FSE

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The snow fell softly, slowly covering up her tracks as she walked across the mountain top. Her black spotted white fur seemed to blend into the environment flawlessly. She stopped near the mouth of a small cave and looked over her shoulder, wondering if anyone was following her. She sighed and bowed her head, and started into the cave with a light flick of her tail.

"Alone again... as I always am..." The feline thought to herself. She padded back to the far side of the cavern and lied down, watching the snow fall at the entrance with a sad heart. With a heavy sigh, she closed her eyes and curled up, silently crying herself to sleep.

"Excuse me?" A deep male voice came from a darker part of the cavern and pulled her back to her feet.

"Who's there?!" She hissed and bared her teeth in the direction of the voice, instinctively taking a defensive stance.

"Down leopardess, I don't mean you any harm." The voice snorted followed by a rustle of fur on stone, her eyes not yet adjusting to the dark more than enough to realize whatever lay within this cave was much bigger than her.

"Then quit hiding in the dark and show yourself." she growled at the form while she waited for her vision to improve, resulting in it chuckling.

"It's far warmer back here, so I think I'll stay." The voice snorted and the sound of fur on stone returned, "I hunt in this region enough to know this storm will get worse before day light"

"..." she said nothing as she knew he was right about the storm but stayed where she sat as her vision finally improved to where she could see the male's massive form. At first she suspected a bear because of the size and initial shape. "What do you want?" The feline finally huffs and sits up.

"For you not to freeze." The male snorted, "Just cause you're a native to this land doesn't mean that you will survive a frigid night. So please, come here and lay by the Heat-Stones"

She blinked and tilted her head, the Snow leopard new that there were many places across the Frigid-White-Mountains where Heat-Stones could be found. However, all of those could be found out in the open, surrounded by green grass and prey. Never has the huntress heard of Heat-Stones within a cave.

"Surely you lie, Heat-Stones only exist out in the open! You say you hunt here often but I live here, surely you take me for a fool bear." She growls.

"Bear?" the male chuckles and shifts, rising to his feet and earning a gasp from the Leopardess. The large male slowly turned, his black tail swaying slightly as his four thick legs moved his head towards her. As he sat again she found herself staring at the giant wolf's face, and eyes as black as the void between stars. "I am neither a bear nor a liar, Snow Leopardess."

"Dire Wolf..." She shivered, the Huntress having only heard stories of the giant wolves who ruled over the Shadow-Cursed-Forrest at the edge of the mountains "W-why would a Wolf help a Cat?!" She snared and crouched.

"Because I don't care about species." The wolf snorted and laid down, obviously not afraid of her attacking him, "and quite frankly I don't see why I can't."

The female feline growled softly as she thought about it. On one hand she was in alone in a cave with a massive Dire Wolf before her, and a slowly strengthening blizzard outside. On the other she was alone and had no real reason to actually doubt or miss trust the giant wolf. Both ways, she was on her own and the thought sadden her. With a heavy sigh she plopped to her belly and laid still.

"Just leave me be please... I'll be fine..." She muttered and curled up, but the wolf snorted and rose to his feet.

"Surely you must mistake me for a fool more than a bear?" he joked, earning a snort from the leopardess, "I will be here for the night if you need it, but as for you staying there in the cold..." She looked at him cautiously and curiously as the great beast turned and bit into a large rock. Frowning slight as he whimpered only to gasp as he dragged the bolder closer towards her, grunting and whimpering from the effort. Before she could ask what he was doing, she felt the air slowly warming up.

"Those ARE Heat-Stones!" She gasped and watched the male drag the blistering stone closer, amazed that he could withstand its extraordinary temperature when she has seen so many others whimper away with horrid burns from just brushing against Heat-Stones. The male wolf dragged the rock within a foot of his over five foot long body before releasing it and panting slightly.

"There, that should help keep you warm Miss." The dark beast said softly before heading back to where he was laying, leaving the white feline to sit in the warmth and wonder about the dark wolf.

