Winter was here and yet the southern giant lingered in the north. He'd tolerated blizzard after blizzard...and he didn't know why. For reasons he didn't yet understand, Angelus couldn't make himself head south. His usually restless heart, the very thing that had kept him moving all these years, begged him to stay. Why? Over and over he asked himself that question. He'd asked himself when the storms rolled in, when the ground beneath his paws grew so cold his toes went numb, when the ice collected on his eyelashes in sheets. Why? With a sigh Angelus rolled to his paws and stretched. His belly was full and he was feeling particularly lazy, but his thirst demanded he rise. With the question still rolling around in his head, he ambled to a nearby stream and set about smashing its icy surface with his paws. With a sharp crack the ice split under his weight and with a lazy flick of his wrist he scattered the shards, leaving behind a hole wide enough for him to drink from. He drank his fill and then straightened, his gaze finding a break in the trees that allowed him to see the horizon. Something out there was calling to him. He intended to find it.

Navigation - The Red Forest From Auster to the far reaches of norther boreas, Iskra was going everywhere. Nothing could stop her from wandering every which way. It was so fun! Trotting through the snow-laden trees, the starry red girl would run and jump and race around like a child. It was just so fun to be out and free and alive! The trees made her look even more small than the wolves she'd been bumping into lately. Well, except that one girl. She'd been the first in a long time to make Iskra look almost tall... Bouncing, jumping, and leaping her way through snow banks without a care in the world was the way Iskra figured she could happy spend the rest of her days. Glancing over her shoulder, she noted the wild zig-zagging trails she'd left in her wake and beamed proudly like a mother over her pups. Seeing a solitary squirrel peeking it's head out from some brush, Iskra promptly chased after it, the bushes dumping powdery snow all over her back as she raced after the frightened creature and came out the other side panting and looking out at... Some real tall dude. Huh. The poor squirrel would meanwhile race up one of the massive trees out of reach, chattering angrily. "Speak"

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OOC: crappy tag, I'm sorry D:

His peaceful musing was interrupted quite abruptly by the sudden appearance of another. At first all he saw was red as she exploded out of the brush and it took him a moment to realize that the streak of ruby was actually a wolf. Upon seeing him, the woman slowed; her change of pace allowing him to make note of the squirrel racing away from her. The tiny terrified creature made a beeline for one of the trees and in an instant found safety in its branches. Angel's eyes stayed rooted on the woman, but somewhere overhead he could hear the unmistakable chatter of a pissy tree rat. Distance, he mused, made it brave. To the woman he quirked a brow. His voice a low rumble, he said, "I hope I didn't just cost you lunch." If he had he hadn't done it intentionally, obviously. It was she who was had raced up on him like a bat out of hell. Still, he'd probably feel a little bad if he had indeed cost her a meal. If that were the case he'd feel compelled to make it up to her.

Tilting her head a bit, she looked him over more thoroughly. He was pretty good looking, although her taste was surprisingly still leaning towards something in a more... Liver color. She really ought to head south eventually, as she'd begun to realize she was kiiiind of really into that Dragon guy, for whatever reason. It was clear she wouldn't be getting past that interaction without making good on her promise. Which, she'd totally always intended on doing. Iskra was just easily distracted was all. Shaking her head to clear her clouded mind, Iskra beamed at the stranger and laughed, "Ah, no, I just like giving small creatures heart attacks for the hell of it." The sparkle in her eye would assure him that she wasn't even slightly untruthful. Harassing the wildlife was half the fun of it existing. Tail waving as she gave him the friendliest of smiles, Iskra chirped, "So, what's your name?" The fact that she forgot to offer her own seemed to have been missed by the red woman. "Speak"

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Her response surprised him. Angelus chuckled, the sound a low, bassy trill of amusement. Her expression was a little ambiguous and that coupled with her choice of words made it difficult to tell if she was truly serious about chasing the squirrel for fun. Still, her response was good-natured enough that he supposed it was alright either way. If she was bothered by the lose of the squirrel she didn't show it. "Who doesn't?" he quipped back. She asked him for his name and Angel was happy to give it. It was interesting to think that just a few short seasons ago his prejudice would have made him wary of giving something so dear to someone so vibrantly colored, but his encounters with both the enchanting Ambrosia and the captivating Artemis had brought about a change in his perspective. "The name's Angelus Imperialis. And what might I call you?"

