Taiga

He was a pup who's mother abandoned him at birth - the result of an illicit relationship between a leader and a follower of two different packs. A forbidden child who was left to fend for himself once his eyes were open and his legs strong enough to hold him up. This is where he learned that few could be trusted, and even those he trusts he holds at arms length.

After years of seclusion, hidden away in a small cave and only emerging to fulfil his needs, he was wary when a young she-wolf wandered into his territory in search of herbs. At first, she didn't seem to be very aware of him as she wandered happily through the forest, humming a low melody to herself. it was only when she spotted a pair of luminous blue eyes peering out at her from the trees that she realised she was being watched. He tried to shrink back into the treeline, to conceal himself in the shadows again, but she simply smiled and tilted her head at him "Would you like to help me?"

Soon enough, he found himself enjoying her company. They would meet at the same spot, day after day to forage for the herbs she needed for her own pack. Sometimes their walks were noisy, filled with laughter and smart quips, sometimes they were comfortably silent. All he knew was one thing: she was always there. Until she wasn't.

One missed walk turned to two, and two to five, and it continued until it had been two weeks since Taiga had seen the gentle She-wolf. Opal. That was her name. A shining light in, what had so far been, a lonely life of darkness. The darkness seemed colder now, maybe it was that he had grown used to her, or maybe it was the gnawing suspicion that something much worse had happened to her.