I'm Alive Again

[Rohtang]

As day light broke the morning sky, Rohtang crept out of the bear cave for what seemed the first time in years. Hesitant at first, what with the warm sun breaking through the trees and beating down on him. He was not used to the warm rays of the sun. As he built up the courage to leave the darkness behind and start exploring the world that he once left, memories started flashing back to him.

The wind was howling in the dark, rain pouring down. ‘Why would they leave me? Why wouldn’t they want me to be with them? Aren’t they my family?'

The thought broke as the smells of the morning dew and magnificent flowers were brought to him, all new to Rohtang; making him cringe on the inside. The thought of his family being out here in the world somewhere angered him, though he kept in mind that they may be dead. That thought brought excitement to him, as he left the cave and began to trot down the small hill.

All of a sudden there was a huge crash off to Rohtang’s left. Stopping, he stared. A few minutes came and then passed as he patiently waited to see if anything would emerge from the startling sound. He heard nothing, and so started to creep toward the way he thought the sound came from. He had crept for about 30 feet, where he found an opening in the trees.

Inside of this opening lay a large shimmery pond. The water inside of this pond was crystal clear, and peering into it he could see tons of maru swarming around. Since all Rohtang had been used to eating was bats and other small bugs, he had decided to attempt to catch one. Splashing his paw into the water he attempted to grab one; trying this over and over and each time failing. As he did not succeed, his fury level rose significantly; until about his 20th try. Frustrated he took off away from the water and darted through the woods. With his fury starting to build and his adrenaline pumping, he moved.

Still in step he began to notice tons of little creatures scurrying away from him. Deciding to attempt to catch one of these orinn instead, he looked around for one. Leaping off of the ground at one, he spread his jaw wide, saliva dripping off from his fangs. Landing on top of the animal he sunk his teeth in, killing it in seconds and the blood pouring into his mouth. Ripping his head back, he took his first bite, realizing just how amazing it was. He continued to devour his prey until his stomach was satisfied.

Now that he was fed a new treat, his rage had simmered down. He realized that he didn’t know where he was exactly, and so, he turned trying to figure out which direction he came from; but he could just not pick it up. He was used to the cold damp walls in the cave to guide him, but out here it was open with the exception of trees, but these trees could not guide him back to his home. Frantically he began to search the ground for his tracks, but realized he had leapt pretty far to get to this treat as he was still unable to find his prints.

Tired from his previous excursions, he figured finding shelter would be the best thing to do. Starting to make his way through the woods, he found a downed tree big enough for him to crawl into. Getting down he crawled in, feeling his excitement level raise as this reminded him of his home. Reaching the back, he began to feel movement under his belly. He knew this feeling; the feeling of bugs. Repositioning he began to eat them like dinner.

Now will a full belly, Rohtang grinned as he set down for a nap.

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[Moonbeam]

Pack life was boring. Day in and day out, it was always the same; nothing ever changed for him. Boredom was struck within his body, and he began to get more and more antsy for something to happen. Ever since he had joined the pack, he felt as if he had not even met a singular new wolf; even his alpha Bret was pretty busy off doing his own things. From what Rivot had heard, he had the time to go and visit their neighboring alphess, Bella, and have a nice little chat with her. In his head the crimson and ebony male hoped that Bret given her a ‘good time’, so to speak.

In his conquest for something to do, he had decided that as of today he was going to go on a hunt outside of his lands. There were many loners and strays outside of the pack lands, and so there was a higher chance that he would run into somebody. Right? He wasn’t sure if that was an accurate guess or not, but his need for interaction and some sort of conversation drove him out here anyway. Besides, if he had not run into any other wolf, the least he could do was grab a nice tasty orinn for lunch; it was about time for him to get a meal.

As the sun beat down onto his maroon body in odd patterns from the covering canopy above, he moved through the forest. He was traveling dangerously close to those dirty Cerrac’s today, but he could care less. If a singular other wolf were to show their face and claim loyalty to the black bitch, he would make sure to put them in their place. He knew that the packs were supposedly ”at peace”, but he didn’t care what their status was. There was tension between them, regardless of the title that the alpha’s had deemed for their alliance.

