It had become absolutely bitter cold out lately. Winter was only half over too and it always got worse before it got better. At least it always felt that way. They made their way to the crags where there was plenty of cover to get out of the blistering winds and his face burned with the cold until they had made it here. He knew being a loner would have is rough days for sure, but today was probably the hardest he had since striking it out on his own almost a year ago. As per usual he and his friend parted ways allowing themselves the space they needed to explore and look around. Ame thought he had heard of this place before, something about a lot of bad wolves liked to hide in the dark here, but they could have been old pup tales to keep children out of such a dangerous place. There were ledges everywhere, some seemed to drop down into nothing, not really a safe place for any young pups he imagined.

Still it was amazing. He hadn’t gone into the grotto before, the stones on the walls shimmering with the water making even the dim light that got in seem much more bright than it should be, no animals seemed to be around just yet, but he was certain some type of bat likely made its home here and maybe even bears could den here while they hibernated. Ame was curious to learn what the animals did to live that stayed in here, but he knew there were likely plenty of other wolves taking shelter in here too.

Many wolves were loners after all, and while some were not so good and perhaps denied entry into packs he knew there were those that chose to be loners like himself that perhaps were good wolves who didn’t know what pack to fit into, or simply didn’t want to be in a pack. The slate boy was curious but while he was actively seeking out others, he usually didn’t like to bother others that seemed like they were doing fine. He liked retaining the balance and helping those he could and not wishing to disturb those that were fine. Of course he never minded company of others, but perhaps it was a remnant from his early childhood that he couldn’t really approach others that didn’t need him. Regardless there were scents all around now it was just to see if anyone needed him or dared to come up to him first.