"T...thank you." She blinked and laid her head down, watching as the massive wolf dropped onto his belly with a solid thump before turning to face her.

"You're welcome." He smiled softly and yawned as he glanced to the entrance.

She tilted her head then glanced at the entrance as well, watching the snow fly across the sky as the storm grew in strength. With a sigh she set her head on her paws and thought about her situation once again. A lone female snow leopard out casted by the others now stuck in a cave weathering out a blizzard with a dire wolf....

"Why her? Why does everything seem to just fall apart for her?" The leopardess glanced at the wolf as she tried not to cry, or at least, not make a sound as she cried. Meanwhile, the large wolf looked at the depressed female from the corner of his eye. The kind hearted wolf whimpered silently as he sensed her sorrow and grumbled quietly before he finally sighed and turned his head to face her.

"Care to tell me your name ma'am?" He asked her, tilting his head with a soft smile and flopped ears. She blinked and looked at him, unable to suppress the giggle/sob that escaped her.

"I'm called Snow Shirokami." She smiled faintly. The wolf grinned, showing off some of his teeth and switching his flopped ears, earning another giggle.

"I am Alpha Void ScaredHide, DarkFur, and BloodiedPelt" He spoke with a quiet air of pride and importance, making the leopard shiver slightly. She knew a little bit of wolves from the mountain's rouge packs. She knew that an Alpha meant that he lead a pack, and his other names where earned based on the history in his fur.

"Y...You're and alpha? But then why are you out here alone? Surely you should be back with you pack or at least have another wolf with you?" she questioned, to which he laughed at.

"My pack is too small for me to hide in our den like the blasted rouges around here." He snorted and shook his head, "as far as having another wolf with me, I came in hopes of finding others to join my pack." He smiled softly, "we number seven at the moment, myself and two other Dires, a wolf from the southern swamps, a pair of lions, and a dragon." He spoke softly, like he was talking about his family, but the leopardess was more surprised about the pack's description.

"Lions and a dragon?" she frowned and tilted her head, "But I thought wolves only formed packs with other wolves?" Void smiled and shook his head.

"I don't care about species remember?" he chuckled, his eyes seeming to pull all light into them as he looked at her, "A pack is a family, a group who take care of and support one another, whether their all wolves or not shouldn't matter." She blinked and stared at him, surprised that a wolf, a creature in her experience, that would rip her to shreds just because she wasn't a wolf, was talking about a pack where any animal could join.

"You sound ridiculous you know that?" she sighed and looked away.

"As ridiculous as hiding what you truly are Snow?" he challenged, making her snap to face him with wide eyes, "I've hunted here for years and fought against other snow leopards many times, but you don't smell like a normal cat." She said nothing and looked down fearfully, "Please, you won't scare me away and I won't hurt you, but may I see WHAT you really are?"

"..." again, Snow says nothing, keeping her head down as she contemplated her options. If she showed him what she really is, would he run or attack her? Would he flee back to his pack with stories of a strange creature or could he possibly bring her back as a new member? This last thought gave the Huntress some hope and she swallowed quietly as she nodded.

Void tilted his head as he watched the snow leopard stand on all fours, then with a shaky breath, she stood up on her hind legs. In the blink of an eye, the giant wolf watched as what was once a feral snow leopard become a surprisingly beautiful winged anthro. Void looked her over in silence before rising to his feet and slowly started to circle her, taking in her black spotted grey fur, large green tipped black wings and long fluffy tail before sitting in front of her closer to her.

"Beautiful..." he breathed quietly, his black eyes wide. She blinked and found herself looking into those eyes with a faint blush, her bluish-purple colored eyes becoming lost into his dark empty voids.

"T-thank you." Snow smiled faintly and sat down, shifting her wings slightly to catch a little more heat from the stone. Void shook his head and became flustered as he tried to recover

"U-um... your welcome ma'am." He grinned sheepishly before laying down and muttering almost inaudibly "stupid fool" she giggled softly and her eyes slowly shifted to a more velvety purple as she looked at him.