His nose was busy at work now, approaching closer to the cave and in the opposite direction of both packs. A strong scent of blood covered the air, dousing it in such a stink that it was very distinguishable as the blood of a water-skipping creature; orinn. Somebody had recently hunted here, but whether it was a wolf or the so-called bear that was rumored to roam these lands, Rivot was on his toes nonetheless. This animal could be either calm from his previous eating, or even more dangerous as he protected his meal. Dropping his head down to the ground, he tried to discover where the body of the creature was laying.

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[Rohtang]

Lightning striking, the thunder booming, and the rain drenching as Rohtang runs faster and faster; attempting to get away from the awful bastards that left him to rot.

With the sound of a branch popping; Rohtang flinched himself awake. Laying with his head low to the ground, his eyes barely even open, he attempted to recollect what had happened and where he was. Quickly remembering that he had left the cave and had found this log he was napping in after he decided to dine on a new tasty treat.

Snap?

Once again he heard the snap of another branch. Moving his eyes he focused on the front of the log. Listening, he started to hear light foot steps coming toward him. As his eyes begin to adjust to the bright light of day, his poison yellow eyes spot the remains of his feast a little earlier in the day. Waiting for a few minutes, ears alert and listening, he noticed the steps getting louder and louder.

Almost out of nowhere a silhouette appeared, standing near the remains of Rohtang’s feast. Instantly the first beings that come to his mind are the bastards, and with this thought his fury begins to build. As it built, he watched the creature investigating around his old meal. On the third pass of the remains, muddy red paws left the dirt ground and darted from the log that had them concealed; lunging toward the silhouette.

Realizing that it was another wolf that was about double his weight and height of Rohtang’s size, he gave himself a distraction. His aim had been completely off, and what he thought would be leaping at the other was actually a complete miss. Crashing into a small boulder, thinking that for a mere second he could have broken off one of his fangs. Shaking it off, he got to his feet again, although slightly dazed from his miss.

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[Moonbeam]

Head still stuck to the ground, he continued his search for the meat. He had passed by the carcass a few times now, and he could tell by the strong scent it held and the... well, the obvious dead body; with bones protruding and still small amounts of meat covering it. The animal that had done it was still yet to be seen, and though he searched for the creature, he felt he might as well give up. Judging by the tears to the orinn, he had assumed that the one who had devoured it was a wolf, but it appeared that although the meal was fresh, he was gone within a matter of moments; not sticking around to eat the small amount of meat left on the remains.

Pausing his foot steps, he brought his head up, placing it at an angle where he could look to the canopy above him. The mikoe were above the leaves and trees today, none flying through the forest. It must have been a lot harder while there was still brush, but he assumed that during the wintertime they would change their minds and fly tree-level. He felt as if they were cocky, being all the way up there; up where nobody could touch them. He had heard they were a disgusting treat, but if he ever had the chance to kill one, it would be under his paws in a matter of seconds--just to prove to everyone that he could do it; he could kill a flyer.

Suddenly there was a scrape from behind him, almost as if there were paws darting over dirt. Flinching his head down to it’s level, he looked over his shoulder. A wolf had been darting toward him, one that was so small in size that Rivot wanted to laugh. Those large fangs, though, read a different story about the back-history of this wolf. They almost made up for the stature of his little body. That, and they were drenched in the red-muddled color of blood. He had made the kill.

Side stepping a little, he watched as the wolf flew right past him and into a boulder. Getting his legs low, he bunched his muscles up, feeling them tighten with their strength. The top lip of his mouth lifted, showing his own pearly whites at the other. A low growl emitted from the depths of his throat, escaping it in a warning. This small wolf had wanted to fight, but Rivot would give him no satisfaction. He was here to perhaps make a friend, and to fix his social needs; but first, it appeared that he needed to get him to the ground and into a position where he could talk to him and calm him down. Seeing him get up to his feet, he prepared his own crimson and ebony body for launch.

