Julek was restless.

He had spent the first four hours of the morning on the move, stalking through shadowy woods until he reached a river basin. He'd cautiously approached the shore, lapping at the water and keeping a cautious eye on the fattened bears further upstream. Their endless hunts for food to hold them over their hibernations worried him - while he reckoned he could outpace their bulky frames, he knew if any of them ambushed him, he would be done for.

Though he shared several traits with them - namely, five-toed paws - he would be no match for a fully-sized bear and he knew this.

Living alone was a dangerous existance. Sure, he had lived on his own before, but then he had lived a cushy pack life and he had forgotten just how bad lone wolves had it. Until now, when he roamed. After the fall of Nardir, which he had heard rumors of, he had nothing to return to. The bulky beast moved up a hill, sniffing at a foxden and scratching idly at it. There were no foxes here, nor their cubs, but something was making his bones throb with dull pain.

It wasn't physical, as far as he could tell, but something wasn't quite right. He scratched into the burrow, finally giving up with a heaving sigh.