1st of Cylus, 719.
Ever since picking the tiny wolf out of the Stormwastes and hauling him back home, the newly-named Pipsqueak - which had quickly become Squeak for short - had shown himself to be a remarkable little character. Though Greyhide did his best to engage with the pup to help him come out of his shell, and Myrth seemed to follow him around constantly like a concerned aunt, it'd immediately made a bee-line for Cold, the most indifferent of the three. Tugging on his ears and tail, toddling about under his paws, constantly begging to play and almost utterly infatuated. It almost skipped over being hilarious and turned concerning, the amount of time that the puppy spent with Cold... at least, until something even more amazing happened. He swore his eyes must have been deceiving him when he saw the elder pale wolf settle, voluntarily, around Squeak during a particularly cold night. However, there seemed to be some kind of unspoken connection between them both, much in the same way that Myrth and Traveller had bonded steadily. Squeak was very energetic and did absolutely nothing to hide his infatuation, and though Cold put up a cold shoulder when in public, he still seemed to find excuses to be around the pup, or at the very least, allow Squeak to continue lavishing him with attention with no attempts to stop or prevent it.
He'd also grown. A lot. He must have been starved of both food and water for a long time; the bundle of skin and bones had only needed a few meals to begin filling out again, even developing a healthy amount of puppyfat, kept in check with the regular exercise that came with moving back and forth between camps and the city on Nir's busy daily schedule. Another similarity with Cold, he thought idly as he watched the two playing. Well, playing might be a strong term for it. They'd all decided to sit down and take a breather on the side of one of the dirt track roads leading out of Rharne towards some of the southern Stormlands territories on their latest outing for supplies, and the moment Cold laid down in the cool frozen grass, Squeak had pounced on his back and proceeded to climb all over his elder with eerie similarities to how a toddler might swing from their exhausted parents like a swing set.
"You think he'll even go back now?" It wasn't the first time that Greyhide had asked, but it never ceased to make Nir pause for thought. It'd taken time to gather the resources to make another trip. He didn't know if they'd even find Squeak's original pack, or his parents, though laziness was a poor excuse for not trying.
That wasn't the reason they were doing it though. "He belongs with his parents, with his family." He'd never done any of this for personal gain, and he feared the day he would. These wolves weren't here because he forced them. Or because he kidnapped them. Even if he was happy here, it was for the best if he was returned to where he belonged, to the wild. To a place he could live out his normal life. Perhaps it wouldn't make the wolves happy. But it'd make everything right again... and which was more important? "We've got all we need. Gather everyone; it's time." Squeak didn't seem to notice anything was amiss, if anything he was even more excited than usual given the opportunity to ride in one of Nir's canvas backpacks during another long ride on Traveller's back. Of course he couldn't know of the small mountain of supplies stashed away in the saddlebags and other backpacks. Nor their direction, as they once again crossed over the border of Storm's Edge, back out into the alien hellscape of the Stormwastes. Back to where they'd first found him, wandering alone at the edge of their camp looking for scraps of meat.
Ever since picking the tiny wolf out of the Stormwastes and hauling him back home, the newly-named Pipsqueak - which had quickly become Squeak for short - had shown himself to be a remarkable little character. Though Greyhide did his best to engage with the pup to help him come out of his shell, and Myrth seemed to follow him around constantly like a concerned aunt, it'd immediately made a bee-line for Cold, the most indifferent of the three. Tugging on his ears and tail, toddling about under his paws, constantly begging to play and almost utterly infatuated. It almost skipped over being hilarious and turned concerning, the amount of time that the puppy spent with Cold... at least, until something even more amazing happened. He swore his eyes must have been deceiving him when he saw the elder pale wolf settle, voluntarily, around Squeak during a particularly cold night. However, there seemed to be some kind of unspoken connection between them both, much in the same way that Myrth and Traveller had bonded steadily. Squeak was very energetic and did absolutely nothing to hide his infatuation, and though Cold put up a cold shoulder when in public, he still seemed to find excuses to be around the pup, or at the very least, allow Squeak to continue lavishing him with attention with no attempts to stop or prevent it.
He'd also grown. A lot. He must have been starved of both food and water for a long time; the bundle of skin and bones had only needed a few meals to begin filling out again, even developing a healthy amount of puppyfat, kept in check with the regular exercise that came with moving back and forth between camps and the city on Nir's busy daily schedule. Another similarity with Cold, he thought idly as he watched the two playing. Well, playing might be a strong term for it. They'd all decided to sit down and take a breather on the side of one of the dirt track roads leading out of Rharne towards some of the southern Stormlands territories on their latest outing for supplies, and the moment Cold laid down in the cool frozen grass, Squeak had pounced on his back and proceeded to climb all over his elder with eerie similarities to how a toddler might swing from their exhausted parents like a swing set.
"You think he'll even go back now?" It wasn't the first time that Greyhide had asked, but it never ceased to make Nir pause for thought. It'd taken time to gather the resources to make another trip. He didn't know if they'd even find Squeak's original pack, or his parents, though laziness was a poor excuse for not trying.
That wasn't the reason they were doing it though. "He belongs with his parents, with his family." He'd never done any of this for personal gain, and he feared the day he would. These wolves weren't here because he forced them. Or because he kidnapped them. Even if he was happy here, it was for the best if he was returned to where he belonged, to the wild. To a place he could live out his normal life. Perhaps it wouldn't make the wolves happy. But it'd make everything right again... and which was more important? "We've got all we need. Gather everyone; it's time." Squeak didn't seem to notice anything was amiss, if anything he was even more excited than usual given the opportunity to ride in one of Nir's canvas backpacks during another long ride on Traveller's back. Of course he couldn't know of the small mountain of supplies stashed away in the saddlebags and other backpacks. Nor their direction, as they once again crossed over the border of Storm's Edge, back out into the alien hellscape of the Stormwastes. Back to where they'd first found him, wandering alone at the edge of their camp looking for scraps of meat.