Releasing his muscles, he snapped forward, his front feet making contact with the smaller wolf’s shoulders. Forcing out all of his weight, he brought the male to the ground, knocking him down and onto the floor in a pin. Holding him there, he looked down into the yellow eyes of the male. ”Calm the hell down!” He snarled, his voice deep and full of demand. His teeth were still showing, though he did not do so in a threatening way, but more of a commanding one. He made sure to keep all of his weight focused on holding this lighter male down, scared that if he got up, those large fangs would make an example out of him.

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ooc; had permission to PP.

[Rohtang]

Wiggling back and forth, Rohtang tried to free himself from the monstrous wolf above him. His fury had risen to it’s maximum level, and his powerful jaws were snapping at the legs that were pinning him against the ground.

With his fury being so high, he tuned everything out. When the wolf spoke he did not hear it, as he was only focusing on getting up now. Quickly recalling a familiar situation like this when he first had found his cave, he thought back to it. This time, the wolf above him was ten times smaller. Thinking back to his trick, he remembered how he would get out of the hold.

As Rohtang started to wake, he kept his eyes shut. Realizing that the pressure as off of him; he squinted to see what he could., noticing that the other wolf was gazing at him from about 10ft back. Taking more time to look him over, he noticed how much this wolf had looked like him. Both were red, but he had black markings while Rohtang had white. I wonder if he’s one of them...? He thought to himself. After a couple of minutes passed, Rohtang fully opened his eyes. Now in a staring contest to see who would make the next move. Very slowly, stealth like, he started to sit up. He never let his eyes blink or dare look away from the other. Now the real stare down began.

Ears slowly turning to the sound of something coming up behind him, his eyes still locked on the wolf in front of him as he decides not to look away. The sound continuously got closer closer, yet he sits still glaring. Slowly, he opened his mouth to ask the other, ”What? You have your back up coming?”

”Can’t handle little ol’ me by yourself?” he asked, but then realized that he had not been out of his cave for very long. What if it’s something else? What if it’s something we both have to fight? Could I trust this other? As all these thoughts were tossed around his head, and all these questions came up, he realized something... the sound of feet crunching across the forest floor had stopped.

Slowly, Rohtang turned his head to the side. His eyes widened as he noticed that there were almost surrounded by these short but very large animals. They had long tusks protruding from their mouths, and looked to attack at any given moment. There seemed to be three of them, two adults and one very young one. Retuning his eyes to the other, Rohtang looked to him for help; knowing that with as small as he was, he couldn’t take these fuckers alone.

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permission to pp.

[Moonbeam]

From atop the wolf he stood, keeping his weight pressed down into the shoulders of the one below. He was making quite a fuss, not allowing for any time of relaxation as Rivot kept himself sturdy on the wiggler. The one on bottom kept making very angry sounds, his body putting a lot of pressure back and forth as he attempted to knock down the bigger wolf. Good thing he was a much heavier wolf, or else this would not have worked out in Rivot’s favor. His weight proved to be useful in many situations, and this was most certainly one of them. From the strength the opposing brute used, Rivot could tell that this male was not one to usually be taken down so easily; he had just gotten the lower paw in this fighting situation.

Royal purple eyes still fixed on the smaller being, he waited for him to calm down. Somehow, he felt as if this was working, as he began to feel the muscles beneath him go lax and the thrashing stop. Still keeping his gaze affix, he waited for the body to completely settle. It did much more than he had thought, though, as suddenly the one beneath him entirely ceased in movement; whether it be because of his own choice, or Rivot’s heavy weight put too much pressure on his lungs and made him pass out from lack of oxygen. Eyes widening, he began to worry.

First thing was first, if the wolf had passed out, he needed to get off of him. If he continued to stop the air flow, then the wolf could eventually kill over. Taking a few steps backwards, he gave him some space, his eyes keeping on the other male’s body. He could tell that there was still life in his little body, from the little heaves of breath that his chest made as the air traveled through his windpipes. For a split second, Rivot considered turning around and high-tailing it back to Jager; his only decision to cancel this thought out was he wanted to know if he really DID kill somebody or not. And if he woke up hours later, the least Rivot could do was get him back to his home and get him some help. Just hopefully he would wake up.

