Thoth had lost track of the seasons. The passing of time meant very little to him in comparison to the rest of the effects of the world around them. Just because seasons had changed and warm became cold did not mean he needed to signify the change with anything more that a single tooth, bared in contempt to the discomfort.

Instead he turned his attention to the prize. His toy. The small pup the girl had given him. It had become quite a task, tutoring the small creature. Though it had its pleasures as well. Stealing the pup away into secret dens had been fun. Hiding it from this adult or that one had become a new game. Thoth’s lips peeled back in a toothy smile that leered eerily from his silent face. Occasionally the boy would catch wind of his father, or another and move the child to a different location. Watching Samhain’s increasing distress over the safety of the pup, and the devolution of Thoth himself was more than humorous for him to watch. The fragile wolf was breaking further. Thoth waited for a moment to watch his father break. Try as the creamy ghost watcher tried, he could not keep his son under control, and could not rescue Zeru from Thoth’s large paws.

Today, however, it had grown too cold in the den he had found for them. Thoth was not entirely heartless. He nudged the pup to its paws and into the snow. Protectively, he hovered around him and ushered him through the slowly gathering ice. Colder than snow. More distasteful. Snorting, he continued the trek to a different den. Covered by rocks and facing out of the wind, it was drier and it was smaller. It would have to do. He looked down at Zeru with burning eyes, his intent clear.

Zeru had started to grow into his body and his form. His first two seasons had been strange. Thoth had been careful to keep him alive, even strong, but had only barely given him the affection of a pack or a family. Occasionally lessons had been taught silently and swift. But before long, Zeru started to fight back. If a bite was too sharp, he would return it. Silently and with fangs the two males would ‘argue’ until a conclusion set in. Both would inevitably gotten wounded, but not enough to raise eyebrows or bother them in the slightest. Now the tri colored wolf looked at Thoth and narrowed his excotic eyes. He growled low, not angrily, just pointing out a fact. The hole was small. It was cold out. They would be forced to cuddle.

Both males looked down the hole. This was the best they would be able to find without help. Their shoulders hunched and they sat stubbornly at the mouth of the den. Slowly the ice started to accumulate on their bodies. They would rather be cold than cuddle.