For three months Eloin and Tain traveled in and out of pack territories, not finding a permanent home. Tain had grown at a considerable rate, feeding off of his wolf mother's rich milk, but recently she had been hunting less and less, and as a result her milk had dried up. Tain had been getting weaker, so as summer began, she lead him up to the prey filled lands of Crisis Mountain, where they stayed for a further four months.

"Momma, why do you kill things to eat?" The inquisitive young stag asked, his small tail shaking vigorously from left to right.

"Because, my love I am a wolf, thats what wolves do to survive! But you are a deer, one old enough now to eat grass, thats what deer eat to survive!" Eloin laughed as she lay down with her freshly killed rabbit outside their den.

"Can I try some?"

"Which?"

"Rabbit, can i try some?"

"Yes of coarse, my love but I'm warning you, you won't like it!" Eloin laughed, ripping off a small chunk of her meal and handing it to her cub. She watched eagerly as he first sniffed the meat and then took it into his mouth and began to chew.

"Blargh!!!"He spat the chunk back out and his face contorted with disgust, as Eloin doubled up in a fit of laughter.

"What did I tell you?!" She howled.

"It didn't taste that bad momma, but I think I'll stick to grass!" He said defiantly, embarrassment evident on his young face.

"You do that!" She giggled and then she rose from her meal still laughing.

"Come now my darling, the sun has faded from the sky, so now you have to rest until it reappears."

"Awww but momma, can't I stay up for just a little while longer?!"

"No, come now, tomorrows a new day. And if you stay awake any longer Sinaa the ice Goddess will freeze your tail off!"

Tain's eyes widened in shock. "Not my tail momma!" He bleated and whirled around to check that his tail was still attached to his bottom.

"Yes, for winter is coming, soon both you and I will have to leave this mountain for it will be completely frozen! But for now sleep my love, that day is a long way off!" Eloin nosed Tain down into the den, the two had been together for little over nine months now and although they were an odd couple, no two animals had a stronger bond. Tain loved Eloin more than anything and truly thought she was his mother. The she-wolf gave him a sense of security and he wanted to stay with her forever...

Winter came sooner than Eloin had dared to think, and pretty soon Crisis Mountain was a deathly place to be, completely frozen with no sign of life visible on it's surface. Most of the animals had left for the lands below the mountain, others had either gone under ground to hibernate or died in Sinaa's icy grip. Only a young she-wolf and a fawn remained on the frozen mountain. Eloin had a tough decision to make, stay on Crisis Mountain and watch as not only herself but her beloved cub perish in the cold, or return to Red Wood forest and risk being torn apart by her former Clan. In the end Tain's cries of pain and hunger proved to much for the young mother to handle and so the pair made their way back down the mountain to wards their former home...