Nearly an hour had past as the large ebony and crimson male sat on his tush. Signs of life were still very vivid in the other male’s body, with breathing and small movements here and there; however, Rivot was not comforted by even those thoughts, and stuck around to make sure he was fine, anyways. Should have just left... he thought sourly as he remembered the aggressive wolf’s actions not too long before. He felt frustrated with himself; having to sit there over some stranger that tried to injure him, and all just to make sure that the wolf didn’t suffer any sort of brain damage or anything!

Movements were soon seen from the limp body, his eyes opening and meeting Rivot’s. Letting them both lock into place, he watched as he slowly got to his feet, not moving his eyes away from him for a moment. Though he wanted to speak, he did not say anything, just watching him move slowly into place. He felt the yellow eyes looking over him, but he did not do the same. While the wolf was passed out, Rivot had all of the time in the world to look over his lifeless body; inspect those sharp and dangerous fangs, and even the muscular stature that he had in his small frame. If he were a little bigger, he would certainly be a force to be reckoned with; too bad his genes made him shorter than even most average females.

Ears twitched as words hit them, the red audits flickering for a second. Though he had no idea what this wolf was talking about, he smirked anyway. Giving an uncaring flick of his tail, he moved his head to look off into the distance; his eyes locking on absolutely nothing. But they were brought back to attention as he was challenged by the smaller wolf. Oh, I could take you. He thought, though he did not voice his opinion, as his eyes were drawn away once more. This time they locked on the site of a rather large tusk, gleaming and pointing in the wolves direction. Eyed widening, Rivot hopped to his feet, sticking his tail in the air and preparing himself to bolt. This other wolf, however, seemed to have a totally different plan...

“Oh hell no, I’m not fighting those.” He said, shaking his head side to side. He knew hardly any wolf that could take one of those when there was just one in the area, but TWO large and capable fighters? Those tusks would tear into them without any hassle, and neither of them would return home today. He knew he would be able to outrun them, but to hell if he was going to stay and let this other wolf kill himself alone. With a grunt, and a very loud annoyed growl, he took only a few steps back. If this wolf chose to fight, he would fight alongside him, but not for long. Long enough to keep the boars distracted with their pain while he bolted off into the day. Two wolves with no skill would not survive such an unbalanced battle.

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[Rohtang]

As Rohtang stared at the creatures, he realized that the other was stepping down. Not knowing what to think, A coward, weakling, or maybe... he knows something that I don’t. Either way, Rohtang knew he had to choose his next move quickly or else he may end up dead. The next thirty seconds had seemed like an hour to him, throwing the decisions he had to make around within his head.

It’s so thick and hard to breathe, yet I can see my breath on my exhale. It’s so hard to see distance as well... The ground feels chilled, and tiny white fuzz balls are falling from the sky.

Rohtang snapped out of his deja vu, realizing that the sky began to rain the tiny white fuzz balls again. Now a plan was formulated in his head, and he decided to wait a few more seconds as this would help account for his idea. Noticing that out of these three creatures, he sees that one is small: Easy. The biggest is in the middle: Pretty difficult looking. And the third that was just slightly smaller than the biggest: Challenging, probably perfect. He realized that the biggest was probably the mother of the smallest, and he figured that the bitch would put up a good fight. On the other hand, the male next to her, looking at his size, was very possible for him and the other wolf to take out.

Now with this tiny white fuzz falling from the sky and the clouds getting closer to the ground; Rohtang still had trust in the other behind him. Barely being able to see the silhouettes of the creature that lay in front of him, he prepared himself. With no hesitation, he charged the male creature in the blink of an eye. Startling the other two, they bolted from the swift sound of what was the snap of a branch. The other, however, had no chance as Rohtang sunk his fangs into it’s hind quarter.

With the taste of this animal’s blood, he got excited to try this new delight. But right at that instant, he felt a sharp warm sensation pierce his side, causing him to quickly let go. Darting to the other side of the creature, trying to sink his fangs into the bastards neck to snap it like the little bitch that it was, but missed; biting instead into it’s front leg. This fucker is putting up a good fight. Rohtang thought has he was bucked off once more.

