---

He had opted in to go back to bed when he woke the first time. It was too early he decided, and the spot he'd found was blissful, even though it was so cold, the sun filtered through the trees right into the spot he was curled up. It warmed his fur and set in the idea that no - he wasn't getting up. Not yet. The mass of golden stripes moved though, a yawn breaking his maw as he rolled into the spot he had carved out of the snow and utilized his own body to create some insulation piling the snow up as a short barrier wall his side rested against soil.

He adjusted more, stretching and reaching his front leg far above his head as he yawned again. He wondered in his half asleep lull, where Alaric was. Now that he was older, Hora was perfectly capable of taking care of himself, but he missed the constant company.

It had really settled in that his dad was all he had.

The cat sighed, chuffing at the settling loneliness and decided instead to let his eyes fall back closed. Screw that. Sleep was better.

--

for Myrilla
❝ ❞

---

The storm had passed with the night and as the sun rolled through the sky, Myrilla found herself hungering; she had not indulged in a meal the night past, the canine continued to live and the feline's stomach sat heavy, empty.

She roams this new land with steady paws, the fresh snowfall crunching softly beneath her cushioned pads as she treks through the forest, eyes roaming and ears alert, patiently seeking her next meal so it is perhaps a little... dumb of her to fail in noticing the sudden lack of snow beneath her paws.

The tigress tumbles into the concave of snow with a soft grunt, impacting heavily against another body with a groan. It's smaller than her, warm and thick with fur and if Myrilla was a lesser woman, a lesser God, she might have just settled and taken a leaf from the stranger's book, but Myrilla was hungry.

The feline rises with a snarl on her lips, ready to tear into whatever she'd come across until forest-green eyes take in stripes and sandy hues- another tiger. A male, scent tells her, slightly rounded with youth but closer to adulthood than cubhood.

Myrilla had yet to indulge in cannibalism.

Rising to her paws, the woman stands over the slightly smaller male, head cocking in contemplation. She is hungry- but the boy is pretty. Cute. And perhaps Myrilla has grown soft since coming to this world, for instead of tearing through that pretty fur, the woman chuffs, a laugh rolling from her lips, though she does not move from her position.

"Why on Earth are you sleeping in a snowdrift, boy?" Myrilla questions, lips curling into a grin sharp with teeth, tail curling this way and that as she thinks, contemplates. The boy is alone, though another scent clings heavily to his pelt, canine in nature.

How interesting.

---

Horatiu  

---

A new scent lingers on the cold air, different; yet familiar. Though Horatiu is reluctant to stir, there aren't really things bigger and more powerful than tigers - bears maybe but he's never seen one here. And he doesn't plan on getting out of bed. But then it beckons him, "Why on Earth are you sleeping in a snowdrift, boy?" his brows knit, furrowing together in reluctance to open his eyes, but he does - and when he does he's met with something unexpected.

Another tiger?

He blinks a few times, trying to rid the sleep from his eyes and be certain he isn't dreaming. He'd only seen one other; and she was a bitch. Too good for him. The boy rolls though, finding his way from back to belly to look up at her. ❝ Well ─ I don't have a den or anything ❞ he muses. He didn't have a home was what he meant. He shrugs his shoulders, rolling them, she is larger than him but not by much and by the time Horatiu reaches his full size he assumes the opposite will be true.

❝ I've only seen one other tiger here, ❞ he says nonchalantly, considering the idea that they're not very common. That's three that he knows of, himself, that black and white girl, and now this one.

--

❝ ❞

---

Nonchalant in the way he addresses her, lazy and languid as he rolls around, shrugging his shoulders and imparting some information that she does find interesting.

Only one other tiger in the area. Good.

That leaves only the lesser beings.

But he also gives her something else- no home.

The woman hums softly, contemplative. "Are you alone, boy?" The tigress asks, allowing herself to sit, settling in for a conversation, deciding against simply mauling the poor, sleepy creature for now, her tail wrapping politely around her large paws as she considers the sandy-hued feline.

His fur is thinner than hers, lacking the thick collar and tufts that sit on the backs of her feet, no doubt a cousin from warmer climates than her- healthy, he does not look thin with hunger and Myrilla has to assume he can feed himself or is being fed by someone else. She cocks her head. His eyes are piercing, a pale lime-ish green that contrasts so prettily with the sandy-whites of his furs.

She'd take them if he were lesser.

"And of this other tiger, a relative? Friend?" Someone she should worry about should she decide she wants to keep him?

---

Horatiu  

---

"Are you alone, boy?" he sits up as the tigress settles in, righting himself and letting some of the snow fall off his back. ❝ Kinda? Not really though, my dads around somewhere but he has more freedom these days since I can feed myself ❞ he explains with a chuckle. Surely Alaric wasn't far; and he could find him if he really tried. They didn't venture too far from one another.

Horatiu takes a moment to regard her, she appears built for this weather, whereas he - wants the sun back. And soaks up every warm ray he can get of it on days like this. But its not enough. He wants to go back to sunbathing in eighty degrees.

"And of this other tiger, a relative? Friend?" at this his face contorts, lip curling in almost disgust at the girl...what was her name? It didn't matter. Being any sort of friend to him. ❝ God, no ❞ he sneers. ❝ She lives further north with some wolves, a white tiger - and she didn't want anything to do with me. Like there was something wrong with me. ❞ he sighs. He didn't know what her damage was. But he was content to never see her again.


--

❝ ❞