"Don't." The man didn't look up from feeding the campfire, but the iron in his voice brooked no protest.

Timsa halted his approach, arms wrapped around his chest in a feeble attempt to fend off the cold. "P-p-please. I'm c-c-c-cold and sc-sc-sc-scared."

"I know." The harshness in the man's voice dissolved, leaving behind a weary loneliness. "We came to find you, your parents got your whole village looking. This fire'll be for you, just let me finish." He reached into his pocket to retrieve a handful of silvery rectangular blocks, tossing them towards Timsa. "Eat these. They're those awful nutrition bars the vampires eat, so they taste worse than bear droppings, but they're good healthy calories and you need that right now."

Timsa dutifully opened one, taking a large bite and grimacing. The colorful description was accurate, but he was hungry. The first bar didn't last long.

"How d-d-did you f-f-f-find me?" Timsa shivered, shoving the remaining bars in his pocket for later when his hunger overwhelmed the memory of their taste, and walked towards the welcoming fire with the strange man who had come to rescue him.

The man cried an alarmed warning, but it was too late. Timsa found himself confronted with a white-furred vilkette, almost twice his size, its teeth bared menacingly as it tensed its six legs to pounce. He froze, watching the vilkette leap at him in a graceful deadly arc, but the game warden was faster and suddenly both man and vilkette were tumbling in the snow.

After a small scuffle the animal managed to free itself, snapping a warning at the warden before returning its attention to Timsa. It sank once more into a defensive posture, its growl somehow more menacing than before, but made no further movement to attack.

"Timsa, Fluffers. Fluffers, Timsa." The man's face broke into a bemused smile as he made introductions.

"You n-n-named a v-vilkette F-f-f-fluffers?" Timsa stared at the animal incredulously.

"She doesn't seem so scary now, right?" The warden laughed warmly, his green eyes dancing with the joke before resuming a more somber expression. "She'll still kill you though, if you get too close to me for her liking."

"Cool!" Timsa was transfixed, the unrelenting cold no longer registering. He'd heard the stories, of course, about the brave individuals who had raised a vilkette from a cub but his parents would have never let him get so close to one. Just wait until he got back and told his friends. Even Sorka would be jealous, and her parents let her get away with everything.

The man let the large pack slip from his back, tossing it easily to land next to Timsa with a loud Thunk! The vilkette flicked an ear at the sound of the pack burying itself in the snow but kept its full attention on Timsa. The warden motioned towards the pack. "Here. Had your parents pack some things for when we found you. Including another pair of pants."

Timsa was suddenly self conscious. It had been several years since he'd had an accident. "S-s-s-sorry."

The warden laughed again, a warm friendly sound. "No need. I've seen grown men do worse. But you'll stay warmer if you change into fresh ones." He crouched to poke a stick at the fire, and Timsa could have sworn he saw sparks jumping from his fingertips with the motion before he stood up again. "Fire's stable now, so I'll leave you to it. Tent's all yours, too. We'll keep watch until your parents get here." He tugged at the small cord around his neck, pulling upwards to reveal the communication token he'd held tucked against his chest. "Already let them know where to find you."

"Th-th-th-thank y-y-you," Timsa chattered, eying the welcoming fire.

"It's my job," the warden shrugged, turning away from the campsite. He paused, looked over his shoulder, his face betraying the loneliness of before. "It's been nice, though, having company..." He resumed his walk. "You take care now! No wandering off again. Shout if you need something."

"Yes, sir!" Timsa called after as the warden faded into the trees. The vilkette snapped a warning at Timsa before following, leaving him alone but safe with the life warming flames.