did i come at a bad time?

Ashen clouds filled the sky behind the dark behemoth, the smell of smoke embedded in his pelt as evidence to attest for just how close he had been to death. His blue eyes, usually lively and reflective- were distant and low as he walked north along the western coast. Sand littered the short fur of his limbs while ash still clung to him in the depths of his silvered mantle.

He had never been this far west, but he was restless. He thought perhaps if he traveled this far, the mountain would be out of sight.. out of mind.. but it appeared that even now, the burning mountain was a lingering omen of the life he had been birthed to serve. He didn't want to believe it, but as the beast rose his dire crown and looked behind him.. his heart sank with a forlorn sigh. Everything was becoming far too real.

On top of failing his father and the Ruina demons for not delivering a sacrifice during the reaping season, he had continued to neglect his duties by allowing a soul to escape. He wondered if he had captured that woman and drug her to the mountain, would it have ceased to spew? Would the fires have been prevented? Would he have been a hero?

No. He refused to believe that the murder of another would bring peace. He owed it to his sister to stick to that. He had to find another way to please the Ruina demons, but.. it was too late now. Winter was here, which was almost easy to forget out here in the warmth of the west.

His paws were just starting to ache from overuse when his stomach grumbled, causing him to hestitate in stop in his tracks for a moment as he noticed and listened. He had been distracted enough that he had neglected his basic needs which was something very out of character for a wolf with as high of a metabolism as what he had. He remembered how crazed his father had become in their last season together, how little he had eaten.. how skinny he had allowed himself to shrivel to. No matter what was going on, Dominus swore he would never allow himself to get so caught in his own mind that he would neglect himself and fall into such a state of weakness. Not if he could help it.

The survivor strayed away from the coast now, moving inland while following the scent of fresh water. He could smell another wolf, though he avoided her trail to the best of his capability. He moved toward the south end of the lake where he would come across the pair of deer. They seemed to already be spooked by something which gave Dominus little time to react. The colossal wolf immediately took off in an attempt to close the 40 meter distance between him and the deer, the mass of his barrelled frame quite obvious to his prey as he presented himself on the pale background of sand- but he did not give up. He was running directly toward their trajectory and made it about halfway to them before they noticed him and turned toward the lake.