Snow drifted down slowly onto the back of the tealish-green female. She was in a strange end of the woods, unsure of where, exactly, she was. Such was almost always the case with Yaiba, she wandered to and fro, her birth pack destroyed long ago by humans. The now humbled wolf had no other choice but to wander. As a pup, she had been proud. Prideful of herself, prideful of her pack, she had been quite sure she was invincible. She since felt like even the smallest squirrel could be a threat. (Not a big one, mind you, but still a threat.)

"Where am I?" She growled angrily as she continued to pad northwards. Snow. Cold snow. Snow made for good hunts, and for some reason it seemed to usually cheer her up, but such was not the case today. She was too absorbed in the past to be cheered up by snow.

Yes, there it was! Ezekiel knew that there had been a clearing in this part of the woods. The young adult ran full-boar at it, leaping for joy into it's untouched few feet of snow, snapping at the drifting snowflakes. The force of his impact was enough to send the snow that had been gathered on the ground flying at least five feet into the air, and he proceeded to carelessly snap at those flakes too. Anyone around could hear him, but what did he care? He was a wolf, it was winter; there was no reason to be anything less than jubilant in these conditions. For while most creatures were struggling to continue to live, struggling to find food, the wolf thrived. Deep snow was a wolf's greatest ally- the young preybeasts were too inexperienced and had no idea how to run in it when it was up to their belly, the old couldn't last through the cold, leaving plenty of scavenging, and wolves themselves could run on top of the snow (provided it was covered with a thin layer of ice), where an ungulate's hooves would break through and slow them. Winter for any wolf was, without a doubt, the best time to be.

What is all of that racket? Yaiba thought irritatedly before going to investigate. She'd have to change course, but the snow was falling lightly enough that she could double back... Assuming that the weather decided to stay constant. (Normally, though, it didn't.) She padded quietly towards the sound, only to meet with a romping adult male. He was covered in snow, so she couldn't really tell what color he was. An odd look passed across her muzzle simply at the sight of him. "Hello," she said with a skeptical tone.

The male seemed a bit shocked, he'd obviously not been paying attention to his surroundings, something he scolded himself for quickly, but was soon over it. "Hi." His tail raised immediately, and his hackles, too, just a little. He may act like a puppy sometimes, but that was only for his own pleasure. Nobody was meant to walk in on it! He lifted his lips and a slight snarl formed across his black muzzle. "What are you here for?" His tone had changed completely, no longer the happy romping wolf, he now presented a serious threat if she made he wrong move.

"I heard something, wanted to check it out," Yaiba responded politely. She wasn't a dumb wolf- it was quite obvious to her that this male had not wanted to be interrupted and she'd made the stupid mistake of interrupting. She lowered her tail and ears in hopes that doing such would be enough of an apology to the male. Fortunately enough, it was. Zeke's tail lowered, if only a little, and his hackles returned to normal.

"Hmpf." He grumbled before looking over his shoulder to see if anyone else had been watching him romp puppishly. "Well, know you know." he stated coldly and turned from her, padding angrily off in the other direction. How dare she pop in and see him! How humiliating. The male continued to beat up on himself for having been so foolish.

"Wait!" Yaiba barked before catching up to the male, explaining as she went. "It's no big deal, I won't tell anyone or anything, if that's what you're worried about." She just hated when someone stormed off on her, she always wanted to be sure things were ok, even if it was a complete stranger.

Zeke stopped aburptly and turned his head to look her in the eye, a glare of sorts on his face. "You won't tell anyone. You swear it?" He growled, tail raising a bit again. She had better not be joking.

"I swear it." Yaiba said honestly, looking him in the eye for a moment then diverting her eyes. Only a fool looked long into the eyes of one more dominant than them.

"Good." Zeke said, his tone completely lightened now. When someone swore something, he believed them to be honest. He was a touch naive in that way, but nobody had double-crossed him yet. He shook off his coat, revealing his rusty-red and black coloration. He used to look pure white before, covered ear-tips to claws in pure snow. Yaiba couldn't help but notice how defined the male's muscles were. He had a good, strong muzzle too. This stranger was quite the handsome male... She was pulled out of her thoughts when he asked her a question.

"So, what's your name?" He padded over to a nearby rock, coated with snow, and lept up on it, turning his muzzle away from her. There was no room for her up on the rock. Zeke always had to prove his dominance over others, and he'd rub it in in any way he could think of.

