Never had she experienced such a sensation. Even when she had struck out before, she had always been careful with her decisions; she'd never been caught in a bad storm or even surpassed the point of peckish. She had always been precise with every aspect of her life and yet, suddenly, she had been overwhelmed with the urge to do something different, to task risks she otherwise would not have taken. It seemed unusual to suddenly care about other things. Even all that her mother had said hardly seemed to make it any more sensical to her. Imprints and all that - what did that even mean? Even as she shivered and huddled into her own tail, she had just the right amount of energy to be agitatated. If she had just been smart, she might have seen the storm. She could have made it back to the forest in time to find a more suitable den but no! Now she had find herself stuck, cold and uncomfortable. What had happened to cause any of this?

It had begun to feel like centuries since she had been buried beneath the reeds and snow. Even as her body did its best to keep warm, it did little to warm the earth around her - she had been out too long, her fur too soggy from the melted snow. Even though she had escaped the storm, it seemed adamant to find her even there in the dark and fox-stench. She had barely been able to keep a coherent thought as she scrunched into a tighter ball, desperate to warm herself as her black eyes stared up and beyond. How long would she be forced to endure it? She whined, a sound that seemed to summon the sudden barrage of paws from above.

At first, she attempted to issue a warning growl and yet, it merely ached to produce such a thing. Still, her hackles lifted as she pushed herself back further and further until she had crumpled herself up against the dirt wall. She had expected some bear or cougar, hungry and proud, and yet a hare had merely tumbled down; at first, she stared and waited, half expectant that it would leap up and begin biting in fear. Yet, it merely stayed limp - finally, she had been able to smell the blood. Food? Its mere presence made her curious and against her instincts, she immediately lurched forward to drag it back towards her.

Pandora. Her name had made her lift her head, her eyes suddenly meeting with Tithe's own. She recognized them instantly and, against her own instincts once more, she let out a surprised - yet almost happy - bark. It took her several moments to register his words, her ears accustomed to nothing more than the muffled roar of the storm outside. Her eyes darted between him and the flurry of snow outside and then, with a sudden movement, she lurched forward again - this time however, she had moved to pull at the thick fur of his neck, beckoning him into the darkness without words.

She hadn't a clue what had come over her and yet, she did her best to clamber forward and bury her snout into the warmth of his fur. Even though he had been out in the snow, she could have sworn nothing had ever felt so warm. It felt foolish to need such closeness and yet, she had instantly been able to feel her skin prickle with sudden warmth, her breath suddenly comfortable once more.

"How?" Finally, she had mustered the concerntration to think and speak once more; now, she watched his face in the faint light with furrowed brows. From time to time, her body would quiver once more with a sudden chill, a fact that drew her closer as she dragged the hare with her. "How did you know I was here?" She asked with an inkling of caution, unsure that it had been her thoughts of him that had summoned him. Instead, she had begun preparing their makeshift meal, desperate for the meal and yet, so pleased beneath the surface that somebody had thought of her. She even figured she'd half the hare, giving Tithe its very heart. He needed his strength. It was the least she could do.