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[Moonbeam]

As if the other was not thinking twice, he continued to stand and face the three animals that now threatened both wolves’ existence. This red male seemed unafraid; ready to face anything that was thrown at him, no matter what the cost. Any wolf that had his head on straight would know that they were clearly outmatched in this sort of situation, but even with his tiny stature, he stood hard; his face pointed at nothing but the roabs. Slowly, Rivot felt his heart beginning to sink, afraid that the wolf in front of them would get both wolves killed. With his full support in whatever the white and red wolf in front of him did, he was going to follow.

Suddenly he felt a cold substance above him, and only removing his head for a little bit, he noticed that snow had begun to fall. It had already begun, the season of winter, where everything was cold all of the tie, regardless of where you lived. He didn’t know how those Cerrac’s did it; living in that mountain during this season. It must have been freezing, even worse than anything he had ever experienced. Per season they probably got near 760 inches of snow, at least! He was bulky, though he feared not meaty enough to live in even those conditions.

Returning his focus, he peered at the smaller male, the little one’s feet leaving the floor, he watched as he charged the medium sized pig. This one was the male, and though Rivot thought at first this was a ridiculous plan, he recognized the strategy in it; getting the mother and calf to leave. In an instant the other two family members bolted, running for their lives in the opposite direction of the now attacking wolves and the perhaps father. No way would a baby want to fight if it’s mother was even too cowardly to stick around. Not wasting another moment analyzing the scene, he rushed in to get his own action of the fight.

Dodging down, he ducked the roab’s swinging head, watching as it made contact with the opposite male wolf. Pushing his legs, he leapt up at about a 40 degree angle, latching onto the shoulder of the animal and digging his own pair of scissors in. With his claws, he scratched wildly about, hitting what he hoped was the prey the two were aiming to take down. He was shaken off of the shoulder by a gruff buck; though he did not fly too far from the creature. Landing on his feet a foot or so away, he leapt once more at the animal, not pausing to see how the other brute was doing.

This time he was latched onto the side of this boar, and though it weighed much heavier than he did, the surprise from the jolt must have caught him off guard, as suddenly the large frame fell to the earthen floor. With a thud, Rivot pressed all of his weight into the creature, trying his best to keep it grounded. It was vulnerable now, and if his previous enemy took the chance, he could take it out easily. Adrenaline rushed through the ebony and crimson male, as he had never had the guts to hunt a creature like this; always thinking before that he would suffer terribly and be eliminated from this planet. However, with how today was going, he shouldn’t have been so shocked that he was surprised with being able to murder such a creature.

“Use your fangs! Kill it!” he shouted, commanding the wolf to end it’s life. His nose was pointed in the direction of the brown animal’s neck, pointing with his snout as he had no other means to show what he was speaking of. Hopefully he reacted quickly, and they would be able to take it out of commission; as he wanted the bragging rights now of being able to take down one of these large animals. Sadistic, he was hungry for some satisfaction.

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[Rohtang]

As Rohtang was rapidly flung about, he only focused on one thing and one thing only. He had noticed the other wolf giving him pointers on where to attack, and at first, he did not like this. Thinking, I can fight, I don’t need your guidance. At that, his fury blew up. Now he could only see the creature that needed to be taken down for a delightful dinner. Sinking his beautiful fangs in, he clenched down with his powerful jaw a few more times. He began to notice the animal getting slower and more sluggish.

”O’dear. Hunny, you’re so naive and full of yourself. If you won’t listen to me; then I guess you’re better off on you’re own dying.” Rohtang heard this soft but harsh voice of a woman speaking to him.

Looking for the other wolf, he saw him pointing out an opening on the creature’s neck. Taking no hesitation, Rohtang hurled his little body for the throat of the animal. Unlike last time, where he sunk his teeth into the back of it’s neck, he grabbed instead the front of his throat; gripping deeply with his fangs.

Instantly the raob ripped it’s head away from his fangs; causing a huge hole to tear into the creature’s throat. With excitement, Rohtang did it again. The prey began to squeal, and one could hear it gasping for air. Blood had spewed from the wound, covering the snow with a red seal. Noticing the grin on the crimson wolf’s face, Rohtang took that as a job well-done. At this instant, he even cracked a smile back.

