Cold North Winds

It was entirely by chance that he was home, lingering in the caverns while he spruced up his new den. It wasn't very far from the family den, so he didn't feel terribly isolated, but it was a space all his own. Working with a soft hammer and broad tipped chisel, he'd been laboriously carving a deep alcove into the space just to the side of the entrance. Somewhere to set down his weapons and armour at the end of the day, where they would be out of the way and unavailable to trip over. So when the faint echoes of his sire's sonorous howl made their way to his ears, the dun coloured titan paused his work. Let the sound bounce from the back of his den and into his ears one more time, just to make sure it wasn't tinnitus, or the vestiges of sound from his hammering hitting his ears wrong. Nope, that was his dad alright. He dropped the hammer and chisel, shoved them up against the wall for later, and took off at a steady lope down the stone tunnels. He was getting big, filling out in a way that was starting to get him wary looks from unfamiliar wolves. He hardly noticed, when he was in the market he was usually on a mission of some sort. Not looking around to see who was judging him. It did wonders for his troubled mind, not being aware of how many strangers seemed to think he was terrifying.

It took a moment to adjust, stepping out into the light of day. Mercurial eyes narrowed, brow furrowing for a moment or two as he blinked away the stinging sensation of sunlight hitting his eyes. In the valley below, he could see the dark figure of his father silhouetted by the towering marble Obelisk. No one else had shown yet. Regardless, the young giant ambled down the path at a steady pace with a bounce in his stride. Once the soft grass found itself beneath his massive paws, the young male shook the last remnants of stone chips from his pale coat before trotting up to his sire. There was a sour look on his face, a scowl that he hadn't seen in months. It gave Stratum pause, and he hesitated for a moment, ears tipping back nervously before he offered a respectful dip of his chin to his sire. "Hey, dad." he uttered the words more quietly than he'd originally meant to, unsettled by the hardness of the man's sapphire stare. Then he found himself looking around, hoping someone else would show up to diffuse the budding tension before he lost his nerve. A half step back, leaving a bit of distance between himself and his sire, before the boy carefully and quietly settled onto his haunches. Curled his plush tail around his hip, slouched his shoulders defensively, and lowered his head. Hard for a mammoth of a young man to make himself look small, but damned if he wasn't going to try right now.