Walk | Talk | Think

Yin moved silently through the snowy territory of the Frozen Field, mismatched eyes of foamy ocean green and pale icy blue staring ahead from within a stony, determined scowl. Her body mirrored her expression, the set of her shoulders stern and the lowered quality to her head almost predatory with intent. Her black tail, such a contrast to the pristine white that covered her otherwise, hung relaxed against her legs save for the tip which jumped and twitched to reflect the unrest within her mind and body.

Everything bothered her. She had no idea where her brother had gone. It had taken them so long to finally reunite that she had assumed they would stick together for at least a little bit but Yang had slipped away without her notice, no word or thought spared for his sister that he left behind. Perhaps he had not wanted to find her after all. Perhaps her search for him had been entirely one sided. And there had been no sign of Hansel either. Not that there was any reason for him to stick around, but she had thought there had been some sort of bond of kinship between them - maybe friendship? - that kept him around. And if all of her inexplicable loneliness had not been enough, she had found herself incredibly restless, in need of a purpose but lacking one.

She did not want to think of any of it; not her brother, not Hansel, and certainly not her restlessness leading to lack of temperament control. Wandering the north had been a sort of habit of hers, but in her desperation for a distraction to burn away her mood and energy she had chosen to follow these fields, seeking out the peak of the glaciers that made up the expanses of ice and snow. The path she traveled now was flat but inclined, leading her steadily upward. The chances of finding anyone here were slim, at least in her opinion, which was all the better; she was far too irritable to be of any use for anyone. Ears turned to press moodily against her snowy white head, pressing onward as the incline became slightly steeper. She would just keep walking, keep climbing, and then find something else to conquer until she felt more like herself again.

Proud legs marched steadily on through the blanket of snow. Hyperion had visited this territory many times before, but for reasons unknown he had returned again. Maybe the frozen winds provided an escape from the heat that plagued the rest of the land. The aged male had begun to lose the thickness of his coat lately, but that kind of heat was still unbearable. He released a tired sigh as his heated golden eyes ascended the slope before him. But the brute knew he couldn't complain. He was in very good health, after all. Most males his age were unable to walk with such firm steps. This unimpressive hill would be enough to turn most of them around. But not Hyperion. There was a flame of dignity in his eyes as he decided to continue on. Why not keep climbing? He always believed that giving less than your best was to sacrifice the gift. If he had been blessed with a long, healthy life, should he not climb every mountain? Imagine the things he would see from the top. The view was always better from the top. Of course, this was no mountain. The gentle slope presented no challenge to his old muscles. He lifted his bulky figure easily to the top, where he stopped to rest for a moment. His gaze moved across the treetops, following the jagged edges that sliced into the sky. He settled into the snow and let himself relax, only tensing when he smelled a new scent on the wind. The smell prickled in his nostrils, causing a hard line to form between his eyes. He hadn't been expecting company today. This area was usually so desolate. Yet here she was. Hyperion refocused his hard, amber gaze and stared at the young female that was heading in his direction. The wind was working in his favor - she hadn't noticed him yet. But she would soon. "Lovely day, isn't it, miss?" He rose to his feet and bent his head in respect, as he always did when encountering a female. Meanwhile, his eyes remained locked on the stranger before him. Her snowy white coat blended in with the icy landscape. Hyperion, on the other hand, stood out horribly. His black fur pierced through the monochromic scene. He shook away the thoughts and straightened his posture, smiling like the gentleman he was. "I hadn't expected to meet anyone here. Certainly a pleasant surprise." "My name is Hyperion. Would you care to give me yours?" Walk. "Talk." Think.

Walk | Talk | Think

It became disappointingly apparent that she had miscalculated about this location being empty, though she did not realize until she had reached the peak. Her attention had been focused downward, watching the slick snow with a knit brow as she pressured herself to keep moving with the wind. She was not expecting anyone to greet her when she reached the top, expected only to find a barren, snowy landscape and perhaps a wide view of the territories surrounding her from which to pick the next spot on her journey. It seemed like such a simple request of fate; where had it gone wrong in the translation of making it reality?