"I'm Yaiba. Means "Blade-" I was meant to be a warrior, but..." she turned her sight to the snowy ground beside her, where a lone leaf, probably the last to fall skuttered across the snow-covered earth. "That's just not me. How about yourself?"

"Zeke." He said coldly, not giving his full name of Ezekiel Blue. He had seen the way she'd looked at him a moment ago, and he hadn't liked it. No, there wasn't room for a female in his life, not in that way, and of that he was certain. No. Not just one in that way, anyway. He chuckled quickly to himself at the thought before giving his head a tiny shake to get that thought out of his mind. "So... You like winter?" He asked randomly, trying to hide the whelpish excitement from his voice, though it still lurked at the bottom.

"I suppose...." the female responded. "A bit cold, but it's not all bad..." her voice trailed off. "You like it?

"Love it. C'mon, you know you've got an advantage as a species this time of year." He said persuasively from atop his rock.

"Perhaps..." Yai looked irritated at the idea. Why did she have to like what he did? Zeke only rolled his eyes at her response. What self-respecting wolf didn't like winter? He huffed at her response.

"I'd probably best be on my way, then. I need to hunt." Zeke said randomly, rising and hopping off his rock.

"I'll hunt with you, if you'd let me. I could use some food too," Yaiba offered to the male. "Besides, two hunters are more successful than just one!" And she knew that both of them knew this truth of nature. The male seemed to ponder it over before giving a hesitant nod, and with that the pair of them set off. Zeke really didn't want to hunt with her- her bright colors would no doubt be seen almost immediately by anything edible in sight. He padded ahead, hoping that she wasn't getting any ideas from his allowance of her to hunt with him. His mouth pulled into a tense smile as the pair trotted along in no-wolf's land, heading from the clearing to the dense woods.

It wasn't long before they were on the tail of a herd, following it by scent. They'd trotted a long distance in an awkward silence, Zeke thinking solely of the kill, and Yaiba thinking more of the male than anything else. How was it that she was trusting him? She was being incredibly foolish, at least in her mind, but still, here she was. She did need food, and truth be told, she wasn't all that good at catching things on her own.

The herd was visible as the crested a hill in the forest. Hunts amongst the trees were more difficult than in the open, but still doable... Zeke's eyes scanned for a winter-weakened individual... particularly an old one. Older deer were easier to catch in winter than younger ones, though both were easier than an adult in its prime. "You know how to hunt with only one other?" Zeke asked shortly.

"...Yeah? It's just like hunting in any group, right?" Yaiba asked.

"Yeah, sure." Zeke said, not liking the uncertainty in her voice. He rolled his eyes. "Just follow my lead." His tail raised a bit, and in a flash he was off, not at full speed, but enough to panic the herd, enough to cause the weak to fall behind. Shocked at his sudden movement, Yaiba bolted too, doing exactly what he had told her to do- follow his lead. Why he was running head-on at the herd made no sense to her at all, but she did as told. No, by now it was obvious that she'd never hunted with anyone other than herself, and then it had been with a rabbit or something small. "Just chase, look for a weak one!" Barked Zeke's voice above the roar of the herd. Yai blushed, it must've been obvious that she had no idea what she was doing. The male popped out of nowhere again, cutting across the herd to a particularly elderly male who had tripped and hurt his foot. She slowed as she watched the male kill him off with one well-placed bite before the deer could even rise to its feet to continue to flee, and Zeke was soon ripping into the carcass. Yes, winter most definitely favored the wolf. He reveled in the power he had over his kill before taking the next bite.

Yaiba cautiously approached, only to be met with a dangerous snarl within 5 feet of the kill. "You hardly contributed at all, wolf." he snapped, eyes cold. "You'll wait until I'm finished." Bloodlust on him made him rediculously aggressive. Zeke's muscles were all tensed, ready to spring and seriously injure the female should she so much as take one more step. Surprised at the sudden reaction, Yai sat in the snow and watched, belly rumbling. She didn't remember pack kills being this violent... Not even instinct of it stirred in her from being away from the pack life so long. He meandered away and she sprang on it the instant he was far enough away, driven by hunger. By the time she looked up again, Zeke was long gone, not wanting to be around the useless female anymore. He was running (as fast as one could with a full stomach, anyway) through the forest to a different clearing than before. Once there, he would romp in the snow as he had intended on spending the day doing.