"Speech" Thoughts The sigh of relief as she lifted herself over the small bank could be caught and heard for miles it seemed. The winds were still at a wail, snow that was once falling was now growing parallel to the white colored earth. Freeze coming over the lands was more than noticeable and yet the dove felt as if it had snuck up on her so easily. Taking a moment to stand, the shivering fae pushed herself forward. Lavender gaze remaining keen on the target in the near distance. Her colors would blend and meld with that of the sideways snow, hitting at her right side with such a force, trailing to her left, taking her pelt with it as it was forced against her, the feeling of being pushed aside caused her delicate, slow footsteps to cross over one another, catching her sleek figure and correcting her elegant stance. She righted her posture, allowing her attention to remain on the discarded ship resting on the frozen shores. Snow clouded her view with such force, lavender glowed with every slow blink that would allow them to be open to the world about her. Her mind was at a stand still, whether or not it was frozen she failed to notice, for her limbs accompanied her preoccupied thoughts, footsteps were nothing but numb stabs up her thin, flexible legs. Chest would heave to rid the cold air of her trembling lungs. Her breath pulled from her crystalized nostrils faster than it could be pulled in, and the realization of where she was physically came over her. Her pace quickened, forcing her frozen feet into a trot as she floated over the flaking snow, the holes she left behind quickly disappearing into the abyss of the storm. Shivers fell endlessly down her spine as she shrunk herself, hugging against the white earth to push her narrow frame through a small crack in the hull of the ship. Although still frozen, a sigh of relief came over her and she felt oxygen begin to consume her body and begin the revival of her frigid physique. Silence fell over the bellowing ship, it's song was deep and haunting as the winds fluttered through the cracks and weakened wood. Howls and thunderous calls filling the hull as she stood where she was, trembling bodice working itself back up to it's comfortable temperature. Mustering the strength she allowed her bodice to shake momentarily, bracing herself carefully as she did so, flying snow and water pooled about her in damp radial circle. Lavender optics which were once dim seemed to brighten, focusing her attention on her surroundings in careful alertness.

The cold was not something that the dame could not get used to. She had lived four long years in the prison she had called home and had seen as much snow as the mojave desert, yet she enjoyed the drifting white flakes and the effect that they had on the landscape of the north. The trees were buried in the stuff. The wind was blowing it so that it streaked sideways, looking like the gods were creating some strange horizontal snowfall. Were they trying to tell her that this was not the way she needed to travel? She had listened to their advice thus far and found herself free of the bonds of her family?s monarchy. Perhaps heeding their omens were what served her best, yet she willed herself to ignore them for a moment and wander onward to a distant landmarker.
Her ebony nose stung against the frigid bite of the swirling blizzard, forcing her to avert her eyes and sense her way forward to the strange land marker. What was it? Her senses were numb to her; hazels squinted, ears flat against her skull, nose streaking out across her fur, and paws feeling like solid masses of ice in the snow. Just as it became clear to her that she had made the wrong decision in ignoring the gods, her foot struck solid wood and the cold bite of the blizzard lessened.
The silky dame turned her head towards the thing and caught sight of a nearby ledge. She leaned back onto her hindlegs and sprang, planting all four paws firmly on the wooden deck in a solid landing. Her nose seemed drawn to the floor boards. Someone else was here but...beneath her. But how? As she walked on inspecting the floor, she realised that the thing was hollow. Soon enough the royal girl found a whole in the floor and decided to hop into the dark warm cave. So what if she was not alone? Any shelter was better than facing the storm for another moment, even if she had to fight a monster to claim her own comfort.
As soon as her ebony paws hit the floor of the cave below, Rizo lowered her head and let out a vicious snarl, her banner sweeping out behind her as the fur along her spine rose in a threatening gesture. She spread her legs out in preparation for attack, knowing that her eyes would take a moment to adjust to the blinding darkness. In tones smooth as silk and deep as the rolling waters of the rivers back home, she spoke her first words to the woman who belonged to the scent.
?Speak, stranger. You are in the presence of a queen.? She challenged the dame, unknowing of the lady?s intentions and sure that she would not die today.