Bitterroot Valley dalnum

hope this is okay ;w;

He emerges from the depths of the taiga; once a snow-ladden landscape, now a dry plains, carrying a browned hare from its hovel. Once, he would be here, smiling and laughing with his sky-cousins. But now, he is alone. Ayovi, Skorpa, her children. Tethered elsewhere, he has never felt so alone. 
but that was okay,
He was okay. 
Tawny paws scraped the hardened surface, callouses rough from the terrain being claimed as his own. He wandered aimlessly, no destination, and pushed forward until he'd find something worth his time. 
He passed a herd in the highlands. Elk taking their part in the lush greenery before it was covered in heaps of white. His ears flicked, listening to their bellows. A hollowed out cavern whelped in his chest. But he pushed the emotions away. 
Entirely caught up staring at the herd, he hadn't seen the piebald woman. When he turned his head, he thought he was seeing a spirit. Big Sky chilled him. Loneliness scuttled by his toes. 
With a gruff sound of a 'hello' he was apathetic with his distance. Keeping it firm, but making no attempts to leave.