Valence padded softly, sloshing through the snow. He was in a good mood, because even though the winter had been hard, some of the herbs had survived. His nose was low to the ground, and he sniffed loudly, looking for the many herbs scattered randomly throughout the territory. Wanting to get back soon, he picked up his pace, only to nearly tread on a bush of poppy hidden beneath the snow. Backing up, he sniffed again at the sweet tang to hone in on the plant's location, and then carefully brushed the snow aside with his snout. He looked up just in time to sneeze at the cold, and then set back to removing the delicate leaves from the plant. With a careful maw, he nipped a few of the larger leaves off the stem. Only the leaves that had been growing for a few moon cycles would serve as a pain killer. Taking one more leaf, and leaving enough so that the plant could keep growing, he set back for the camp, storing the important leaves under his tongue.
Valence arrived back soon enough, and headed right to his den. His den was a solitary place, a little nook between a rock and a dense bush that allowed him herb storage and a place to sleep, and even an extra place for any other wolf to sleep, just in case he needed to watch them. Depositing the leaves in the sun to dry, he left his den in search of company.