Phoenix Maplewood i don't care what you think as long as it's about me

vague due to unknown outcome of his last thread.

the forest was tucked in between two claims: a pack of wolves at the creek and another within a winding valley. being so far unfamiliar with the latter, surya made sure to stay clear, knowing that bands were territorial and tended to be aggressive toward unknown loners (and rightfully so). he avoided the former, too, but by this time, it was his nature.

he had grown used to being alone.

it was beautiful here—or would be, at least, when the leaves came in. he had thought spring was on its way, but the weather was frigid this morning, and the snow fell quite heavily. he scowled at the white whirl carried on bitter winds, narrowing his eyes against the chill.

surya ought to hunt, but all he could think of doing was hunkering down amid the blizzard. his gaze darted, searching for a suitable place to wait out the snow. a nearby fallen tree, propped up against a small rise in the earth. . . that would do, perhaps.

the yearling made a beeline for the hideaway and began to wriggle underneath the trunk, drawing his breath in with a hiss as the bark raked against his spine. and to think I left home for this, he thought sourly.

Hope you don't mind Evie being a little rude ^^'

            When had it started to snow so harshly? Evien had only gone slightly northward and suddenly, out of nowhere, it seemed, blasted a blizzard. A bit late in the year for such weather, he thought, but this was much further north than Evie was used to. It cut right through his fluffy fur - the dense appearance was all for show, really, as he was much more built for less frigid climates. 

            Three legs didn't get you very far very quickly, but Evien was certainly booking it by his standards, dark green eyes flickering around and looking for a spot to hide. The young Kastner trembled, pausing for a moment when he spotted a gap between a fallen tree and the cold earth below it. 

             That would certainly do. 

              It was only when he got a bit closer that he realized the tree already had an occupant beneath - a wolf, bigger than him, with brownish fur. The other yearling mentally shrugged his shoulders and hurried to shuffle beneath the tree as well. It wasn't as tight a fit as for the other wolf, as Evien was... tiny. But it would be close quarters for a while - shared body heat was good in this situation. 

              "Sorry, sorry. It's fuckin' cold," he breathed by way of apologizing to the stranger for invading their hiding spot. He'd tried not to step on any paws or a tail on his way in. Hopefully he wouldn't get his ears ripped off for his intrusion.

not at all!

surya was beginning to drift off into a fitful sleep when movement outside his little makeshift den caught his attention. his eyes popped open, ears pushing forward. a shadow, emerging from the snow. it came closer, and closer still, and he found himself pressing back into the shadows as it—

arrey! he exclaimed. the fur along his spine was aloft and his ears, once so curious, were flattened against his skull. god, was he in trouble here? close quarters were never conducive to encounters with strangers, and if this stranger happened to be unfriendly. . .

sorry, sorry. it's fuckin' cold. surya caught the words and relaxed, if only by a degree, still looking quite perturbed. you couldn't find anywhere else to go? he asked dryly—but, while reluctant, he was beginning to acquiesce to the other's presence. for now.

the cramped space was even more tight with the two of them, though, and he found himself shifting awkwardly, trying to stretch out his still-gangly form.

Evien, irritated at the cold weather and only mildly amused at the startlement of the stranger, scoffed at his complaints. "Oh, is there somewhere else you'd suggest?" he quipped back in an equally dry tone, curling up into a nook that wasn't quite touching the stranger. He was scooted back as far as possible to give the other boy some space - it had been a little rude to just squeeze into his spot like that. 

"Besides, shared body heat is best for when it's cold like this. Having two wolves in here will heat up the space far better than one." He shivered again as his body began to proverbially thaw. It felt nice, if he was being honest. 

Forest green eyes closed for a few moments, then opened again to look over the boy he was with. They weren't too terribly different in appearance, though Evie was darker in both pelt and eye color, and much smaller. 

Evien looked away from him and out into the snow before he spoke again. "I'm Evie. Evien," he corrected, reminding himself not to use his nickname for introducing himself. "And I guess I should apologize for invading your shelter."

he gave the other young wolf a long, measured stare—but said nothing, for once. no, he didn't have anywhere else to suggest. he, too, had found shelter in the first place he'd seen. and as the yearling began to speak of body heat, surya had to grudgingly admit that the air between them was growing warmer. the outside cold was fading away.

i'm surya, he replied, and shook his head. it's okay. you're right about the heat—i feel better already. he resisted the temptation to draw nearer still, loath to crowd the other wolf and to lose his own precious personal space. it reminded him of a whelping den, drawing to mind memories firmly rooted in the past. so comforting. . .

he cocked his head, having not yet noticed anything odd or different about his newfound companion. the lighting was too dim and the nook too tight to take stock of anything but the faint outline of the other's face. what are you doing out here? surya asked. do you not have a pack to shelter with?

The heat was pleasant, sweeping away the chill outside and turning the small space they inhabited into something livable. Evien wanted to get closer to the other, but he doubted the other boy would appreciate that, and he didn't want to be even more rude than he'd already been. But the bigger wolf seemed to be relaxing - probably just as soothed by the warmth around them as Evien himself was.

          Surya. His accent was a bit strange, but Evien had run across others with strong accents before. It just meant that they hailed from a different place. "It's nice to meet you, Surya," he said genuinely, offering him a smile that he probably wouldn't be able to see that well. 

         "No, I've just been wandering. It hasn't snowed this much since I've gotten to this place though, so I was a little underprepared for it." He chuckled lightly, tucking his front paws beneath him. "What are you doing out here?"

he dipped his head with a smile in return, as if to say, likewise. the prickliness had almost all but gone; the yearling was quick to anger, but said anger was quick to fade. deep down, he was an amiable soul.

and apparently a like soul to evien as well, for the other young wolf revealed he, too, was a wanderer. wandering, like you, surya responded. he drew in a breath and let it out in a rueful sigh as he stared outside, watching the flakes. his face was barely lit by the glow of light upon snow, eyes glinting emerald in the darkness.

i don't like the snow, either, he continued. isn't it supposed to be spring? where are all the flowers, the birds? a puff of exasperated air left his nostrils, and he turned to evien. i don't think i could ever be prepared for this much snow.

it was better, in the south. snow stayed within its designated season; the equinox brought with it new life. . .hope. hope he hadn't yet found in this place, so far from everything he'd ever known.

I kept thinking I had replied to this - I am so sorry.

Thankfully, Surya did not seem to hold onto his anger. It was for the best, because Evien was absolutely not in the mood for an argument at the moment. And it came as no surprise that the other boy was not a fan of the snow, either - who could be? Nothing was growing, everything was still dead from the winter. Evie couldn't predict it, but they'd still be dealing with the snow nigh on a month later. 

"You'd think it's supposed to be spring," he said with a huff of unamused laughter. "It'll just make it better, when the snow actually melts and things grow back again."

The boy laid his head on dark paws and looked outside, eyes falling shut. "It's times like these I wish I had a pack to stay with," he admitted, breath coming out in a huff of steam.

no sweat!

it was supposed to be spring. that was what he had always been taught—that winter turned into spring, always. he had been born at the tail end of last winter, and his formative moons had been spent in the growing season. he was quite fond of those days. . .couldn't they come back, and soon?

me, too, surya echoed without thinking. being a lone wolf had its perks, but he missed family. he missed company. he missed warmth. being so close to evien here in the near-dark, keeping each other cozy—it just reminded him too much of what was missing.

he could have it back if he let go his pride. the trouble was that hard-headed young men rarely did so.