Upon the Rocky Mountain

After a short amount of time, Davinci felt it was necessary to leave his resting spot beneath the stone and continue onward. He didn't want the feline to get too much of an advance on him. He could hear the soft gurgling of a stream in the distance and imagined that the woman would have to stop there with her youth to refresh their parched tongues. He would travel there next.

A spurt of energy egged his tired limbs forward into a swift trot. At this point, the man was not worried about being detected. She knew he was on her tail, and the sounds of him stepping carelessly from loose stone to dried leaves would only panic her more and wear her out faster. He was practically running now, his mouth open wide and panting as he took in all the scents of his territory.

Suddenly a new scent caused him to skid to a halt just at the shoreline of the stream. A wolf - a young wolf - was nearby, and possibly ill. His thoughts immediately darted to the image of Shiva finding the injured youth and he had to shake his head. If she had found the wolf he would have certainly smelled blood. His golden eyes narrowed and his nose went to the ground, ears swiveling in an attempt to find the youth as quickly as possible.

Finally the old male could see it! There was a small ball of fur bundled up at the edge of the stream not too far off. She was female, from what he could tell. He reached her in seconds and stood silently beside her. Was she alive? She looked like just a scrap of a thing, lying on a bundle of rabbit pelt with her red fur sticking out in odd directions, matted in other places. She was just a babe.

Curiosity struck him as he watched her. How did she get here and where was her mother? How had she lived so long in Shiva's lands? He hadn't been aware of any wolves living on Mount Frater, and he liked to think that he kept himself very aware of who and what was in his mountains. Unable to resist his curiosity any longer, the man bent down and pushed on her with his nose. He was satisfied to find that her skinny chest was indeed rising and falling with each short breath. She was at least alive.

The sound of the little one's voice threw the man off guard. She called him daddy, with a voice so soft and sweet that he couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache in his chest. She was so small and fragile looking. Her skin clung to her bones as if the last meal she had was on the day of her birth, and her fur was matted and barely holding on to her in some places.

Once the girl had come to, her survival instincts came into play and she rose from her resting point. He could read the fear in her eyes as she begged for his mercy, sizing him up as if he were the very monster from her nightmares. Panic begin to clutch at his belly as she backed away from him with the scrap of kill hanging from her mouth. His eyes widened and ears perked to the alert. Shiva would hear her if she carried on...but she was obviously so frightened of him.

Without another thought, the big man lowered himself to the ground and lie on his belly, laying his head on his paws and plastering his ears against his skull in an attempt to make himself smaller for the babe. He crawled forward in this manner and opened his maw to speak softly to her.

"Please, little one, don't be so frightened! I'm not going to hurt you..." He didn't want to scare her further by telling her about the mountain lion, but he couldn't risk Shiva showing up and taking the pup either. He decided to inch himself even closer and roll onto his back, proving his harmlessness to the pup.

"You don't need to leave little one. I won't harm you. My name is Davinci, what is your name?" He told the girl, hoping that his tone didn't get her tiny little heart beating any faster than it needed to.

A smile grew upon his features when he realized that his strange antics were working on the small girl. It seemed that she was warming up to him a little, though it crushed him to see her surrender so quickly. This girl had been through some kind of hell. Sensing that he was welcome to do so, Davinci rolled onto his side, bringing his head slightly closer to the pup.

"I promise, Artemis. I want to help you. I am a friend." He told her, blinking his golden eyes softly in her direction as he did so. He wanted her to understand that he was no danger to her. He needed to get her and whoever may be nearby trying to find her out of Mount Frater and to safety. A glimmer of worry furrowed his brow for an instant as the thought of Shiva continued to cross his mind.

"Where is your mother, dear? It's dangerous to be on this mountain all by yourself. If you show me where she is I can lead you to safety." He suggested. Perhaps mentioning the lion was not the best idea, but offering a safe place away from the rocky mountain may appeal to the babe's judgment. From the look of her state of being, she didn't seem to be well taken care of at all. Any mother who had the babe in her care had to be sickly or neglectful to allow the girl to get into this condition.

Perhaps the mother couldn't hunt? Artemis appeared to be much too old to be nursing afterall, and maybe a fresh kill would warm her belly. Before allowing the girl to respond to his previous question, he continued with "I would love to catch you a nice meal as soon as we get there..." He winked at her then, hoping that she would catch onto his good spirits.

Her most recent statement had Davinci frozen in thought. No pup should have that kind of feeling so early in life. A girl with no parents or family to call her own, alone on one of the most difficult terrains in the Domus Mountains. She was lucky to be alive. By the looks and sound of it Artemis needed much more than a fresh meal in her belly; the girl needed a caretaker, a healer, a provider and a teacher. Where could he find those things for her after the majority of his pack had been wiped out by sickness?

The man stood then, leaving enough room between himself and the pup to show his intention was harmless but he was ready to move. He lowered his head slightly then, keeping his eyes far above the girls head for fear that Shiva was nearby.

"Artemis, why don't you come with me back to my home and we can get everything sorted out for you?" Before Shiva figures out that I'm not chasing her anymore... He thought to himself. She could very well have turned around by now, stashed her cubs in a safe place and come after him. It was his territory by markings, but she was living there by her own choice. There wasn't much he could do besides negotiate with the beast if she was in a good mood, at least until he could get a large hunting party together to chase her off. Meanwhile, she wouldn't be in a good mood after being pursued all day and with a small snack like Artemis right here within her grasp.

Davinci took a step closer to the girl to indicate the urgency of his request, keeping his expression soft but knowing that if they didn't move fast, there wouldn't be an opportunity to leave...