Dahozhoni Meadow forgive me peter

Serpent Lake ran its jagged course further up from the northeastern reaches of Dahozhoni Meadow. Truth be told, Cassian had never once opted to go down this far south. There were wolves that surely found bliss and familiarity within the tempestuous sands, but this wayward soul was not one of them. At least, the current Cassian of this day and age believed so. Perhaps prior to the incident of being reborn there lay a separate beast capable of traversing such an expanse with mock ease, but that was neither here nor there. Useless prattle tended to fill this man’s mind and while it was enjoyed there were other things that called for attention today.

The pangs of hunger were a fine start to this dreadful morning.

It’d been days since Cassian’s last fortuitous meal and while the world was not shy of her blessings… she could certainly be greedy with them. Water continuously sloshed within the mortal’s stomach and birthed a faux sense of satiation. Currently, a feeble attempt was being made at following a scent. Was it a squirrel? No, it wasn’t anywhere near nutty enough. A deer’s corpse? The mere idea made him audibly cackle. If such a thing was out in the open the odds were that it was picked clean to the bone by vultures! Still though, the more that Cassian sniff, sniff, sniffed it simply became nigh impossible to ignore the second guess that rattled its way to the forefront of his mind. Maybe it was just his stomach talking? At some point a stroke of luck with an upwind draft strengthened the tie to this lead and then...

There it was.

Tucked away inside of an alcove lay the corpse Cassian fantasized about and immediately a dirt cloud of happiness formed from the man's tail sweeping eagerly at the ground. With a few careful tugs of the teeth the wolf was able to drag it out into the open and began to feast! Why, there was such ample meat left on it! The trek in its entirety had been about two miles down south, but it was worth its weight in…well, meat! Ten minutes into the sun-kissed wolf’s meal sprung by and then the hefty girth of a paw slamming its force into earth rattled Cassian down to the core. Blood kissed the man’s maw and when he turned to face the sound there it stood. A gargantuan, fuzzy, browner than mud bear.

”Oh my gods…ummmm....hiiii….you’re a handsome fella, aren’t you? Yes you are! Look at those lovely, thick, shiny claws of yours! Why, I'd bet you’d never hurt a soul in your life! So, I’m going to leave this here and then I’m going to…”

Run.

To the west, specifically.

Cassian ran. Oh, he ran like never before. The wolf’s limbs screamed in surefire protest and yet further he churned on. Angrier than could be, the bear lay just several paces behind the man and it seemed hellbent on making a meal out of this intruder. Athletic frame? Muscles? God-given genetics? No, no, and no! This wolf held on to adrenaline for dear life! There were no woods here to lose this creature in and that was when he saw them.

Another wolf.

At the top of his lungs, Cassian yelled. For them to get away?

Heavens, no.

”HEY, HEY, YOU! YEAH, YOU! HEYYYY! BE A NICE SOUL AND TAKE THIS BEAR OFF OF ME?! YOU LOOK LIKE A NICE…WOLF! YEAH! PLEEEEASE? IM JUST A LITTLE GUY.”

There wasn’t a wolf with its head screwed on tight that would want such a thing to occur, but at the very least it served as ample warning at the end of the day!