FSE

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There was peace in the snow-coated forest, nothing even a lifted nose to distort the muffling effect of the icy blanket. The trees towered far above the small cabin, and the two creatures inhabiting it, though smoke puffed lazily into the air. Inside, they slumbered, the warmth of living inside marking them down as being somewhat lazy creatures, distorted by habit. Only the faintest of shifting about marked their slow climb towards wakefulness. A slow stretch from the larger creature, his arm resting straight over the body of his furred companion, offered his slow awakening. He didn't really move though, too interested and tempted by the subtle companionship offered to him within the realms of his...pet, for want of a better word. His hand shifted position, offering the briefest scratches against her chest in an effort to waken her gently.

He yawned, burying his head against the scruff of the wolf curled trustingly against him. Her tail wagged, offering only the softest of noises before she stretched against him, her jaw cracking wide before she settled down with her eyes open. The mismatched eyes of gold and blue blinked open only reluctantly, the wolf clearly finding it tough to keep herself awake within the warmth of the cosy bed and her partner. She rolled towards him as soon as his arm shifted, her tongue flicking his cheek with her morning greeting. The armadillo chuckled, his hand sweeping her side in a gentle caress.

"Morning sweetheart, how did you sleep?" He spoke softly, almost as though afraid he would spoil the winter sedation that took over the forest when snow fell.

Even her yip was quiet, uttered in happiness and with a small wriggle to her movements that offered him a laugh. She couldn't resist grinning at him, the black lips that edged her maw and provided a backdrop for her white teeth gleaming. She stretched slowly again before tipping her head into his gentle-clawed scratching at the skin behind her ears. She sighed in delight, resting her chin on his shoulder as she just relaxed against him. A growl soon rumbled through her lips as she turned her head towards the cold outside and revealed the faint glint of silvering fur along her nose, signs of her slowly advancing age. She felt the faintest brush of his fingers through her scruff, until they latched about her collar, a present from a year past and tugged.

"Come on, Singer, you need to go out. I know you don't like the snow, but it's...not my fault. Snow is what comes here, you know that. Every winter we have snow."

Her complaining growl rumbled through her chest and he didn't let go of her collar until he had tugged her protesting body through the house and outside. He left her out there, knowing that she'd soon ease up and relax in the snow. He busied himself with sorting out the breakfast for the pair of them. He smiled as he watched outside, her barking as she ran through the small patch of forest she'd claimed as theirs reassuring him. She was a happy wolf, he knew. She'd made his life worthwhile, the simple fact of her existence in his day-to-day life enabling him to live a proper life, where he felt he cared about himself as much. The breakfast was simple, and for that he was grateful. A warming cup of coffee, some toast and then a nice bowl of leftover meat for the wolf he had realised had suddenly gone quiet.

He frowned, slipping on his slippers and wrapping a dressing gown around himself. His coffee, he took with him out onto the porch and his head tilted as he looked about for his black and white coated wolf. She couldn't hide in the snow very easily, he knew. The marks of her paws had left many prints on the snow for him to laugh at, but it was dizzying to try and track her progress at first. He forced himself to take a sip of coffee, supping it down to try and provide himself with something steadying in his stomach. Finally, he spotted the point at which she had taken off into the forest and he found his forehead creasing. His fingers curled about the cup before he finally spotted her heading back through the trees, her tail wagging before she stopped, halfway between the house and the forest.

"There you are, my sweet one. You shouldn't worry me like that, you know. I thought the worst..." He stopped, his voice trailing off a moment as wolves slipped from the trees and surrounded her. Her tail flickered in the air and he saw the longing in her glance as she turned her head to look at them, a whine working through into the still air. His wolf was grown, she was safe and hale. Her body had never looked healthier. She had weight on the wolves, even though she was smaller and daintier by far. She had a few wounds upon her, he could see them now he looked all the closer, his stomach dropping in disappointment as he realised what had happened. She'd been taken from him, hunted by the wolves and then, by some degree of a miracle, accepted. Even with the scent of what must have seemed prey ingrained in her own base-scent, she'd been brought into a pack...but she'd led them to him, just for a farewell.

She whimpered again, clearly torn by the bonds she had with him, but the forming bonds of the wolves watching him with wariness and the faintest suggestion of a snarl. He knew, had researched, that she was now prime age to take on the lead female, to become the one to lead the pack beside the best male for the job. A sheen of tears formed in his eyes before he knelt in the snow, ignoring the dampness and chill on his knees.

"Come here Singer...come on. Let me give you one last hug. Before you leave me..." He found his voice breaking and stopped talking, not even able to see through the blur in his eyes. He suddenly found his arms full, and he hugged her trembling body against himself, taking in the warmth of her for the final time. "Hush my darling...you go, you-you be free. Y-you aren't m-meant to be a p-pet."

He shuddered at his own words, stroking a hand down and over her neck until he happened upon her collar. He found the limb trembling as he sought the catch, only for her to draw back.

"You won't need it, not in the forest. It'll be dangerous, Singer." He had his voice back under his control now, or so he thought. Her tongue trailed over his cheeks and he reached up to find them dampened from the tears he had no idea he'd released. He sighed softly, scratching her head before kissing her nose. "If ever you need me. For food, for help...I'll always be here for you. You know that, my sweet one, don't you?" He found her nodding at his words and a smile creased his lips, sad and yet, deep down, full of a pride for his wolf. She was intelligent beyond compare, and he loved her. She was his only contact with something living, the thing that got him out of bed in the mornings and working in the afternoons, her head on his feet or the sound of her somewhere about him.

Spotting the pack melting back into the trees, he pushed her away from him, tenderly but firmly. A frown creased his head again as he stood, but he ignored the soaking clothes that chilled his body.

