The weather had only gotten worse since spring came which was both shocking and troubling. The huge drifts of snow and ice along with the plummeting temperatures had driven her out of the den she usually stayed in among the pines and forced her to take up shelter in the ship with some of the other pack members. At least there was a good barrier from the wind in there and there was far less chance of her getting buried in the snow. After a couple of mornings of waking up to the entrance of her den being covered up with snow it became very clear that staying there wouldn't be safe until the weather figured itself out.

She waited till the sun was high in the sky so that it was the warmest it would be during the day - even though that was still well below freezing - before she ventured out to do anything. The frigid conditions were harsh on her lungs that were already not their strongest and climbing through the snow to get to her den was tiring on its own, especially when she was still working on building up her stamina. But she had to make the trip at least once so that she could retrieve the herbs and supplies stored within. She'd move them to the ship so at least they'd be easy to access in the mean time since going out and getting fresh herbs was a laughable idea right now.

By the time she actually got to her den on the other side of the territory from the S.S. Antiox, she was completely out of breath and her lungs were aching angrily. She sighed heavily and her ears fell back with disappointment when she realized that all she could see of her den was the very top of the arch that made the top of the entrance. Everything else was completely buried. She flopped down onto her haunches in the snow dejectedly and tried to let herself rest for a bit before she started digging herself a tunnel to get inside.

"Chrystelle"

He was making his rounds at the border, though he couldn't stay out for too long. The temperatures were stubbornly clinging to well below freezing, and he was sure the pack as a whole was struggling just as well. He needed to figure out some sort of plan, at least to keep spirits up during these bleak times. While he wasn't the favorite in the pack, he didn't care. He was still their leader, and despite what happened the season prior, he wasn't the monster everyone seemed to think he was. At least, he didn't believe he was... For now, he'd have to go around and let everyone know to take shelter from the cold in the ship if they hadn't already, and to den there until the temperatures and weather got better. But first...he wanted to ensure nobody was having any trouble. Yurei especially. He hated how she seemed so fearful of him, but...he only had himself to blame for that. As he moved slowly through the pines, he spotted a monochromatic form sitting in front of a big lump of snow. She looked troubled, and though he hadn't really gotten to know the kids of the elder woman that had passed away, he figured now was a good a time as any. He approached, offering a soft woof to announce himself. "Ignis"||"Blödhgarm"

Chrystelle was just about to pick herself up so that she could begin the process of digging away the snow enough to get into her den when she heard the crunch of paws approaching her. Her head popped up with surprise since she honestly hadn't expected to see anyone else out here, or at least no one that would bother to stop if they saw her, but the woof to get her attention pulled her amber eyes up to look at the bright red form of their alpha. She quickly got back to her paws as she turned to face him, giving him a polite dip of her head as she spoke. "Oh! Hello, Ignis," she said in greeting, offering him a smile and trying to ignore the ache that had set in her legs in the brief period that she had been sitting in the snow. She had mostly caught her breath, though the cold still felt painful on her lungs.

She didn't really like asking for help in general, especially not from the Rex of the pack, but since no one else was around and she was becoming increasingly doubtful about her ability to dig out the entrance to the den on her own, she didn't feel like she had much choice. "Um... Could I... possibly ask a favor of you?" she asked, giving him an apologetic glance. "I'm trying to get into my den to get the rest of my herbs... I moved into the ship because of the cold, but I thought it'd only be for a little bit so I didn't move all of my supplies. Could you help me dig it out?"

"Chrystelle"

"Oh! Hello, Ignis," She got up as she greeted him, and for a moment, he hoped he hadn't just disturbed her. "Hello. Please, you don't have to get up on my account," If she wanted to sit, that was fine. Though he was alpha now, and although he had put himself in this position, he didn't care a whole lot for formalities nor would he really get used to them any time soon. "Um... Could I... possibly ask a favor of you?" His ears perked as he stopped near her, though not too close as to invade her personal space. His head tilted, wondering what she might ask of him. "I'm trying to get into my den to get the rest of my herbs... I moved into the ship because of the cold, but I thought it'd only be for a little bit so I didn't move all of my supplies. Could you help me dig it out?" He turned to look at the mound of snow that she had been sitting in front of. Aaahh, so that was it? "Of course I can," He offered, his voice taking on a more friendly tone. He hoped at some point, he could form better relationships with the pack members...maybe if they knew the real him and not...well...what they'd seen the day he took over, then maybe they wouldn't hate him so much. "You're Chrystelle, right? I'm happy to help. Just tell me exactly where you want me to dig, I don't want to ruin your den or any of your herbs or anything," He said politely, even offering a small grin. Oddly enough, this felt...awkward. But then again, he brought it on himself. He didn't know what they all thought of him anymore, other than resentment for his taking over of the pack. With the exception of Kirsi, he felt like everyone else hated his guts. "Ignis"||"Blödhgarm"