Now with his fury going away and his excitement still on hiatus, his eyes spotted that the creature was missing. In all of his excitement and congratulating, the animal had ran it’s last breaths away from the two wolves. Looking back at the other wolf, he shouted, “Let’s get that fucker!” Putting his nose to the ground, he started to search. He knew that with the amount of blood that was coming out of it’s throat, it would not be getting very far!

Rohtang shot up the blood trail, following it for as far as it lasted; which was about 50 yards. Weaving in and out of tress was extremely easy for him, especially with the red trail on the fresh white dusted ground. He wished that they knew how to get back to his home so that they could have a warm place to eat, and even talk so they could get to know each other. Then he thought, Well, it might be a good idea if he doesn’t know where my house is... even though he didn’t quite know where it was either.

As that drowned out, Rohtang came to an opening and found the creature dead in it’s own pool of velvet red blood. He looked to the other wolf in doubt as to where they were, and to see if he would be fine with sharing this meal.

Dropping his eyes back to the dead creature, he spoke, “Thanks... I’m Rohtang. Who are you?”

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[Moonbeam]

Their positioning was great; their fighting was amazing; and surprisingly, their teamwork had proven to be mostly in sync. They moved together well, like the brutal ocean; pushing and pulling in a wondrous dance that captivated even Rivot. Perfectly in step, the gleaming red tainted fangs shot out and toward the wildebeest; catching it at a deadly angle. It was just slightly off of the important parts of the neck, and thus the animal reared it’s ugly head away; tearing a significant hole into the spot that the small wolf had just bit. Being tossed back by the movement, Rivot landed roughly of his mostly blackened feet.

Blood shot from the wound like a broken water pipe; spouting in a very distinctive and straight line into the newly fallen snow. Loud and obnoxious squeals broke through the growls of the wolves, cracking the air like a terrible banshee. Twisting his ears in a backward position, he protected them from the hexing sound; watching as the tinier muddy-red wolf intently tore into the creature. He was enjoying this just as much as Rivot was, and without warning, a sadistic smirk slid up the red face. This is actually kind of fun... Tail shooting out behind him, he prepared to launch back into the beast.

Suddenly it bolted. Eyes wide with adrenaline, he wondered exactly how an animal so injured and so torn to pieces could have possible mustered the energy to run as fast as it did away from them. Focusing his royal purple gaze on the temperamental male, he heard the words that were shouted at him. His smirk still placed menacingly on his maw, he dropped his body into a racing position. “Let’s!” He growled back, his voice tender with excitement and anticipation. He did not wait for the other to launch before he left the ground, blasting down the reddened trail the bloodied beast had left for them to follow.

The body had not lain far from where they had been, and darting after the very beaten roab had been a short task. It was merely a few yard from where the battle had begun, and even now the brown body was as familiar. Torn to pieces, scratch marks and deeply bit holes; the body had been morbidly mangled. Slowing to a near trot, practically skipping with giddy joy, he bounced up to the animal. He shot a few seconds glance at the other wolf, watching as he also approached the leaking body. Something seemed to be on his mind, though he would not press the issue.

Ceasing his stepping, he plopped his large rump into the soft floor, denting the light layer of snow. His eyes were locked on the unmoving body, his stomach suddenly grumbling; craving the meat of their now-dead prey. He had never gotten the luck to eat one of these, as they were normally a difficult animal to catch and kill. Often times wolves would end up dead instead of the raob, so usually they were left alone to live their own lives and do their own bidding. Not today, however, as he would finally get the chance to bite deep into him. He would not stop until he was at the bone, and he would enjoy every second of it; hoping that this wolf would join him and be comfortable with it.

Then words pursed his ears, and he lifted his thick neck to peer at the other when he spoke. The next words surprised him, and it clearly showed in his expression as his features lifted in a quizzical fashion. “You’re welcome.” He said, presenting his obvious curiosity at the new actions. With a singular whip of his fluffy, he tail, he then barked again, “I’m Rivot Meik.” Who would have guessed that he could make a friend from this situation? It wasn’t easy, though, and Rohtang had made sure of that.

