The day had been as nice as a winter afternoon in the Salvajes could be. It was cold, crisp and bracing. The lanky figure had emerged from the den across the way from Green’s own abode that morning in search of food, water and Smoke, who was already out and about. The day had taken its sweet time in transisting the hours, but it was all fine and well. The concept of time and its fleeting nature never burrowed beneath his skin as it did to some others who, unfortunately, chose to dwell on life’s end instead of living in the now. He would never be like that, afraid of death or time slipping away. “There’s never enough, and it always goes too slow,� he pointed out to himself aloud. A familiar, comforting voice snatched his thoughts and the breath from his lungs. He had found the last thing on his to-do list, he realized with new vigor.

With an eager smile, he crunched through the snow, leaving deep paw prints in the wake of fluttering noise. When the two came into view, he recognized both, one from being a key player in his life, and the other from a scent from the past. He’d never seen his face but he knew his name and his sharp nose could recognize the kinship of blood; it was Taigi, Chogan’s brother. They were the first princes of Gold Moon Forest before Lonan, Mathias and little princess Bhreac ever came on the scene. Now, they were all grown up. Had it truly been so long? He wondered what Chogan looked like now. As he approached his mate, he nuzzled him tenderly, nibbling him about the ears in greeting. “Afternoon, stranger,� he beamed at his love. “Did I miss something exciting, or am I just in time?� He faced the green-eyed wolf thoughtfully. “I’m Lemon, for the record.� He grinned.

If the blonde wolf Lemon had instead been a cat, he would have been purring at the caress of his mate. Fortunately for the sake of making sense, he was still a canid, and so did not have the ability to make happy, light rumbling noises in his chest. He could smile, however, and did so with happy fervor, the expression drawing his features into a sunny mask, because though the feeling of contentment was real, so were the troubles of Taigi. It was interesting to hear that Green had adopted the green-eyed male, which made him wonder if he had adopted Chogan as well? It didn’t matter, but all the same it was an important piece of the story that had been left out. Regardless, that made Taigi family. “It’s good to know that my brother’s taken you in. That makes me an uncle of sorts,” he added, not missing the other’s slip.

His crooked grin faded dramatically at the mention of Fawn being attacked. He wanted to pipe up quickly, ask if she were alright, see if she needed tending and inquire into what had happened to the tribe femme, but he kept his blabbering mouth shut. He could only nod at Smoke’s protectiveness, touching his honey and cream nose lightly to the other’s gray shoulder in a gesture that could only be taken as, ‘I know, it’s okay.’ He had found that lovers sometimes didn’t need to use spoken words. He managed to reason that these things concerning his cousin could wait until the two had a bit more privacy. Lemon didn’t want to cause Tai any extra anxiety; he was troubled enough by the entire situation since it appeared that ‘they’ actually wanted to steal the young prince and his brother. Smoke had already asked the important question, so Lemon just sat, waiting quietly.