"Go on, Singer. They are leaving without you. Don't waste your only attempt at being a normal wolf on me. I'm not worth it." Her whine was shriller this time, but she looked at the pack leaving and pressed herself against his leg, one last time. She then shook herself off, her collar still fastened around her neck, and trotted back out to the midway point, where his heart broke. "When you want to leave me behind entirely, just come to me. I'll remove your collar then." He turned, walking back into the house then. He couldn't watch her leave. It'd break him if he tried. He heard nothing for a time, so much so that hope began to build in the cracks of his heart...and then the sound of wolves, singing together in the forest lifted. He could even picture her, his little Singer. Her voice was so distinctive and he knew she led the howl as she led the other wolves.

He broke, after that. His arms reached for her when he first woke and as he went to sleep, muddled by the cold that his bed and arms now exuded. The sight of her shedding coat on his clothes and furniture could bring tears to his eyes, though not as much as the sight of all paraphernalia he'd accumulated for her over the years. He'd found her toys, beds, bowls...even her leash for when they braved town together. He hadn't worked a minute, he couldn't even read. Instead he woke up, and just found himself stumbling through the day, often looking for Singer, when his heart knew she'd left him. He didn't sleep well. He no longer twitched towards the door expectantly. She was gone, and that meant he had nothing to do now, nothing to care about. He moped about.

And all the while he moped, his wolf was running wild. She had taken to the forest as though she had never been stolen from it. Her new kin were always eager to answer her challenges, spoken in rough pushes and snarls. They hunted with her, though she experienced hunger and fights that she'd never known of. She wondered, on the times when they sang, whether her master, the armadillo that had taken her in, made her so well, was okay. She found herself missing him, in the deepest depths of the night, when she couldn't even imagine letting one of the wolves near her rest with her. She slept aside from the pack, her mind often drifting back to the ease of their days. Where she didn't have to hunt and run and where the cold didn't penetrate her coat.

After a full moon in the forest, she found herself fractious and snappy at the pack. She took off from them afterwards, leading her way where her heart tugged her. She needed to go home. The pack weren't for her, and even when the followed her, she snapped at them. She snarled and fought for her freedom. When it came, when they finally turned back, she gave a cry of jubilation. She was finally free. She could return to where she was needed, where she felt loved and protected. She took every step with joy, elation leading to her calling for her 'master' as soon as she scented his dim, oddly scattered scent. She frowned, her steps slowing down as she peered at the cabin. It looked...larger than she remembered, but he wasn't waiting for her, as she expected.

She frowned as she stepped to the doorway, having crept across the grass and scraped at the door. He knew she'd do it, knew that was her way of asking to come in after her brief escapades outside. The door opened to her scratching and she paused a second. Worry nagged at her. She knew he kept himself safe from the predators about...but normally, he had her to help him. She slinked through the doorway and inhaled. Here, at least, his scent was strong, and she found her tail wagging in utter delight. She'd missed him, more than she could ever express. She knew now her home was with him...but he wasn't at the desk, where normally he'd be sat and anxiety began to nag at her. He wouldn't have left, would he?

She found the anxiety beginning to burn away inside of her. She'd always wondered about him leaving, fleeing her as she'd now left him. She shivered in fear before her ears perked. She'd heard sound! Dripping blood from the cuts about her maw and flanks, she bolted to the bedroom, finding him in bed and seemingly asleep. She found herself...oddly reticent to wake him up. She could see him turning, hear his voice mumbling something and yet...he seemed so sad. He'd lost weight and he looked tired. His fur had apparently not seen a cleaning in some time and she found herself feeling guilty.

Her ears fell back against her head and she leaped onto the bed with a gathering of her muscles. She stepped gently, curling against his chest when he moved. She felt his fingers grasp at her, but didn't even flinch when he squeezed her tight against his body. Instead she relaxed there, delighting in being back in her home again. Her tail wagged to and fro and she buried her face in against his chest. Her whine couldn't be stopped, and she found him stilling, his fingers softening on her tender, lithe self. She lifted her eyes and met his brown glance, full of shock and disbelief. Joy built up in those saddened eyes and she found her shoulder dampening when he rested his face upon it. She whined her apologies, cried out for him and he soon lifted his face, cheek stained faintly.

"You are back? For good now, you won't leave me again?"

He couldn't believe his eyes or the warmth in his arms. He felt confused. As though this was a dream, and he'd soon wake to loneliness again. Only her scent, so different and wild now but that baseness, was what proved to him she was real. That and the wounds on her face, small but bleeding, convinced him that she was truly back. It didn't matter to him that he had blood on his hands when he lifted his hands to her muzzle, cradling the beloved face in his grasp. He pressed a kiss to her nose only to find his shoulders pinned to the bed, Singer standing over him with her tongue coating his cheeks and nose in gentle affection. He grasped at her lower back, scratching there before squirming out from under her body.

He staggered on standing up, but found the mismatched eyes he had found so adorable, so bewitching, were staring at him with accusation. His laugh was self-derogatory, though a faint blush coloured his cheeks.

"I haven't been eating well that's all, my sweet one. Come on. I'll get us both breakfast, and then you get a bath. When you are out, I can make sure you okay." His head furrowed a second before he nipped at his lip, his hand finding its way naturally to the top of her head, where she should always be for him. "And...I suppose I should get a little work done, before night draws in. I think we've both learned a lot from this winter, haven't we?" Her nod made him chuckle. He knew she knew his words, which she understood what he said...the only thing she couldn't do was speak with anything but her actions. Coming from the wild back to him offered a million reassurances to his tattered confidence and soothed him, like a balm.

"We can't be separated for long. We both fall to pieces."