Winter was abnormally cold, he thought. He did not mind it much, but it was still fairly unpleasant. To fight off the chill, he huddled into his den, a little separate from the rest of the pack. As much as he loved being a part of them, joining in the fun and their play, welcoming the pups to the world and living life with them, there were times even the deaf needed to retreat to the silence.

Zeru breathed deep in his cozy den, enjoying the still peace within it. Snow had covered much of the entrance, trapping the heat pleasantly inside. He slept soundly, only dreams of a woman he had met in the mountains crossing his mind. Eyes opened and his nose twitched. Brows furrowed. Maybe today he would make that venture.

Pressing out of his hole, Zeru trotted along the trails well worn by warriors and patrols. He would not dare explore too far off the path in this weather. There was too much as risk and he was not willing, or needing, to start a new adventure.

The trails brought him to the edge of Taviora and into the wilder woodlands. It was there he stumbled on a familiar scent. Confused as to why she would be nearby, the young man changed his course to intercept the woman he had not known had called to him. He found her pacing the border of his him and he stopped, tilting his head at her. On some level, he knew she was dangerous, their youth together had taught him that. But now he looked at her differently. Perhaps it was because he was older, or perhaps because he had seen himself in a position much like her’s. Captured, lost, and scared. Pacing and snarling at anything that approached too close. Had it not been for the Fantastic Four, he would have lost his life to the shadows of his mind.

Ignoring the cold, Zeru sat in the snow beside Sekhmet’s pace track. I help you? He asked in his clipped tones, speaking as someone who had found someone else close to the border of his pack. Speaking as someone who was clearly stressed and possibly lost. He promised her he would not forget the past. So he remembered. He kept his distance. He had not come to her in this place, she had clearly been the one to come to him.