Sorenn didn't have much use for gold, personally, but something about the metallic glint called to him nonetheless. Even when he was a pup he'd dreamed of a den lined with gems and baubles and all sorts of shiny things, promising himself he'd have that one day. Well, these days he didn't even have a den to settle in, and his year of mercenary work had hardly left him with treasure to speak of. He had come here in the hopes of rectifying at least half of that issue, even if he was perhaps doing so in the wrong order. The brilliant white stone which was crumbling down from the sides of the gorge above had drawn him in, but it was the flecks of brilliant yellow he found on closer examination which kept him there. Excitement tingled in his paws as he nosed around the boulders and scree below, hoping to find a nugget big enough to be worth taking with him. The small bits would be worth something too, if he had anything sensible to carry them with. He knew a few magpies and crows who liked to accumulate interesting items too, and most would trade over a nest of eggs for anything remotely shiny. The dilute russet male picked his way amongst the stones below, at last finding a worn game trail leading alongside the bottom of the trickling streambed. It was a astonishingly beautiful place, he noted, looking up at the pristine cliffs and glinting gold above him. If the land weren't so hard to navigate, he could almost be convinced to settle down there and then and find himself a den. You can't eat gold, idiot, a voice in his head reminded him. Sorenn scoffed, but couldn't disagree. No, this was only a stepping stone in his journey, but worth appreciating all the same. - SORENN THE RED

OOC: Sorry for jank table, I've been wrestling with the coding but otherwise he's nekked rn D:

She stumbled forth, leaving behind her an unsteady and blood-stained trail through the snow. Everything hurt, and she felt numb with pain and cold. Her parents were dead. And she had almost been killed until they sacrificed themselves for her. Now though, she was left with wounds that would scar and permanently remind her of what had happened. It had been a few days since the event, the month and a half old pup hadn't eaten or really slept since. She was tired. Hungry. Cold. Her form had thinned considerably, and she wasn't the fat little happy pup she had been just days before. Tears stung her eyes as she trudged on, feet dragging through the snow from exhaustion, but the cold did a good enough job at numbing the pain on her forelegs. A gust of wind coming in from the north toppled her over for a moment, the rush of it hurting her shredded ears. She didn't quite know that they had been nearly completely ripped from her head, all she knew was that the air made her ears hurt much more than usual and that something just didn't feel right when she tried to pin them. Everything that had happened after her parents sacrificed themselves to save her life had been a blur. She knew she hurt really bad all over, but she hadn't stopped to really take a look at the damage that had been done or the condition she had been left in.

She just wanted to get as far away as she possibly could. Just like her mother had told her.

After days of walking with very little sleep, however, she couldn't walk anymore. She picked herself up and took a few more steps before she went tumbling down into the wash. Her small, frail body hit the ground with a dull thud and knocked the wind from her, but she couldn't find the energy to get up anymore. Was this it? Did her parents sacrifice themselves just for her to die later? She was so tired...her eyes began to drift closed. It was okay to rest now, wasn't it?

Sorenn walked aimlessly for a time, sniffing here and digging there. Halfway through his excavations, the search for gold became the search for a meal. He was certain these northern crags would offer him up a few rodents, or maybe even a clumsy yearling sheep if he was lucky. When he saw a tiny scrap of fur in his path, unmoving, he wondered if maybe the gods had seen fit to deliver a meal unto him for... Good deeds, or something. Well. That definitely wouldn't be the reason, but Sorenn trotted up to it all the same. It wasn't until he was but a few body lengths away that his mind made sense of what he saw. It was a pup, he noticed with some dull alarm. A pup that he was pretty sure had already died. He had a lot of faults, but cannibalism was not one of them, so the runt was no use to him. Then, as he was watching, the little body took a weak breath. Alright, so maybe not dead-dead, but damn close. "You still breathing, kid?" He didn't bother to dull the edge of his words. I mean, surely the pup knew the shape she was in? Sorenn looked up and down the wash for any signs of it's parents. The young girl was in rough shape, both wounded and starving by the look of things. Now if she were a bit older he wouldn't hesitate to leave her where she lay. Any wolf old enough to hunt for itself ought to be able to fend for themselves, too. That obviously wasn't the case with this pathetic little scrap. Pity wasn't the right word, but Sorenn couldn't deny a vague sense of anger and disgust towards whoever had failed her so thoroughly. He had sat vigil for plenty of dying wolves in his life so far. One more wouldn't weigh him down, but gods, did it have to be a kid? Frowning Sorenn moved to lay down at her side and waited to see if she would rouse or pass on. Either seemed likely at this point. - SORENN THE RED

OOC: Sorry for jank table, I've been wrestling with the coding but otherwise he's nekked rn D: