A Wolf in the Woods

The light of dawn would pierce through the window of Sebastian, its warm glow causing the slumber of the man to be cut short. There was a long day ahead of him and little time to waste. The man would rise, scratching his chest. As was common in such an occasion, he needed to take a piss. The man would stretch and take a short walk outside. The morning air had a bit of a chill to it, but he could feel the day warming up as the sun took its rightful place in the sky. Finding a tree near his home, Sebastian would relieve himself before moving on with his day. He would toss on some clothes consisting of some dark breeches and a loose fitting shirt. A cloak would then be placed over top. He would step again outside, grabbing his wood cutting axe and some wire to make some snares.
 
The man needed to not only gather firewood for the upcoming winter, but he also ran low on food supplies. All that was left were a handful of pickles that would fail to sate even a young child’s hunger let alone a full grown man. Luckily for him, it was well known that there was small game in these parts and so he would hope to catch a few in some snare traps. Checking for ideal locations was the hard part of the whole ordeal, for you can’t catch what isn’t there. Finding pine cone shreds was a good sign for finding squirrel, and so that would be what he searched for to place several wire snares around. After finding a handful of these locations he would have to wait in hopes that they would be successful.

WC: 290
TWC: 290

The snares would take time to produce any results, so Loghain would find his way to the area he has not yet taken any trees from, making sure not to harvest too much from one area. He didn’t have any desire to deforest any large stretches of woodland area, for it provides the animals a habitat and therefore him with a steady supply of food. His axe was just sharpened the evening before and so it should make quick work of this task. With a large heave, he would swing the sharpened instrument downward at a diagonal in order to start the process, but would then swing a horizontal strike, then diagonal, and so on. This series of swings would go on for several minutes until there was a fairly decent chunk of the trunk missing. Then the wolf would move to the other side and continue this pattern. One good things about his isolation was that while this was a dangerous task, he knew when and where the tree would be falling and there was very little risk of the tree hurting anyone else. Nobody came through these woods other than a handful of bandits, and if an uncalled tree fell atop a brigand of some sort Sebastian wouldn’t shed any tears for the man. This process was done over and over, the logs being piled on a sled to be pulled from location to location. This wood was being chopped for the church, to use however they saw fit.

WC: 251
TWC:541

A large portion of the day was spent simply gathering the logs which in and of itself was quite the workout. The young wolf would find himself checking his snares, hoping that the traps had been successful. As of yet there was nothing, but there were edible roots and fruits in the area, so Loghain would find himself gathering these up. It was going to be a light meal, and one that he can’t honestly say was what he was hoping for. Still, it would put something in his gut and fuel him enough to replenish his energy reserves.
 
With the meal finished, he would shift his focus to a little bit of exercise. The lackluster meal meant that he had to make this a short workout, yet that was okay with him. A few dozen push ups, a few dozen sit ups, and a few dozen pull ups on a sturdy tree branch was all he would have to suffice for now. Hopefully the following day would have a better meal consisting of meat and not just this god damn rabbit food. He would much rather prefer the rabbit itself! He would then look over to the sled once more, “Trees won’t fell themselves.” And with that said he would finish up with this day’s main chore.

WC: 218
TWC:759

Sebastian was back at it again, his sharp axe chipping away at the trees with each mighty swing. His muscles were sore and he was growing tired, but he couldn’t stop until the last tree was felled. It was good that this was the last one he needed to meet his own self-imposed quota. There was enough wood here to supply the village with some and have a small stockpile for his own small cabin. Of course these logs would need processed again, chopped into much smaller pieces to better fit in his fire pit. The wolf would wipe the beading sweat from his brow and heave the strap of the sled over his shoulder. It was a good way back to where he could safely rest and the day was nearly at an end.
The darkness of night would blanket the forest quickly, limiting the visibility of the area. The warriors senses would shift, though not enough to allow him to feel comfortable. He had to get back to his cabin before the temperature dropped too much. He was not geared up to do so, though if it came down to it he would be able to create a temporary shelter and start a fire to keep warm. This would also allow bandits to find him easily, which was the farthest thing from what he wanted right now. It had been a week since his last transformation, and the feeling of being in control of himself was incredible.  He was doing his best to keep that streak going, but an attack from local bandits would likely cause him to lose control once more. While this might have been good for the village to clear out these raiders, it took its toll on the psyche of the man.

WC: 298
TWC: 1057

The wolf would find himself in the woods once more, looking around at his handy work. Part of him was in awe seeing the sprouting of trees, nature reclaiming this area once more after so much time had passed. How long has it been? He couldn't quite figure how much time had passed, but it had to be at least a year. The wolf counted himself blessed that the trees were growing back, for he knew that too much logging in an area can cause irreparable damage that can take far longer than a few years to remedy. No, this was a sight to behold.

Loghain would sit down on a fallen log. He had no hatchet in his hand this day, instead replacing it with a nice cold refreshment. A bottle of crystal clear water was held firmly in his grasp, the wolf twisting the cap off with ease and lifting it to his parched lips. He would at first simply sip the water, but sips quickly turned mouthfuls and then to gulps. The bottle of water was gone in what felt like an instant. He would toss the plastic bottle back into his bag, the empty container ready to be filled once more. 

The crisp night air was upon him, though the warmth of the fire pit held the cold at bay. The moon sat in the sky, it immense beauty caught among the twinkling stars all around it. This far away from the village allowed for a better view of the night sky. The wolf would lean back, starring up into the endless expanse and simply soaking it in. 

wc: 272

The stars sucked the young wolf in, his gaze affixed to the endless expanse above. The wolf would begin to try and count the stars, one small twinkle at a time. He would count to about fifty or so stars before falling into a deep slumber next to the warmth of the fire. 

Vivid dreams came to him, filling his night with odd visions of wintery delights. Peppermint sticks would stand as tall as trees. In fact he was standing in the same forest he was in prior, but now instead of trees there were countless peppermint candy canes. Snow fell to the ground, flakes landing atop the wolfs head. He would shake it off, only to realize that it was not snow, but powdered sugar. Bushes dotted the ground, their berries replaced by sweet red hard candies that burst and popped with flavor. The smell of sugar and mint was heavy in the air. Little elves would march one by one, single file in a line. They were dressed in red and white stripped tights and green vests. They were all marching and dancing, singing odd songs that spoke of winter festivities and mentioning some sort of holiday and a fat man in a red suite bringing gifts to all of the worlds good boys and girls. He looked to the sky to see a sleigh being pulled along in the air, and it was being pulled by some sort of reindeer, the lead of which had a vibrant red nose that shined like a beacon lighting the path. 

A jolly, "HO HO HO!" Could be heard before the wolf woke up, the fire finally petering out and the chill waking him from his strange slumber.

Ciel had been wandering through the woods for a while now , he had been out there trying to work on some endurance training and being out in the snowy woods would be a perfect way to start his training. As he walked through the night with a torch in his hands , he had seen a light in the distance and wandered who else could be out in the middle of the woods late at night in the snow. Ciel himself was close to freezing his balls off but thanks to the torch he had it was just enough to keep him warm, so once he seen the fire go out he thought it would be a good time to go and see if they would need some help since it was dark as hell outside. As he made his way over there he couldn’t help but feel as though his night was only going to get more interesting. It took either a fool or someone out here training to be out here in this weather, which made him wander if this was a shinobi maybe he would be able to get a spar in. 

It didn’t take him long to reach the spot of where the fire had went out and upon arriving there only a few moments after the fire had went out he was surprised to see who he had stumbled upon, it was his sensei Sebastian. “Well funny seeing you out here in the middle of the woods, we’ll actually you probably feel best out here anyway”, Ciel would say as he threw his torch down on the fire pit and took a seat next to it, doing his best to warm up his hands and feet. He even went as far as to grab a couple logs that were by the fire to make it bigger.

Sebastian would note the familiar scent of an approaching person. Ciel Uchiha, one of the newer members of Team Spring. "Greetings, Ciel. You are a long way from the village. I hope that you are out here for good reason, for it can be dangerous this far out." Of course, the wolf didn't want to focus on a lecture or anything of the sort. He was out here to enjoy the outdoors, and perhaps Ciel was simply doing the same exact thing. 

The young Uchiha tossed some logs on to the fire, kicking up embers and feeding the flames. It was clear that he was unaccustomed to such conditions. "Stick by the fire, your appendages will warm up soon." The wolf would look over, his leaned back and relaxed demeanor here far different than what Ciel was probably accustomed to from their more official interactions as a team. "So, either you were out here to find me or fate has a funny way of putting people where they need to be. Which is it?" Sebastian would ask, his tone lighthearted. He would lift up a bag of homemade jerky, offering some to his compatriot. 

wc: 194

After their initial greeting was done and Ciel was sitting down by the fire, he could feel the warmth from the large flame fill up his body with the heat he had been longing for. After a moment or two Ciel responded to the question that his sensei had asked, but before he did he would put his finger on his lips and muck the "shh" sound. He quietly pulled out his Kunai from his pouch on his leg and once it was out he quickly threw it at the bushes not too far from where they were sitting and almost immediately you could hear the squeal from a rabbit that was struck by the weapon. 

He would Quickly get up and run over to his catch. He would grab it and bring it back over to his sensei, "This is why im out here, well not this exactly im looking for fur to sell. Im in need of a little income and this is a great source of it", He would say as he would begin to skin the animal and then start to cook the meat. Looking over at his sensei, "Your more than welcome to eat with me if you please", he would say as he sat by the fire waiting for the meat to cook.

wc:219

Loghain would watch as his compatriot would lob a kunai at a nearby bush, the scent of blood immediately filling the wolfs nostrils. It was a clean hit from a skilled marksman. The young man was out here hunting, a pastime that the wolf was very familiar with in his own personal life. He would grin as Ciel returned, rabbit in hand and ready to skin the critter and cook it. The offer of a meal, especially one freshly caught, was something he just couldn't pass up. "Selling pelts is indeed a lucrative business. Feeds you, plus offers some extra ryo to add to the coffers." Loghain would sit up, stretching a bit. "I don't wish to detract from your desire to hunt for pelts, but I can probably assist. I imagine that you need funds for something important. I live a fairly low maintenance lifestyle, and I have plenty of funds. How much are you trying to save up?" 

wc: 160