With the still-warm bird heart held between his jaws, Ech'inee retuned to his makeshift "den" where a tiny brilliant red/orange creature eagerly awaited his return. It leapt up and down in joy, as he set the heart on the floor for it to eat. One day, at the foot of the mountain he was now on, Ech'inee saw something red crumpled on bank of a sluggish stream. He eagerly approached it, thinking it was a wounded animal which he could eat. When he reached it, he found a small, shivering, weak pup-like creature that looked up at him with wide black eyes and actually spoke into Ech'inee's mind, a single pleading word.
"Help"

That turned out to be the only word it knew. Pitying the helpless creature, he took it with him and fed it scraps from his own meager catches. Maybe it was also part of his human side, a craving for company and attention that made him keep the animal, whom he called Ivenal'a. A perfectly good wolf-name to him. With that bright red coat, Iven (as he'd come to call it as a nickname) would have been picked off by the end of the day on that stark, white landscape. Ech'inee lay down on his bed of animal pelts and the scrubby grasses that managed to push through the snow and ice to watch Iven eat. Once finished, the red ball of fur cuddled next to the white wolf to sleep off his meal. While he groomed his bloody forepaws and face, Ech'inee mulled over the fact that he lived a short distance from a weyr. "Teeming with humans." That was the only thing that kept him from resuming his human life, the fact that it was a human one.

"Humans are the ones who killed my mother...I'm ashamed that I came from that hatred." he thought bitterly. One day, when he found his father...."No, I won't resort to that same malicious thought." A dragon would be a nice thing to have. Did they all have to look to a weyr, or could they be separate from one? Ech'inee wasn't sure he was ready to deal with a whole mountain full of people. Closing his eyes, he decided to think it over the next day and get some rest.

The next day, M'naz took a walk into the woods and try to find the home of the wolf. Falaath waited in the frosted clearing with Maleeth and Zana, ready to leap to his rider's aid if need be. So far he'd looked under every crevice, in every cave, and down every hole that looked like a suitable living place for a wolf. "Can you tell where he is Falaath?"

No, only that he is there. Be careful, he might have a mate.

"I told you, that heart wasn't enough for a wolf! Wha.." Stopping dead in his tracks, M'naz came upon a small snarling orange creature at the mouth of a small cave. It whipped around and quickly retreated inside. "I wonder...it's impossible! That hole is not big enough for a regular canine, let alone a wolf." he thought but tried it anyway. "Something that brightly colored would need a protector in this snow." Kneeling down, he felt at the soil just under the opening and realized it was built up there to make the opening small. Once dug away, M'naz could crawl easily through. Inside, he found he could stand, it was the door that was small. A low snarl came from one corner, and it didn't sound like the little creature from before. Slowly, he raised his hands in a peaceful gesture as the wolf stepped from the shadows. "It's okay boy, I don't want to hurt you." The growls softened a little, but still held their warning note.

Maleeth and I are outside the cave if you need us, and Zana wants to come in.

"Tell her no, one person is enough!"

She's coming anyway.. said a distinctly female voice.

I can't stop her, here she comes. Zana stood up beside him and raised her hands before giving him a questioning look. "What are you doing?" he whispered harshly. "I'm not letting you do all the talking!" she whispered back, just as harsh. M'naz quickly made the decision to act before the wolf attacked and the small cave filled with dragon. "I know what you are." he said flatly. It stopped growling. M'naz put his hands down and sat on the cold dirt floor, Zana following suit. "I'm staying until you or show me. I'm M'naz, this is Zana." He gestured to Zana and then outside of the cave. "Out there is my dragon, Falaath and Zana's dragon Maleeth."

Ech'inee couldn't believe what he was hearing. This human had intruded into his home, then demanded that he show him what he was. "Am I that obvious?" "Echi" Iven said from the floor, the only other word he'd learned. "Should I tell him?" he asked the little creature who had become his only friend.

Yes, you should. It might be to your advantage. Another voice, this one older entered Ech'inee's mind. It was gentle but firm, reassuring and kind.

We're not here to harm you, just to talk. This voice was lighter, female. But it still had that same kind, reassuring tone.

"What do you want?" he asked tentatively.

Come outside and take your other form, that will show them what they want "I'm not sure I can..."

You can, we'll help you

Ech'inee padded past the two humans and stepped out into the cold air, the humans followed along with Ivenal'a.

Close you eyes and relax He complied, listening to the voice.

Think of what you look like in your other form The image of himself as a young boy made it's way to the surface of his thoughts. It startled him, to see his human face again.

Now imagine yourself in that form Slowly, he felt his limbs responding to his thoughts. Taking the form of what he told them too. Once he opened his eyes and looked down, Ech'inee saw tattered and blood-stained clothes hanging off a skinny frame, and was aware of the biting cold for the first time in a while. M'naz quickly handed him a blanket and Ech'inee wrapped himself up tight. Ivenal'a looked up at him in disbelief. "Echi?" he asked. "Yes, Echi." he assured the little creature. "What's your name?" Zana asked him. "Ech'i.....Zohariel." He figured if he was going to take back his human life, he might as well say his human name. It sounded...odd. "Well Zohariel, you have officially been Searched for Kjanli'eyr." M'naz said.