Jerking back to look at the meal, he made an odd grumble-like noise. “So... let’s fuckin’ eat.”

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[Rohtang]

As the cold winter day set in, Rohtang remained all curled up laying in a ball, nestled down in another dead tree. It was very cold and frigid outside, and his mind couldn't help but wonder where his new friend was; if he was okay; and if he would ever find his own cave again. When he fell asleep, he had noticed his new friend Rivot leaving, though he was too tired to question where to, and had just passed out regardless.

He knew that if he were to try and leave to find his cave, he would get lost quickly; the thick winds and billowing snow falling from the sky assured him of that. He was lucky that he had found this tree when he did, because otherwise death was imminent. The foot prints from his steps were filling extremely fast, erasing his tracks and forcing him out of going anywhere. The thick snow also cut all the scent out of the air, leaving him blinded. All he could see was white, with very little contrast from the dark trees.

'It's really dark in here… How do you get around?' "Let your eyes adjust. Use your other senses. Hear where you are. Feel where you are. Smell where you are. Once you use these, your eyes will fill in the blanks." A feminine voice said to Rohtang.

As the snow began to lighten, he made up his mind to just go for it. Out here, he was just cold and lonely. He wanted to find his new friend, and find his warm cave to sleep in once again. Nothing out here was worth him staying and freezing to death. It took him a few minutes to gather up the motivation to get up and get a move on, but he knew that once he started, he would not stop. Gathering as much warmth as possible, he got to his small feet.

Rohtang popped his head out of the hollowed tree, his eyes looking around, wondering which direction to take. Thinking back again to what he was taught about how to move around in the dark. Nothing was working. He couldn't smell anything; hear anything; feel anything but the cold ass snow that fell on him. Although the cold normally didn't bother him; it was today. His body filling with fury, he bolted out of the tree in a random direction with no control on where he was going. Darting, dashing, dodging; he didn't give a shit, he just wanted to be home.

Slamming on the brakes, he heard a loud roar. Head in the air, he looked in the direction of the noise. "Yes, I can hear something!" He thought to himself. Slowly creeping forward, the roar began to grow louder and louder the closer that he got. Poking his head through an entirely dead bush, he nearly fell off a small cliff. Pulling back, he forced himself to settle down, as the fall would have not been that bad. Poking his head back, he looked to what was causing the loud roar, and noticed the maker. About 8ft below him laid a wide, furious flow of water. In that same instance, something clicked.

How will I ever pass this? I'm tiny, and this water is forever fast. I must get as far away from those that left me to die. There must be a pass somewhere…

Rohtang had remembered passing this as a pup, and now he knew if he could find where he passed then he would be able to find his cave. Looking up and down the river, he had decided on which direction to go. He remembered that looking up the stream from the crossing, the river started to have rocky walls, as if going up into a mountain. Down stream, the land was mostly flat. Deciding that he was more upstream, he began to head down to pass over the water.

After a couple of hours, Rohtang came to what he thought was the crossing; a shallow and more calm part of the river. He turned away from the water and looked for the signs of an old beaten trail that he had followed to the cave. Since there had been so much snow on the ground, he couldn't really make out any signs of the trail, but he did notice some trees that were bend over and bushes that were spread farther apart; almost as if the trail went right through them. He decided to follow this 'trail' of beaten down trees and bushes. It just feels right. The strong scent of green pine smells familiar. The calm silence even sounds right.

Getting tired from the long excursions of this day, and all of the walking he had been doing, his legs began to slow. He was getting very cold and had just wanted to give in. He knew he would die out in the cold with no food or warmth, so he strived on. The thought of reaching his cave made him push ever onward, no matter the strength that it tore out from him. The snow had stopped now, and he could see a lot farther. He could see of in the distance that there was a huge familiar group of rocks at the base of a small mound of a 'mountain'. "Home!" Rohtang yelled with joy. Springing to life, he ran as fast as his little legs could go.

Reaching the mouth of the cave, he collapsed.