Scorched Earth

His wings could not be clipped.
~*~
Untouched from his dying mother and withering littermates; he was motherless, a small wolf from a clan of nothing. His wit kept him on track. Scorched Earth was cunning; and bold. A sparking inspiration in the frostbitten woods; it drew wolves to follow him. He led, and proudly.
One of the most reputable of the forest.
No one would ever suspect his affair with the exact opposite.
They were their own secret.
Scorched himself was surprised, almost unwilling to believe his little crush for Blackened Winds; the bitter; aggressive brute who could often be counted on to finish a hunt when he went along for the ride.
They fought, frequently, but also had eachother's backs; especially in fear of the dark in a forest of unrelenting cold.
He never grew keen to just why Blackened Winds was such an outcast, even after their falling out.

Even if they were incompatible to welcome their own; for the longest time, Scorched had watched his sister's bond with her son, Frozen River, and found the desire to rear pups he could call his own. He talked about this often with the dark-furred finisher, who grew ever uneasy. It led to fighting, especially when Scorched talked about going public to the clan. Blackened Winds put his paw down, inciting a bitter stubbornness that eventually broke the two.
No one knew but themselves; no one could feel their sorrow. At least, that was what his ex-mate had in his mind. But Scorched Earth walked a path different then one of loneliness.
~
Because of his status as an accomplished hunter; he was often in the nursery to teach, introducing him to the gentle, lithe pupsitter; Sky Catcher. The loss of his companion took a rough hit on his character and performance; everyone saw.
But Sky Catcher believed in him, defending him whenever the grey wolf grew depreciative of himself; scolding him for violence and curbing his snideness. The toxins Blackened Winds had left him him drained slowly. Sky Catcher encouraged him to regrow his confidence with the way his apprentices looked up to him.
Scorched Earth, in turn, saw that the brute's missing paws did not hinder his destiny; of which is helping others to trust in who they are.
The hunter found trust again, in softer furs. He confessed of his soured relationship with the ever aggressive finisher, and the gentle sitter let him breathe.
He grew back.

Sky Catcher was far more bashful about his love for the hunter, and the leader did not wish to intrude on his generosity. He was indebted; and it could not be repayed with romantic feelings, Scorched Earth decided.
Only; Nesting Osprey, an observant young apprentice after his mentor; knew just how wrong he was in thinking. He dragged Sky Catcher after the leader in a snowstorm with a sly grin; tail wagging as he watched them become pinprinks in the trees, as the peach wolf licked his mentor's cheek.
~
Scorched Earth often lays in the woodland grasses with his mate in autumn; watching the last fireflies color eachother's pelts.

~

Some time, a great many moons after; they suffered Kelper's famine. When Sky Catcher persevered starvation so that his apprentices could survive; it stole him from Scorched Earth. Weak himself; and older; the wolf could not continue alone, passing near the end of the event. His name remains; preserved in the annals of clan legend.