Cosette never took any moment that she shared with Fierce as granted, especially when he seemed so much more lighter, as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. It reminded her of herself and how, although she loved them dearly, the pack sometimes made her feel trapped, but it was the solitary moments where she felt the most free; Fierce was at her side at the moment, yet it was still the same sentiment undeniably. When the dame heard the sound of him pausing, she slowly skidded to a halt, angling her cranium back to get a good look at him. The sight of Fierce nipping at the burrs in his pelt made her smile, one that was amused and also concerned. His soft chuckle and voice caused her to let out a quiet laugh, shaking her head out of amusement. It was amazing how all it took was getting to know him by sharing the traumatic event involving the bear for her to learn that he was not at all like he seemed to be. In her eyes, he was a ginormous softie that made for an absolutely wonderful friend and individual to have lots and lots of conversations with. He also always managed to make her unexplainably happy and.. sometimes even a little flustered. Was she going to acknowledge that? No, absolutely not.

The dame continued to move through the brush carefully, yet her pace did not falter for a moment. She was accustomed to going places by herself, so she had to mentally reprimand herself a few times whenever she momentarily forgot that Fierce was trailing behind her. Of course, she had noticed how he was making his pawsteps louder than usual, a gentle reminder that he was indeed following her and hadn`t abandoned her for some reason. Although she was not as tense as she had been a few moments ago, she was still quieter than she wanted to be, especially with him. It felt a little weirder now, as if the words spoken back at her pack`s camp had put a weight on her shoulders. He had seemed offended by the idea of her being betrothed, but surely.. Cosette had to shake her head to rid the thought from her constantly overthinking head; she had to get herself together before she truly became delusional. Her auricles flicked back towards him when he spoke, her pace slowing so he wasn`t bounding after her while talking. She took a moment to consider his words before replying in a quiet voice, ``Alright.`` She was not going to admit aloud that she found it incredibly odd that her packmates had not even tried investigating the reason. Maybe they already knew and were simply not doing anything to fix it? There was only one way to find out.

By the time they got there, Cosette was a little out of breath. She tried her best to hide it though; for as much as she enjoyed sneaking out and running around, she still spent most of her day merely lounging around under her sire`s watchful eye. Her flanks heaved subtly beneath her flank as she watched Fierce, nodding in response to his question. Yeah.. the hunting grounds were obviously barren, not only due to the lack of scents, but also the obvious lack of bigger wildlife. Cosette could tell he was frustrated with the hunters in her pack, but she was used to eating rabbits and squirrels all day at this point; she barely remembered what a piece of elk tasted like. ``They probably will anyways,`` she mused, a somewhat amused smile on her face; it would be an entertaining sight: her packmates all worshiping Fierce as if he were some kind of god for fixing the prey shortage.

``One of our hunters had brought up that the reason for the absence of prey probably originated near the outskirts of our territory, perhaps even outside of it,`` Cosette explained as she shifted onto her haunches to sit. If he started moving, she would hoist herself to her feet and go after him. Her auricles flattened slightly as she frowned, taking a moment to simply think. ``They haven`t seen anything that would cause them to.. disappear.``

Cosette watched him carefully, gauging his reactions and behaviors to both her words and just in general. There was something amusing about observing him like this, seeing him in his element other than constantly being judged and attacked by the others back at the Felder camp. She blinked in surprise when he turned towards her rather quickly, auricles flattening just a smidge as if expecting something. Now that he said it, their reasoning had sounded absolutely ridiculous; was she that naive when it came to listening to what her fellow pack members said? She dismissed the thought, continuing to listen to what Fierce had to say. When he started to move, she slowly rose to her paws and padded after him, her steps lighter as if she wasn`t anchored down by responsibility. Regardless, she was slowly realizing how smart and intelligent Fierce truly was; it was a miracle he cared enough to step in, especially with how dumb he was making everyone else seem. She agreed with him by nodding once, pausing in her movements when he turned towards her yet again.

The feeling of his tail brushing against his shoulder was becoming more and more familiar, but also a little more tempting. It was no surprise that she even considered leaning into the fleeting touch, but she decided not to. The last thing she needed was to start something she was not ready for by any means. For goodness sake, she was still ignoring how she herself was feeling anyways. ``Thank you,`` her voice was quiet as she replied, her formerly tense body relaxing entirely. He always knew what to say somehow. As he continued to explain and walk through the hunting grounds, she listened carefully and continued to just.. watch. He really was a handsome fellow, even with all the scars and rough edges of his muscled form. If he told her that at some point dames were all over him, she would not be surprised at all. Of course, if they could look past the scars and admire them like she could.

``Don`t worry,`` Cosette laughed gently as she moved a little closer to him, peering at all the terrain stretching before them. It felt nice when it was just them two together, especially without her lurking sire. ``It makes a lot of sense. I am quite surprised no one else has come to the same conclusion.`` Her auricles flicked as she looked back at him, noticing the way he was just.. staring. For a fleeting moment, she wondered if he felt the same way as she did. At his question, she snapped out of her thoughts and nodded.

``A race it is then,`` Cosette laughed as she turned, wanting to get a head start. She may be a little more serious than most, but she clearly enjoyed having fun. Of course, she was naturally quicker, yet he probably had a far larger stride than she did. Stamina was questionable regarding who had more. Regardless, she wanted this moment to last forever if it could. For the first time ever, Cosette almost dreaded going back.

Cosette had never felt so.. free before. She was used to being shackled down by pack responsibilities, even if she managed to sneak out on her own a few times. A part of her believed it was because of being so far out from the den itself, but she knew the real reason: Fierce. He made her feel happier and lighter, as if nothing in the world could stop her solely because he was at her side. Cosette noticed that he was suddenly gaining distance, causing her to lift her cranium and look at him from the corner of her eye. He looked just as happy as she did, and that warmed something in her chest. The dame let it happen: his paw shifting her off-balance, his gentle tackle, the little thud that resonated when she landed on the ground. As she peered up at him, she allowed herself a small smile and gentle laugh.

``It`s alright,`` Cosette replied softly, shifting to her paws once he had moved off of her. The moment had been brief, but she had.. enjoyed it. She shook her pelt for a moment in an attempt to clear her fur of any twigs or leaves that had stuck to it. Her tassel moved to and fro as she observed him for a moment. It was still astonishing to her that others looked down on him, specifically her pack members. Honestly, it made no sense; he was kind and selfless, even if she could understand that he looked rather intimidating. Cosette moved a little closer to him, but only to playfully whack his shoulder with her tail. ``You didn`t hurt me.``

The dame felt as if she should do something to prolong the moment, but she was unsure of how to do that. She could attempt to knock him over in a similar fashion, yet she knew she did not have the strength to do that unless he let it happen. Cosette doubted he`d allow it though, but mostly because brutes didn`t like being played with like that. Well, that was what she presumed. She eventually decided to jest teasingly, ``I was going to win if you hadn`t tackled me.``