The winged anthro leopardess and the feral dire wolf soon found themselves lost in conversation, ranging anywhere from the sea of darkness that were his eyes, to different ways of hunting and surviving in each other's home lands. They became oblivious to the howling winds and heavy snow fall outside, too busy enjoying one another's company to care. Finally, as they both felt themselves grow closer to sleep, she told him of her loneliness and solitude here in the mountains and he decided to offer her place in his pack.

"Come down to the forest with me Snow. Join my pack, please." He smiled softly and nudged her side, the two having moved closer to where she actually sat leaning against his massive side with him curled partially around her.

"I don't know Void..." she sighed and pet his head, "I have lived here in these mountains my whole life, I don't know if I could just up and leave... besides, what if you pack doesn't like me..." she frowned and looked at him. He snorted and rumbled softly

"My pack will love you... well, maybe apart from Beta and GrimMace, but they'll warm up to you." He sighed softly, "As far as leaving this place, my territory covers a small section of the mountain range, this cave being the furthest point, so if you really wanted to you could stay in the mountains." He smiled sheepishly, to which she just sighed.

"I still don't know..." Void sighed then yawned loudly, followed by a quieter one from her.

"Well, sleep on it okay Snow?" he mumbled softly, to which she nodded. She looked over to void as he closed his eyes and quickly dropped into sleep while she rested against him.

The leopardess found herself in the limbo between sleep and conscious, where one thing could either cause her to descend to sleep or wake up completely. Her mind was surprisingly calmer than she was used to, which allowed her to weigh her choices without all her self-doubt. She knew she has nothing here in the Frigid-White-Mountains and yet a possible future in this odd, mismatched pack Void lead. She chuckled quietly as she thought about her oversized companion beside her. With a glance to the mighty alpha, she found herself smiling, something she hadn't done much of lately. Her eyes slowly shifted colors to a deep blue in the dark cave as she pet him. Snow knew him for little more than a day, and yet she felt closer to him than any other she had ever met. Void made her smile and laugh, and she actually felt rather safe with the giant dire wolf. Her mind made up, Snow faded to sleep with a soft smile.

The morning came slowly over the mountains, the faint bit of light hitting the leopardesses in the face and slowly rousing her. She yawned and blinked before the smell of fresh blood and meat filled her nostrils, while her ears suddenly rang from a howl of pain. Snow jolted fully awake and looked around, spotting a partially eaten deer short distance but no Void. A few barks and another howl sent her to the cave entrance where she could only gasp at the scene before her.

The massive Dire stood tall with a smaller artic wolf's neck trapped in his jaws, two clearly dead wolves a short throw from him and five more wolves trying to circle him. Void growled and snarled as his jaws snapped together, causing the wolf in his grasp to fall headless. The five artic wolves backed up and seemed much less intent on attacking with the gruesome end of a third member. The dark giant stepped forward and barked, a loud, deep, heavy sound that sent a shudder down snow's spine and clearly the other wolves as well as the turned and scattered.

Void snorted and shook himself as he turned to face the cave and snow, blinking his light devouring eyes.

"Oh Snow! Are you okay?" The wolf limps quickly towards her, his fur bloodied and missing in a few spots. Snow simply stood there, frozen.

"W-what happened?" she breathes and shakes her head as she looks the large wolf over, shivering at the sight of the blood and gashes in his hide. Void snorted and shoved his face in the snow, pulling back and using the cold slush to help wash himself off.

"Bloody pups. I went hunting before sunrise and they followed the scent here, looking for and easy meal." He shook his head before laying down and rolling in the snow, cleaning his wounds and fur some surprisingly effectively. "When they realized what I was they decided to take me on to try to earn a name for themselves." The massive wolf got to his feet again and stepped up to the winged anthro.

"God..." she shivered and almost backed up a step, her eyes wide as she stared at him. He didn't even seem winded after that fight, against a larger pack of the artic wolves.