Aurem woke to a bitter chill seeping into the tent, he grunted softly, eyelids fluttering open, as light hit his face. Grimacing, Aurem lifted himself from the bed of furs, scowling faintly, as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. A pair of by-now familiar crimson hues met his gaze, an irritating smile crossing the Undari’s features. “Mage, come.”

He frowned, perplexed by the order, but grimaced as he sat up fully, feeling the dirt still clinging to his frame. The Undari clearly wanted him to follow, but Aurem wasn’t so sure he wanted to. Not that he truly had a choice- but Aurem wondered if Turuk would actually force him to come. He hadn’t been forceful yet- but he had been the one who captured Aurem, and Aurem still felt the ache in his muscles from the wounds he received.

“Come,” He repeated, a smile still on his face. Aurem gave a dubious look, but then nodded, and pushed himself up from the bed. He cast a glance to Soren’s unconscious frame, and then turned his gaze back to Turuk.

The Undari grinned, and half moved into the tent. “Small mage is safe. Geran is hunting.” Turuk explained, as if that was Aurem’s only fear. Grudgingly, Aurem admitted that was his biggest fear, at the moment. He had only healed the boy the day before, but Aurem was already nurturing a protective feeling towards him. It was something unfamiliar to Aurem- he hadn’t felt this way in years. But then again, self-imposed solitude hadn’t left him with many chances to bond with other people.

“Come,” the Undari insisted once again, and Aurem gave him another doubtful look. Brushing a hand through his hair, Aurem moved towards the opening of the tent. Aside from the time Geran had drug him from the tent, Aurem hadn’t stepped outside into the Undari camp yet. Seeming pleased with his obedience, Turuk withdraw from the tent entrance, and stepped away.

Aurem hissed as the bright light burned his eyes once again, lifting a hand to shield himself from the snow blinding sun. He wobbled slightly, still weak, and unused to moving around. A strong grip held him in place, and as Aurem recovered, he blinked a few times and lifted his eyes back to Turuk.

Snow crunched nearby, and Aurem soon felt hot breath against his ear, and the faint rumbling of a growl. He stiffened, but the growl cut off at a few gentle words from Turuk. Aurem half turned, faced with large, predatory eyes staring straight into him. Siira huffed one final time in his face, and then padded by him, and went ahead, stopping a few yards away. Her ears perked towards them, almost expectantly. He was beginning to think the wolf didn’t actually hate him- much to his confusion, something he shared with the Undari who was currently touching his arm.

Realizing, Aurem pulled his arm away, met with a faint snort from Turuk. He glared at the Undari, but the man simply flashed another confident smile, and moved off, towards the wolf. “Come.” He repeated, leaving Aurem standing by the tent, feeling rather bewildered. He had turned his back to him, and so, Aurem realized as he watched, did Siira.

There was no other sound or stirring from the camp around them. The sun was bright, but the other Undari must have been gathering supplies, hunting, or whatever else it was that these people did in their spare time. Aurem scowled, watching as both wolf and Undari turned to watch him from atop a snowbank, a patient air about the both of them.

Resolving himself to face whatever this was, Aurem hesitantly moved from the camp. Movement out of the corner of his eyes made Aurem jolt- but it was just a guard he had spied once or twice through the flap of the tent. Their eyes met, and once again Aurem was surprised to see no animosity in the others’ grey gaze. Only curiosity, and a knowing that ruffled Aurem’s feathers for some reason. He gave the dark haired man a dubious look, and then turned, trudging through the snow with a sudden child, curling his arms around his frame with a shiver.

As he approached Turuk, the Undari smiled, and then muttered something in his tongue. The wolf at his side simply cokced her head to the side, and then gave a soft sigh, as if exasperated. Aurem gave her a quizzical look, unused to the wolf being anything but territorial in his presence. But a moment later, something heavy and warm settled over his shoulder. Aurem blinked in surprise, lifting his hand to the sudden weight, feeling warm leather and fur. A musky, wolfish scent wafted from the furs, paired with something…else. A spice that was familiar, but Aurem couldn’t place.

