The evening was still young as a sharp wind whipped through his mahogany winter coat, swirling patterns blowing through the many strands. Amongst the chaos, the whirling snow and swinging branches, the dark brute stood resolute before his den, watching it all. The war between wolves had ended but the battle for survival was ongoing and only intensifying now that winter had come. He hadn't even owned a den before he'd found a mate, despite the normality of having one, since he had always preferred to sleep beneath the stars with the scents and sounds of the forest stirring around him. The cozy holes in the earth were originally meant for the protection of pups anyway and since he was an adult he was mostly safe from dangers and he had never cared to sleep underground. However, once he'd gained a lover, one of the best feelings had been to be able to nuzzle and embrace her delicate form and it had been even more special to have their own private space to sleep and share affection with one another. To this day he terribly missed having such an intimate, loving bond with someone, not solely with regards to a life partner but also within the relationship of being a father with pups. To have a wonderful family of his own was still something he hoped to attain as it was only natural to want to reproduce and expand his bloodline, and the current season seemed to make his longings even stronger. Even just to have a bond with an unrelated wolf was preferable to loneliness. Feelings had developed for a female in particular who he spent increasing time with, yet that was entirely unrelated to the season. The warring feelings of doubt, betrayal and anxiety arose whenever he considered acting upon his emotions and the connection he felt so he actively tried to ignore it, but it would only lead to being more alone.

Within these wishes and memories, another recurring thought was of a brute in his pack. Ciro was promised a guardian in the form of himself, but Eclipse had yet to prove his words with action. The fight with Erenyx had gotten in the way for a while, but the resilient brute had recovered from his injuries by this point, thanks in part to Ciro. He admired the apprentice for his dedication to Helidos despite where he had come from and that there had even been a war with Ciro's birth pack which had caused deaths on their side. The young male sure had a fine head on his shoulders to have picked a good, clear path and to have such sound morals and a maturity far greater than most his age. Eclipse now hoped to guide him further, if not intellectually or with wider training then at least by providing him with a shoulder to lean on and a close relationship. It would help the brute to develop as an adult wolf and to feel like he belonged if he had a caring figure to help him, as he'd had a rough start and probably felt very alone right now. The first and most important step was to address Ciro's obvious under-eating issue. It was Winter now and he could not afford to be losing weight and having little to no insulating fat in the new harsh climate. A snow hare lay by Eclipse's forepaws, dead of course. Drops of red stained its previously pristine fur, and while it had a pure sort of beauty while it was alive, it was now refreshing to see some other shade than white about the lands. He studied the limp animal for a moment before clamping his jaws around its neck and beginning towards the location of the healer's den with a pained huff. He had caught the little herbivore for Ciro but during the hunt he had ended up with an injury from pouncing towards a bush, unaware of the sharp rock concealed beneath the snow since he did not see the mound until it was too late, as it had blended in with the surrounding white. It had stabbed his chest and the usually white blaze there was now marked with a deep gash and crimson. He didn't worry as he knew Ciro would take a look at it and prescribe something to help if necessary. As he padded to the entrance of the cave of the healers he sniffed the air for the young brute, positive that it could be the start of a friendship and of them helping each other to grow stronger from their pasts and start on a better path.

At the unenthusiastic invitation to enter the organised cave full of leafy scents, Eclipse padded further into the place of restoration of the wounded, sick, and frail. He knew all that lay within its walls quite well, and it actually was strange to need permission to enter it now. He used to visit Creek when she was working and had hung around the den when he first struggled with her death, just to smell the familiar scents that her pelt always wore. There were memories associated to the sight and smell of it all but they only lingered in his mind for a brief second. It was not appropriate to think of the place fondly anymore as to the remaining healers and pack members it was just a place of work and healing and had little sentimentality. He didn't even know if any of the healers truly enjoyed their duty with such passion like Creek had. Moving past that, Eclipse had been about to bow his head to the young Ciro but the apprentice was still occupied with sorting his stock at the rear of the den and seemed to be in no hurry to turn around and greet him. He breathed a sigh through his nostrils. He knew how lonely Ciro was, how he needed Eclipse's help, yet he had done nothing and now the younger male seemed dismissive of his presence, as if he didn't want him there. He didn't blame Ciro for that, however that was precisely why he was there, to right his wrongs. He had been through a lot of change in his feelings and physically recovering from war, but he could have spent even ten minutes each day with the budding medic, just checking in on him on a morning or evening. It was too late to consider what could have been done, he only hoped Ciro was so mature and forgiving as he believed him to be so that he wouldn't resent the mahogany warrior.

Glancing down thoughtfully, he wondered how he should begin the conversation and cast his muzzle towards the earth in order to release the hare and free his mouth to speak. But as the lifeless body slipped out from between his fangs, his ears were brought to the attention of the other's voice, questioning him and directing him to leave the creature outside. It seemed Eclipse had underestimated how easy this would be. He couldn't quite believe what he had just heard and simply stared at Ciro with one brow arched and the other furrowed as he lifted his head once again. Now that he saw his face, he could really tell how much weight the other had lost. He was dangerously on the brink of starving to death, and Eclipse felt entirely guilty. Perhaps if he had helped right from the start... For that reason he didn't even pause or mess about before he got to talking, at first ignoring what Ciro had said about the little corpse. "There's no need for formalities, Ciro. I may have an injury but I have not come here just as your patient. I have come to see how you are, as a friend and someone who wants to ensure you're alright. I also owe you an apology. So we can start with a hello, can't we?" With that, he bowed his head in greeting. He wasn't ignoring what the younger one had said altogether, he would address it all in due course. But he wanted them to start off on the right paw, and that was with Eclipse in authority here, yet with a comfortable and more casual aura between them.

"You must know why I want to apologise. I'm sorry for not giving you the attention and support I promised, and I'm trying to redeem myself now. I really want to help you and currently that means getting you back to a healthy weight. You have to eat meat, it's what our bodies have developed to consume. I know you think it's unfair to take a life for your own, and I admire your empathy, but I assure you it's not violence, it's survival. I killed it swiftly so it only felt pain for a second. There are so many more rabbits in the forest than wolves, that's how they have adapted to keep their families alive, by breeding quickly and spreading. They have no concern for individuals whereas we form packs and work closely as a unit, and even then we fail to hunt successfully a lot of the time. All struggle in the forest. I'm quite sure the other hares are not sad that it is gone, but instead glad that it wasn't them. We remove the weak and help them to keep their species healthy and strong. And isn't it better this hare feeds an honourable wolf like you rather than some scum like your old Alpha?" He paused and sat down, nudging the food closer to Ciro with his paw. "I value you and what you do here and the rest of the pack needs you as well. You must know that if you don't eat very soon, you will die. We have had enough deaths in Helidos and I have lost so many I care about already. Not only that, but losing you would put the whole pack's health at risk. You do value your own life, or else why would you have fled your home and the terrors that happened there? Maybe it's because you're depressed and lonely, but deep down you must want food and to live. Your hunger pains will be unbearable by now, please Ciro, if you don't do it for yourself think of how it would affect me and your parents, the Betas, if they knew their son had given up on himself because they weren't there... I won't leave until you eat. And then could you be so kind as to look at the wound on my chest? I may have cut through some flesh and bruised it while hunting for you." His tone was caring but in a slight matter-of-fact manner. He meant what he said, but he had added some things for the emotional effect. Anything that encouraged Ciro to eat and make him realise how special he was would be used in his persuasion. He wanted to build a friendship and needed him to live, he wouldn't lose another.