The lake was an expanse of ice and very little else -- its behemoth cold wrappings of chill and frost silently blanketed the territory with a hush of white. The morning's light would've peeked through, had the dismal grey clouds of the volcano's wrath had not covered its path. The frozen lake was, in and of itself, almost entirely void of life. Only the glowing plankton that bloomed beneath the lake's forest could be made visible with every stop one took. Not Lae, however. She wandered the land like a silent black phantom, making little tracks and her entire existence shrouded in soft whispers of pawsteps and nary a sound from her obsidian lips. The little yearling, small enough to be mistaken for an older pup (or even a coyote, if they even dared wander these parts), slowly crept about the basin of the lake, watching the expanse with expressionless ruby eyes. She never showed her emotions on her sleeve -- to her, doing such would feel like a threat to her safety and survival. She showed nothing but the hard wrappings of a cold, tough little girl. However, the more seasoned of wolves could notice that her exterior was more of an act than genuine hardness. If she ever caught herself in a spar, she would be destroyed immediately. Her slender form and light boned frame made for easy pickings. Despite this everlasting risk, Lae kept to herself and trudged onwards to a destination unknown. She belonged to nobody, with no family to speak of fondly. Her own blood relatives made it clear she was no welcome, for the stupidest reasons ever. The tiny woman paused to sweep her gaze over the body of froze water and emptiness again, having tired herself out from the endless walking and walking. She shuddered softly as an icy breeze rustled her thin coat, and white puffs of vapor escaped her maw as she did so. There didn't seem to be a single living soul in these parts right now, except herself. "Speech"

the swamplands were behind her, and her only focus was to survive this landscape as of right now. t'was a brutal start to winter; she had no formal 'home' nor 'house' any longer, no stocks of herbs... if she was the idiotic type, she would assume the world was out to get her. only fools believed that. she knew it was a complex agorithm of theories. the eruption was scientific. it could be explained. in the simpliest terms; Huntington could say that it was merely the volcano's time to spew again. her steps led her farther north, away from the islands that littered the coastal regions. there was no direction in mind. she had never been north before now in Boreas. movement caught her eyes as she twisted her body to look upon a small girl roaming near the lake. Huntington was behind her, the wind blowing away from the girl and hiding the white-masked wolf's scent. the thought of traveling away without a sound, leaving the girl be was tempting. she also opted to remain quiet and stand still, wondering how long it'd take to be recognized. eventually, though, Huntington sat. she began licking idly at her frozen paw pads, the warmth from her tongue tingling the skin irritably. she was not built for the winter and it showed in her otherwise thin coat. ignoring the other wolf, for now, the girl began to wash. she was still a bit away from the other anyway. it was not like she was right on top of the other being. "speech"