“Your furs,” Aurem started in surprised, eyes widening as Turuk now stood in front of him, dressed in a simple, but thick leather top. The man cocked his head at him, mimicking the wolf, and only smiled.

“Cold,” Turuk said with a shrug, and then turned away, apparently unbothered by the chill of the air. Aurem stared after the man for a moment, and then cursed, slipping his arms through the sleeved of the jacket, crunching after Turuk in the snow, still unsure of his footing in the unfamiliar territory.

Scowling slightly less once he caught up with the other two, Aurem trudged along behind them, trying to decide why Turuk had given him his coat. It was warm, incredibly so. Aurem barely felt the cold at all, aside from below, as his thin pants were no match for the cold weather. But his core was warm, and that was the important part. It made sense that Turuk might not want his captive to get sick, but it didn’t seem to be just that.

“Look,” Turuk spoke finally, slowing to a stop ahead of Aurem. Frowning slightly, Aurem shifted around to Turuk’s side, staring at the scene before him. A little valley opened up below them, a set of rocky ridges at their feet. A snowy path led down, and the large wolf was already bounding down its heights. Turuk, for his part, remained standing.

In the center of the field, a small herd of deer lay huddled together for warmth. Snow had been dug aside in places, showing tufts of browned, wilted grass. A winter meal for the deer who must have struggled to survive on the mountains. Turuk let out a soft whistle, and Aurem watched Siira bound through the snow to the large group.

He watched in awe, as the powerful wolf leapt into the herd of deer, scattering them with a triumphant snarl. The deer hadn’t even seen her coming- the air carried no wind, and despite her size, Siira made barely a sound travelling over the snow. Aurem watched as Siira chased after deer, left and right, her tail raised high, and wagging slightly.

Strangely, the wolf made no move to attack, though there were quite a few stragglers within reach for her. Still scattered, the deer made for the trees, though slowed to a stop, as they realized the wolf wasn’t actually giving chase. Cautious ears swiveled one way and then the other, and Aurem watched in surprise as one deer -whose knees were knobbled and covered in more silver fur than the others- simply lay back down in the snow. Siira whipped by that deer, and playfully snapped at the air around it, still making no move to attack.

Understanding dawned, as Siira ran through, giving playful chase to a few more deer, simply dodging easily out of the way of a horned buck’s attack. Siira was playing with the pack of deer, rather than hunting. Even from here, Aurem imagined he could see a glint of playful light in the wolf’s eyes.

Watching her move from afar, without any danger present, Aurem could truly appreciate how large, and strong she was. Truly, the Undari wolves were beautiful creatures, with an intelligence that Aurem was beginning to finally notice. Tearing his eyes away from the wolf and herd, Aurem glanced to Turuk, seeing that he was watching the scene with a fond look in his eyes.

“Why did you bring me here?” He asked suddenly, his breath clouding the air for a moment. Turuk snorted, but finally tore his eyes away from the wolf. He seemed to contemplate for a moment, before nodding.

“Outside. Air is good for…” he motioned vaguely, and then laid a hand over his heart. “Healing.”

Aurem stared for a moment, unsure of how to respond to that. It almost seemed as if Turuk was concerned with how he was faring. And not just physically. Aurem wondered if Turuk extended this kind of concern to all prisoners they took. He stifled a sigh, and simply furrowed his brows, continuing to watch the powerful force of nature frolick about in the snow. It was annoying how less demonic something could become, when one saw it playing about in a field with some deer.

Something tugged at Aurem’s heart, and he took a half step backward. “I don’t understand.” Aurem murmured, turning his amber gaze once again to crimson.

Turuk tilted his head slightly, and something shifted in the warrior’s face. His smile returned a moment later. “Aurem will.”

Frowning at the man’s response, Aurem finally let his gaze follow the others’ back to the valley below. Siira was still giving chase to the frightened deer, though some had returned to grazing, or lazing about in the snow, now that they knew no danger was afoot. Thoughtfully, Aurem considered everything that he had seen so far. Nothing had changed, and yet, slowly, Aurem was beginning to realize that everything could change. And he wasn’t so sure how to feel, or what –if anything- he could do to stop that change from occurring. Or if he even wanted to.