundings, giving him an edge in this harder time.

As he stepped out into a meadow, his tread grew more hesitant. He looked about furtively, head high as he scanned the area, ears flicking to and fro, nose twitching as he inhaled the scents on the cold, crisp air. The night wind ruffled his thick winter coat. He stiffened and his ears laid back against his head when he spotted movement ahead of him beneath the starry sky. Another wolf.

He took a step back, holding one paw lifted. He wasn’t sure if he dared continue onward, but it was just one wolf. Just one. Not a pack, and he didn’t see or scent any others. Fraxinus glanced around again, just to make sure, then he stepped out onto the meadow. A mask of confidence held his head high, his ears erect, and added a spring to his step.

As he neared the stranger, Fraxinus felt as if he could read a cold melancholy hanging over the she-wolf. Perhaps it was the way she sat staring up at the stars, all alone. He himself had done the same, and it was often with sadness in his heart that he was now alone. Stars were little solace, though; cold, distant specks of light. They offered him nothing.

“Good evening,” Fraxinus greeted, several wolf lengths away. He stopped and wagged his tail in an attempt to appeal to her.