She offered a slightly darker smirk as she replied, "Occasionally the animals in question get a bit miffed, but that hasn't stopped me yet." This guy seemed nice enough, though it was a bit early to tell. His name was pretty awesome, it had... presence, a sort of weight to it. She liked it. Her own name often felt a bit light, weightless. Though maybe it matched her in a way. She certainly wasn't going to command attention with an average frame like this, anyways. "I like that! Seems fitting. I am Iskra Aeris," she announced with a theatrical an entirely unimpressive sweeping bow, "Though my unofficial middle name seems to be 'trouble'." Theatrics and goofiness done with, she sobered and asked, "What brings you here?" "Speak"

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In response to her words he grinned, but said nothing further. The woman was feisty to say the least. She spoke with a certain rudely whimsical air that led him to believe she raced through life as if her tail were on fire; happily setting fires as she went about her day. Not unlike various members of his family. When the woman introduced herself Angelus had to fight to keep his browspots in check lest they shoot up into his ears and give his surprise away. Of course it made sense, didn't it? How many families of brilliantly colored wolves could there possibly be in these parts? Sooner or later he was bound to run into relatives. Still, his surprise was visceral. Perhaps it had to do with the woman who immediately jumped to the forefront of his mind. His siren. Artemis. He recovered smoothly; his expression shifting seamlessly into one of amusement. She had made a joke; his expression made sense. Angel was confident he could play his reaction off as a simple reaction to her good humor. It wasn't that he had a problem with explaining his familiarity with a relative of hers, rather, he was unwilling to explain the depth of his familiarity and afraid his reaction might give him away before he was ready to speak on the subject. "Something tells me you've earned it. Might be time to make it official. Iskra Trouble Aeris." He paused as if testing the mettle of her name before smiling wryly and parroting a comment she'd just made. "Seems fitting." Ah, so it was time to be serious. Angelus' amused expression faded after she asked him why he was there. "It's funny you should ask," he said ruefully. "I'm tempted to say I don't know, but even while I was thinking about that answer it struck me as false." Angel hesitated and then asked, "You wouldn't happen to know anyone named Artemis Aeris, would you?"

She found him entertaining, to say the least. Normally the lack of shock at the way she acted was perceived as boring, but the way he took it in stride was, funnily enough, pretty great. Still, if she sensed any opportunity to mess with him she'd probably take it in a heartbeat. That was half the fun of conversation for her. She did think she spotted something interesting in his face when she introduced herself, but she couldn't quite decipher what it was she was seeing and so refrained from mentioning it for the time being while hoping she might uncover a clue through the course of their conversation. "I probably re earn it on an almost daily basis, if I'm being honest... But hey, at least I'm consistent, right?" That was probably the only thing she could be reliably counted on to do; cause trouble and act wild. Well that and she guessed if her family ever actually needed her she'd be there. Not that they ever looked for her anymore. Of course she did sorta blow that reunion with Leto... Oh well, she could get over it for all Iskra cared! She was a little more concerned about not seeing Artemis anymore though. "You don't know the half of it," she giggled. She listened to his reply with arched brows and an openly curious expression, not entirely sure what he was getting at. And then- oh, were these two lines of thought connected? Now things were getting interesting and the red woman found herself looking a lot more alert. "Since birth. She's one of my sisters. Yeesh, I haven't seen her for a while though. Not since she was in that pack... The one that disbanded, uhm, the... Crew! That guy Chaos lead it. Yeah. That was forever ago though, or at least it feels like it. But I take it you've met her more recently, then?" It was an honest question, for once not teasing but gentle and curious. She'd be lying if she said she didn't wanna know how this guy met her sister. "Speak"

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While he wasn't surprised that two brightly colored wolves were from the same family, he was a bit surprised to learn they were siblings. One was very, very red and the other was very, very blue. All but one of his siblings (full and half) had a dark slate or black base coat. Only Rhys deviated and she still looked quite a bit like her family, so it surprised him a little to compare Iskra to Artemis. That wasn't the only surprise he got, though. Artemis had been part of Chaos' pack? Angelus chuckled and shook his head incredulously. "It seems the world is smaller than I thought." After a moment he explained, "Chaos is my brother. I had no idea she'd been part of his pack." What were the odds, really? The world was small indeed. Ah, better answer her question. "Yeah, I have seen her recently. And to answer your previous question..." Now that he knew she was Artemis' sister he was reluctant to speak freely about her. "She is what brings me here. I'm looking for her."

Taking a half-step back so she could pretend to look him over and do some mental comparisons. Now that he'd said that she could totally see it. "Yeah, I kinda see the family resemblance. Although, if you held some sticks in your mouth I think you might look even more alike," she giggled, barely keeping herself from cackling so hard she toppled over at the mental image of Angelus with two twigs in his face to mimicking his brothers' toothy visage. What a sight that would be!

Sobering, Iskra added, "She seemed to enjoy it there, I almost joined too but didn't get around to it. Of course... I did hear talk that that wasn't all she was interested in back then." Would Art be irritated at her for sharing that? Oh well, she couldn't resist. What a pity she never got a chance to tease her about it in person though. When she first met that sabers toothed alpha and seen him and Art exchanging glances she'd been sure something would come of it.

Brows lifted a few degrees as the man explained it was her sister that brought him here. What was this she'd stumbled into? "I see, well, I'd be more than happy to help you out if I had a clue where she was," Iskra began earnestly before she would then venture, "I hope I'm not prying, you're welcome to decline to answer, but what exactly was this encounter that now has you seeking out Artemis?" she didn't really know what Art would think about her chatting about her, but she had always suspected her sisters wouldn't hesitate to talk about their siblings lives so... who cared what Art thought. Iskra was too curious now. That and this poor man was looking all somber when she showed up, so whatever was eating him had to be pretty interesting right?