There was very little to do in winter that was not marred by the perpetual snow and overcast sky. It did not help that his coat sported such Stygian coloring for against the backdrop of white he seemed a shadow mass easily spotted. Hunting took more effort this time of the year too and he wanted something to do far more attractive than hunting. Now if he was hunting a fire breathing dragon or a shaman-witch wolf then he would certainly feel chipper yet as he paced the confines of Diveen all he felt was a sullen depression. It was like a blanket falling over him, snuffing out the moments of bright light in his life, the night he had stolen with Gaia and the dream quality of it. Since he had returned to Molodian he had been more grounded in the real world but as the boredom of winter sunk it's frosty claws deep into him Zaphkiel was tempted once more to set out into the vast world for something to sate his appetite.

It is because of this intense desire to seek out anything that he finds himself leaving behind the borders of Diveen once more and with each step his mind falls into the state of here-and-there that he used to find himself in often. To him the world stretches out and it is no longer white but shades of gray, twinkling and bright, with hues of pinks very seldom seen within the stardust. He looks up and the stars that surround him are bright and near, if only he were to jump then he could touch them, could burn in their glory. This is the world of his mother, a dreamwalker, and he feels as if he is a starwalker, that the flecks of white that adorn his obsidian chest are these same stars branded upon him.

Zaphkiel is unaware that in the real world his body still moves; where a tree stands in his way so does a boulder in this other realm and he steps around it until he enters a cave in Crags. In his world he has fallen into the shadow of a crater yet a rumbling noise drags him away from his other place. He blinks, his one good eye adjusting abruptly to the dark interior of the cave and he notes that he has wandered far into it. He pauses mid stride as he realizes that the suddenly massive blob of darkness in front of him is not a wall nor shadows - it is the breathing, sleeping figure of a bear. A rather incredibly large bear who was rousing at teh scent of wolf despite it's attempt at hibernation. The rumbling was coming from it, a primal warning, and his ears prick as he stares at it in a sort of disconnect.

How did they get to be so large? As he pondered this the bear began to shift and it's eyes opened to catch sight of the wolf standing only an inch from him. With a suddenly burst of speed that he is honestly surprise such a beast can have the bear comes up off the floor, one paw sweeping out and knocking him to the side as it lets loose a feral roar of fury. As he scrabbles to his feet the bear rears up and knocks it's head against the ceiling, huffing in surprise at the sudden jolt, and Zaphkiel uses the skill of his streamlined body to race from the cave while laughing aloud at the look of surprise on the bears maw.

He runs right out into a drift of snow and plows his body to the right, angling up a steep heel only to find, to his surprise, a vivid white body not too far away. Astrid. He would recognize her anywhere and his amused expression turns boyishly excited and teasing as he bounds towards her. "My lady! I have found you again in the nick of time for I just saved your life from a magnificent bear!" At that moment the roar echoes once more as the grizzly bear stands looking around for the one who awoke him from his mid-winter slumber...
(you can have the bear do whatever you want, chase them or go back in the cave :P figured this would be a fun tale for them)