"Oh, no, it's okay. I needed to get up anyway," she insisted with a soft chuckle when he told her that she didn't need to get up on his account. Maybe it was just her own perception of what she should be like around their leader and alpha, but she always kind of assumed that she needed to be extra polite and courteous around him - though she was fairly kind and polite to pretty much everyone she came across. It was just part of who she was. When he agreed to help her with getting back into her den she sighed with relief, a more genuine smile coming to her face. It would be far easier to just have him help her since he was already here instead of having to go all the way back to the ship and try to find one of her siblings to help her instead. If she could just get the remainder of her herbs out of her den then she'd be in much better shape in setting up her new room more permanently within the ship. She didn't know if she'd move back to her den once this weather finally began to turn around, but only time would tell. Perhaps it would just be easier for her to stay closer to the rest of the pack from now on.

She nodded in agreement when he asked her name and returned his grin when he mentioned telling him where to dig so that he didn't ruin anything in the process. "Yes, I'm Chrystelle. You can call me Chrys if you'd like." She hadn't necessarily felt afraid of him the way some others seemed to after he took the pack from Winter, though she had been uncertain of him purely just from not knowing much about him. It was interesting to see the difference between how he was now and how he had been at the challenge. Right now at least he seemed very sweet if not just slightly awkward, but it was almost endearing in a way.

She came up beside him to point out where the entrance of the den was, drawing a bit of a semi circle in the snow with her paw from where just the top of the domed roof peeked out form under the snow to where the snow drift seemed to start. "Right around here should do it. Even if you just open it up enough for me to slip in that would be wonderful." She looked back at him with another apologetic glance, her ears flicking uncertainly. "I'm sorry you have to help me with this. I was just getting over a really severe illness before this horrible winter kicked up and the cold hasn't been helping things."

"Chrystelle"

"Talk" Walk "Yes, I'm Chrystelle. You can call me Chrys if you'd like." He nodded, a small grin tugging at the corner of his lips. "Okay...Chrys," Chrystelle was a pretty name in itself, but he wasn't about to admit that. She approached him, standing beside him as she aimed to point out and draw where the entrance to her den was. Though when she looked at him to apologize, he couldn't help but click his tongue. "Don't apologize to me, please. It's no trouble at all and...it's the least I can do for you. This season hasn't been easy on anyone, but if you ever need something, don't hesitate to come to me." He offered an encouraging smile, And not just as an alpha but...a friend... He thought to himself. "Well, let's get started!" He approached the mound of snow and rose to place his front paws on where the mouth of the den should be and started digging. Powerful limbs pulled at the snow, tearing it away as he worked. Steadily, the tightly packed snow had begun to fall away, and he could see the inside of the den while he was standing. He continued to work through and didn't stop until he had completely cleared out all of the snow he could from her den. When he finished several minutes later, he was panting a bit hard from the effort, but it didn't bother him any. "There! Access granted," He joked as he stepped back so she could do what she needed to.

She smiled appreciatively when he insisted that she not apologize and to never hesitate to come to him for anything. She almost hated that her first ever impression of him had been at the challenge for the pack. That had been a tough day for a lot of them and without really understanding him or his motives it had felt more straining than it needed to be. Her concerns never really lied with who lead the pack or how they did it. Her only concern was with if she had a place to live and a place to keep her siblings close. As long as she had those then she could overlook most things - though it did help to see him like this and know that he was also kind and helpful when needed.

She stood back and let him work, watching as he made quick work of the task that probably would have taken her hours. Even though he was panting a bit when he was done she knew that she probably wouldn't have been able to get up by the time she was done and the fact that he had done this for her meant so much. She grinned happily when he stepped back, revealing the cleared away path allowing for free access into the den. "Oh, thank you!" she said with a soft giggle. It made her wish that she wasn't so frail, but there was nothing she could do about it now. All she could do was deal with it and continue trying to be stronger. She paused a moment and added, "Don't let me keep you from whatever you were doing, but if you're not busy we could walk back to the ship together if you wanted. I shouldn't be more than a second gathering all this stuff!" She slipped inside either way, opening up a small bag that had been left behind and tossing all of her herbs and supplies inside. There wasn't a ton of things, but it was still enough to fill up the small bag and it was packed to the brim by the time she slipped it over her and walked back outside.

"Coming?" she asked with a smile, looking up at him with a gentle wag of her tail.

"Chrystelle"