Spirit of Winter

It was a long walk from the north, where everyone was settling in for the winter. Thick fur had filled in the spaces between pale toes, guarding the pads from frostbite. Tall auds were bursting with thick down, peachy pale. However, the west had been good to them. The giant wanted to revisit them a few more times. Perhaps even meet some western wolves. It had been a while since she'd interacted with others.

The snow had stopped falling, the further from the north the champagne wolf wandered. Instead, it blanketed the ground in downy drifts. Shh, shh, shh, it whispered with each step. Crown low between narrow shoulders, the young shaman sought company. The need to see another wolf who didn't share blood was a hunger in her guts. Broad paws slipped easily across the terrain, unbothered by such frivolities as deep snow. After all, the wolf had been shaped by winter and born into it. What was there to fear from what her lineage had made her to be?

A strange shape up ahead. Curious, the young wolf lifted her head to get a different angle. The wind was drifting the wrong way, leaving her upwind and her target downwind. Her mama would be ashamed, to see her failure as a tracker. Bobbed tail twitched with frustration. Well, the strange creature appeared smaller than the young phantom. Then again, distance and snow played their own tricks. Perhaps it would be alright to move closer. A few hesitant steps, auds twitching to capture any sounds from nearby. No need to walk into an ambush. Da would be horrified, and then irate in a matter of moments. "You smell like wolf." The giant dared call out, once the distance was closed to roughly five feet between them. "Don't look like one, though." Rude; thy name is Divo.