Blacktail Deer Plateau turn off your television

crossing the plains was a terrible idea.
first there had been the fact that it was open and fully exposed—barring a few minor copses here and there—and the weather was as unforgiving as it ever was.
second had been the fact that he had to cross the river, which ended up being more of a feat than it should have been. but the waters had betrayed their depths and the flow of the current too swift to support a lot of ice for his lightweight ass to cross.
third had been more open and exposed ground to cover. he had slept in a snowbank, nose tucked into his tail trying to retain some sense of warmth that was there but didn't feel like it. the nights were too long, the days too short, and lakhos once more felt his energy starting to wane heavily.
so finding the plateau and scaling part of it had really been another saving grace. he may not have had fortune in finding large pockets of solitude or decent amounts of food, but he had at least been able to find shelter when he needed it the most.
and with the wind beginning to howl down yet again, he found that he wanted it more than ever. the towering pockets of dark wood and silvery birch kept him clear of the worst of the weather, and the plateau itself held many more finds that he had never expected to come across.
one such find was a den, and after a quick check to make sure that it was sturdy and not occupied by something else, the coywolf had taken up temporary respite at the mouth of it. he didn't dare try and tuck himself too deeply into the old densite by any means—there wasn't much point to it if he got snowed in and had to tiredly claw his way out. which he would do, if he had to, but lakhos prioritized the notion of safety by being able to see out of the den and keep it clear of piling snow.
sunset approached once again, and with a yawn, the scraggly little coywolf dared to rest his eyes.

@Speedy