prisoner here [open]

[[Midnight]]

[atrb=border,0,true][bg=orange] If one was being absolutely honest with themselves, it could not be said that Caden was the same wolf he'd always been. Living was simply routine for him now. He slept a lot; the initial buzz of his capture had apparently died off and most let him be when he was getting his shut eye. It seemed that the winter season left little time for anyone to be wasting energy on teasing him. If he was going to be of any use to this pack of mongrels, he needed to continue living, but as for now he was simply another mouth to feed. They took him on regular walks and fed him, but apart from that, he did little that set him apart from a newborn pup. His life was no longer his own. He kept his tail drooped at all times, but every once in a while, when he felt a little of his old strength return to him, his youthful spirit would peek through the deadness of his gaze and his stance and you could see a reflection of proud Alpha Caden. Right now, he was in one of those rare moments when his guard gave him space and he felt relatively free. He knew eyes were hidden somewhere, watching him, or at least a set of ears and a nose. As of yet, he'd never tried bolting for it; he was too wise and foresaw it ending unsuccessfully with the state he was in. He was weak and sometimes a short walk was enough to make him exhausted. He hadn't given up. He was still waiting for a chance to be paired with a negligant or cocky guard. He was still waiting for signs of his pack, though he was still frightened that they had forgotten about him by now. Was Bandit ever going to make a move? Had Sayuri stayed away from the border, where it was safer? He sat on his scrawny haunches and stared nothward towards nothing in particular, shivering slightly in the freezing wind that buffetted the clearing and made him seem even smaller than ever.

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[moki]

Saki had been sat in the shadows for about a half hour now, just watched Caden. He looked lonely, she thought. Should I go and talk to him? There's nobody else here... It should be fine.
She made a sort of cough, and then stepped forward into the light and smiled at the male wolf. "I'm not here to interrogate you, just so you know. I just want to talk. I saw that you're a little lonely here. Wait here"
He couldn't exactly go anywhere, but she said it anyway, before going back into the shadows and walking out again, this time with a small rabbit clenched between her jaws. It was hard to get this rabbit, but she didn't care at this precise moment in time. She walked over to about 3 meters away from the other wolf, and dropped the rabbit to the floor before pushing it with her snout to him. "Have this before the guard gets here."

[[Midnight]]

[atrb=border,0,true][bg=orange] When he heard her cough, he didn't flinch, but his posture stiffened as he quickly turned his head in the direction of the sound. This she-wolf wasn't the same guard that had escorted him out here, so he was surprised to see that the eyes he'd felt watching him were apparently hers. He felt a stab of dread at the sight of her, which in itself was pitiful; was he really afraid of a she-wolf like her? She was probably no bigger than he was. It was just the realization that he was no longer alone, and conversations with any Moons wolf never ended pleasantly. He braced himself for more humiliation, his eyes wary but his stance submissive. He frowned as she smiled. What was she getting at, he wondered? There was no malicious look on her face and her body language was completely casual. He didn't trust her, but despite himself he felt his nerves smooth over and he let himself relax. He did not answer her as she gave him a very defensive explanation on why she was speaking to him. He just watched her, his ears perked, feeling out of place with her unusual way of trying to put him at ease as opposed to on edge. Now he wondered what she could possibly want from him as she commanded him to wait where he sat while she bounded away to some unknown destination. He considered if it would be easy for him to get up and quickly move away from the area, in the opposite direction, so he could avoid this encounter altogether. Instead, his own inborn curiosity kept him rooted to the spot as he pictured her face once again, with her soft eyes and kind, sympathetic smile. She returned with haste, which surprised him again. He was glad he didn't try to run; he'd not have had time, and she'd probably call him out on his cowardice. He felt a stab of shame as he thought that, combined with the sight of her carrying a freshly killed rabbit that was clearly meant for him. Between her pity and his own helplessness, Caden came close to bursting into tears. He hated her pity and hated that he had become this weak and dependent. But his pride was still inside of him, and still the most powerful force he had going for him, so he would be damned if he would let his despair show to this kind stranger. As she nosed the kill and told him to eat before there was more company, he snorted. "Why are doing this?" he asked, looking up intensely into her eyes and staying seated in his warm patch of snow.

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