Sparrow hadn't really frequented the North, but she was PRETTY SURE no one had ever mentioned a giant ice bridge to her. Though, if they had decided not to for safety's sake, she couldn't blame them. She sheer gusts of wind made it difficult for her to move and each step came with abundant effort. She was crouched into herself both for warmth and better traction. Her companions had tapped out a while ago and turned back in favor of the promise of warmer weather. Not Sparrow, though. She was the King of the Pirates and God be damned if she wasn't going to traverse this blue bitch and figure out all its secrets...

If she didn't freeze to death first.

Maybe...

Maybe she should turn back.

Aku had come to the bridge not for glory or for exploration, but out of a desire to leave no stone unturned in his quest for Akna. Being unfamiliar with land of Boreas he had no idea that the bridge was new or that no one knew where it went. As far as he was concerned this was yet another land to check off in his tireless search. So far this one was proving to be a bitter challenge. The wind was blistering in a way that even he, a northern creature born and bred, took umbrage with. Coupled with the terrible temperature was a ceaseless wind hellbent on dragging him all the way back to the beginning.

By the time he decided continuing was a terrible idea Aku was much too far along to consider stopping. He had to be getting close to what lay on the other side, didn't he? Surely he was nearing the end of this frozen hellscape. So it wasn't a sense of challenge that pushed him on. He felt no need to conquer this land or prove to himself that he could do it. No, Aku was committed now because the way back promised to be long and hellish, and he was battered already. He was continuing on in the hopes of reaching a place to rest.

Up ahead was a dark, low lying shape. Thinking it might be something he could wear or shelter near, Aku changed course to intercept it. Every step was difficult and he fell often, bu at last he was close enough to distinguish features. It was another wolf. "Hello!" he yelled to cut through the wind even though they were close. "Do you know where we are? Can you tell me how close we are to the other side?"

Sparrow was pretty convinced she should have turned back a while ago and she was only more validated by the icy spray that splashed over the sharp edges of the ice bridge. As much as her eyes searched the horizon, nothing seemed to change except for the constantly increasing pain her nose and paws were experiencing. Did it always hurt to breathe? Could you always feel your lungs?

Through the howling of the wind, a voice cut through to her, asking where they were and how far to the other side. Sparrow took a second to squint through the icy winds and size up the other. His pretty pale coat did little for the glare off of the ice below him and Sparrow really couldn't get a good read on him. "No clue, but I bet we're more likely to freeze to death before we find out," she called back. "You in?" She went for a typical lolling-tongue smile but very very quickly sucked her tongue back in and clamped her maw shut tightly.

Venturing this far north was stupid and reckless, but she hadn't been able to rest after Drifa's news. Something dark and strange was brewing here and she was determined to skirt the edges of the north and try to suss out more details. Potential escape routes for refugees if the pack collapsed in on itself, ways to infiltrate their lands under cover, anything could be useful. She was lost in thought, staring across the frozen wasteland when she caught a whiff of the a familiar scent. Sparrow? This far north? Well, she did have a taste for wandering and adventure, but this far north without a purpose - and travelling alone - was nearly a suicide mission. Which reminds me... why am I here? Her heart skipped as she thought about the little ones curled up in the warmth of Poem's den and the other pack members that were depending upon her return. Oh well - she'd finish the reconnaissance and be back soon. Before she was even missed.

When she stumbled upon Sparrow she was speaking briefly with a man who managed to appear both sleek and brawny. Theory dipped her head and trod onwards, approaching the pair of them. "Bit far north for you, Sparrow?" She turned to man and greeted him with a smile. "Theory. Pleased - and freezed - to meet you," she said before bending down to nibble a chunk of snow loose from her front paw.