When the wind whipped over the flatlands, it brought a deadly chill with it; when it hit the knolls where many of the Brotherhood made their dens, it roared in frustration and left the den entrances warm and comfortable on the other side. To stand atop the dens at night was foolishness, something done only if a watch was absolutely required or a wolf had been shunned and had nowhere else to go.
"Will you come in already? This is stupid."
Atop the hills lay a wolf streaked a sickly, poisonous green; a tattered cloak around his shoulders was pulled in all directions by the wind, but the red cord that held the hood to his back assured it never covered his head. A larger wolf with a nearly identical pelt climbed the ridge behind him, his own hood held in place by his ears, pressed back against the wind. His veil plastered to his maw and made speaking somewhat difficult. He was the one who had spoken.
The smaller wolf shook his head, and the larger wolf continued in blunt tones. "Come inside. You'll freeze out here. There's no reason for it."
A more persuasive, friendly wolf might have stayed to argue. The big green wolf did not. Once, when the two had been pups, he had argued, frequently and vehemently, with his brother, but not any more. The energy he expended was not worth it, for an outcome that was not the same. Now that he had grown up, he had learned new methods of persuasion.
The smaller wolf yelped as the large wolf latched onto his tail with an impressive set of jaws, the pain dulled because he had to work around his veil. He pulled once, until the smaller wolf finally stood.
"I'm coming," he said, his voice small and resigned, the words torn away by the wind as soon as they left his mouth.
