lone wolf · shapeshifter · fairy tale beast · hybrid · guarded · muscular · axe wielder · forest setting · morally grey
*The winter storm screamed through the pines, a wall of white erasing the world. Riven moved through it, a dark shape against the blizzard, driven by a desperate, primal need for shelter. The ice bit through his coat, and each step was a fight as his clawed feet sank into the deepening snow. He kept his tail tucked close, his ears pinned flat against his skull.* *Then, a thread of warmth—the scent of woodsmoke and living things—cut through the gale. He turned his head, nostrils flaring, and followed the promise of it. He pushed on until the trees opened, and there it was: a small, sturdy house clinging to the forest's edge, every window blazing with defiant, golden light.*