bit, trying to get her attention.

            "Kiona...We need to keep moving, there might be some small caves nearby we can stay in for a while. If you can't walk, I can carry you, but you'll still need to help me..." Achak hoped she was conscious enough to understand him, other wise he would have to maneuver her himself.

            Kiona's eyes snapped open and she pushed herself to stand up. Achak pushed against her body as a crutch, to make sure she could balance on her own four feet. Once Achak knew she could stand, he walked forward, still looking at her to make sure she can walk. She could, so he continued. Kiona wasn't sure if she'd be able to travel in a straight line, so she held Achak's tail in her mouth for guidance. She still felt very woozy from the cold, but as long as Achak was there, she felt safe.

            She followed him wherever he took her. When he finally stopped, she opened her eyes. They weren't in the cave with the rest of the pack. They were at the foot of a snow dune. Kiona stared at it for a moment, but then noticed Achak digging in the side of the dune. He was trying to dig a cave for them to stay in until the storm died. Watching him work his hardest for the two of them made her think. She still found it unbelievable how he wanted to help her, even after what a nuisance she'd been to him. She felt herself choke up, and she took a deep breath. When Achak took a break from digging, panting from exhaustion, Kiona stood up again and began to dig herself, continuing from where he left off.

            Achak watched, as Kiona took over his task without question, somewhat amazed she still had the strength. Kiona... But as long as the female was able to take over for him for a moment, the silver and black wolf took the opportunity to try and catch his breath. Neither of them was in good shape at all now. Though the alpha was more adapted to winter, unlike Kiona, he was near his limit, as he was sure Kiona was as well, if she hadn't already met it.

            The moment Achak caught his breath, and the burning, exhausted feeling in his legs decreased some, the wolf was back at his task, now digging once more along the hybrid. With the two of them, no doubt they would get done more quickly. And they would need the shelter desperately if the two of them planned to survive. Finally, the little cave-like shelter was dug out, and Achak quickly started ushering Kiona to the back, since her shivering had increased and she looked ready to collapse again.

            Kiona flopped onto the ground in the back of the small den, shivering with every move she made, but relieved beyond all knowledge to get out of the wind. She curled into a ball, and put her tail over her nose, not that it assisted in keeping it warm at the moment. She closed her eyes, so tempted to fall asleep because she was just so tired. She would feel herself lose and regain consciousness, again and again.

            Achak knew he had to warm her up now...Even though they were out of the storm, they weren't out of danger. Going to her where she lay huddled in a shivering ball, he laid himself over her completely, hoping his wet coat wouldn't just make it worse. But it was better than doing nothing, which wasn't an option for the wolf. He would do his best to keep Kiona warm, despite being all but completely numb himself. Laying his head down next to hers he closed his own eyes, letting himself drift off into a light doze.

            Kiona was a bit startled feeling another body above her own, but she didn't stir. She knew that it was Achak and didn't want to move, but it did make her feel a tad flushed. She buried her face into Achak's arm and smiled to herself. As comfortable as she was, Kiona just now noticed how badly she needed to sleep. Her eyes were so heavy and the small cave was just starting to feel warmer. She said drowsily, "Achak...is it okay to fall asleep?"

            Stirring at the question, and running it through his mind another time, Achak cracked open his eyes and glanced to her. Though they were both still very cold and wet, it should be all right for them to rest now that they were warming up, and out of the storm.

            "Go ahead and rest, I'll keep watch." He nudged her with his muzzle, making sure her face was at least covered and warm. The alpha wasn't thinking much on what he was doing. Wolves did these things for each other, so the wolf didn't think of what Kiona would think of the attention she was receiving.

            Feeling Achak's face against her own face gave Kiona pleasant shivers. When she was younger, she and her siblings were never like this, and she definitely was never like this with her teammates. Only her old master would pet her head once in a while. But this... It was a nice feeling, being touched (in a good way). She fell asleep.

~~~

Kiona woke up the next morning. It was still a bit dark out and oddly enough Achak was still asleep. She must've woken up pretty early to get up before him. She watched him sleep for a mere moment, and then shook her head to get herself to stop doing that. She was finding herself weird. She didn't want to disturb Achak, since he was probably going to get up soon anyway, so she just lay her head back down and closed her eyes, but did not fall asleep again.

            It wasn't long after Kiona lay her head back down that Achak stirred at the movement, though it took longer than normal to fully wake, since he still felt a little tired. His ice blue eyes opening, and blinking a few times, the wolf then slowly raised his head, letting his eyes adjust to the dim light of their shelter. There still seemed to be a roar or winds outside, but there was a definite change. It wasn't quite as harsh. Noting it, the alpha then glanced down to Kiona. If the storm had quieted, even a bit, this was their chance to get back.

            Gently getting up from his place on the female, Achak noticed their coats had dried some, and his own body heat had warmed him once more. Hopefully the same would be true about Kiona. If at least she was warmer, the silver and black wolf would carry her if she didn't have the strength. "Kiona, how do you feel now...?"

            Kiona looked up at Achak, her heart jumping into her throat. "Huh? Oh...! I'm okay." Her stomach growled and they both looked at it perplexedly. After a moment of awkward silence, they both chuckled. Kiona guessed she was still hungry. After all, they never got a kill yesterday. Achak assured Kiona he would kill a rabbit for her heading back to the cave. They would have to go back to the cave as soon as possible to let the others know they were still alright.

The two of them walked side-by-side through the calmer storm. It felt like spring compared to yesterday, but it was still snowing pretty hard. At least this time they could see where they were going for the most part. Both Achak and Kiona would take the time to sniff around for a kill, but so far they were having no luck. Then suddenly there was the sound of an animal stirring through the snow. Kiona and Achak looked in the direction of the sound, and to the right of them there was a lone rabbit digging. The two canines stood very quietly, getting into a position easiest to break into a run from.

The instant Achak was about to charge for the rabbit was when Kiona bolted towards it herself. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, so he just stared for a moment. Kiona stayed on the rabbit's trail excellently. She cut corners and zigzagged just as well as the animal. And when Kiona was close enough to bring her jaws down on her prey, she did, and then tore it apart. It let out an insanely gruesome shriek, but Kiona broke its neck to silence it. She devoured it without a second thought.

            The female shot off after the small animal before he could blink. But the alpha let her, being sure to follow her and not lose her again in the snow that still fell pretty hard. With her red coat it wasn't too hard to keep her in sight. Though if they got lost again, all the silver and black wolf would have to do is howl. When he caught up to her, following, now, the trail of blood on the snow, Achak knew she had caught her prey. Not approaching her right away, he sat a few feet away from her as Kiona finished devouring her meal.

            At least they had accomplished what they had set out to do originally. Luckily, the smell of the kill barely reached the alpha's nose, or else he might have started to hunger. That wasn't something they needed. Besides, the large wolf had gone longer without eating, this should be nothing.

When Kiona seemed to finish, Achak spoke up, standing again and approaching her. "If you're finished, we should head back." No doubt the rest of the pack was