Yin was quite literally startled as she heard the voice call out to her, visibly jumping despite her typically immovable facade as her head raised from where it had been watching her feet to set mismatched eyes upon this audibly friendly fellow. An elder. This was unexpected too. Aged wolves seemed to be a rarity around these parts, pups, youths, and middle-aged creatures tending to be the norm, or at least as far as Yin's travels had revealed. Instantly she was conflicted. She knew she was not fit company, especially for someone like this. Despite having been away from him for months, the lonely she-wolf could hear her brother speaking through her. Be patient, Yin. This man deserved your respect. So easy for him to say. Being "nice" just came so easily to him, and he had no aggressive bone in his body to contend with, nor a temper with a short fuse. He was made for these sorts of interactions; Yin was not.

But just having him there inside of her mind, encouraging her as he often had before they had become separated, she knew she could not abandon his teachings altogether. She had made no answer to anything the elder wolf Hyperion had thus far said after she had stopped - still warring with herself about whether it would have been better that she simply leave before she could upset him with her bluntness and easily fouled mood - but managed to put in a little effort even if her answer was short and to the point. "Yin," she greeted, the single syllable low and hard, a bit like her unsmiling expression, "I wasn't expecting anyone to be here...either." She did her best to keep any sense of accusation or passive aggression from inflecting her words, but even to her own ears it sounded present. Oh well. She had not snapped, and in that alone she supposed there was some victory to be claimed, however small it might have been.

Hyperion nodded at the young woman, listening carefully to her answer and the tone with which she delivered it. She sounded frustrated somehow, and her irritation lingered in that last phrase - "I wasn't expecting anyone to be here... either." Was she upset that the elder was here, disrupting the silence and taking away her privacy? Perhaps she wanted to be alone. The old brute could accept that. He'd been alone for most of his life. All at once, a warm smile flooded his face and he nodded at the curt stranger. He wasn't at all offended - sometimes people needed time with their thoughts. He stood and began to step away. "I seem to have bothered you. Forgive me, miss. If you wish for me to leave you here, I will." His voice was sincere in its depths, and the smile remained on his face. "But if you feel the urge to talk about whatever is troubling you, I'm here to listen. Just tell me what you need, my dear." The aged male swayed his tail slightly and tilted his ears down and away - trying to look trustworthy, he supposed. But this female could trust him. She only needed to find the courage to do so. Walk. "Talk."Think.

Walk | Talk | Think

He did not get angry at her tone, nor did he seem entirely off put by it. Rather he seemed to accept it willingly and without question, not even bothering to pester her as a kindly smile split across his muzzle and entered his gaze. Yin could hardly grasp how she ought to react. On one hand, she was irritated. How could he manage to have such patience when she had done nothing so far to earn it, when she herself was constantly on the verge of snapping at someone who invaded her space, asked the wrong question, dared to get in her way? Envy radiated through her in the form of misplaced frustration, dark tail giving an agitated twitch as she willed the elder wolf to show at least a small pull of his brow, a quirk of his lips, to indicate that she had irked him at least a little. This was not fair. He was just like--

Just like Yang. The realization came as quite a shock to the desperate girl, the loneliness she had been doing her best to hold at bay sweeping over her in a sudden wave. He was just like Yang. It was always only ever him who never grew upset or angry with her and her short-fused temperament, the only one to reach toward her in kindness no matter what it was that she did or said. He had been her rock, her saving grace, and he was gone. Just a little she hated this wolf for his likeness to her twin, for making her realize just how much she missed him and needed his compassion and gentleness.

Her expression had darkened, the frown about her face deepening with an unwanted emotional undercurrent. Hyperion was nothing but polite as he assured her he would leave if it would have suited her better, understanding and not the least bit disappointed. She said nothing, not quite trusting herself but also just waiting for him to depart as he seemed to have picked up on from her tone and behavior. But he did not move to depart. Instead he offered her a listening ear, something that had never been offered to her in such a long time. Since I lost Yang.

Did she want to talk about it? No. Burying everything behind her facade of indifference and disdain was so much easier, so much simpler than trying to wade into it. She was certain if she tried she would drown. Her answer came simply, lowly, not quite unfriendly but not overly companionable. "You remind me of my brother." Not even she was aware whether it was meant as a means to begin the conversation offered to her or if she had merely been trying to state a perceived fact. But she had felt the need to tell him. It might not have sounded like much as far as assessments went, but Yin thought very highly of her absent sibling. It was possibly one of the nicest compliments she could have given.

The dark brute noticed the series of emotions that flashed across Yin's face. First she looked a bit surprised, then irritated. This irritation morphed slightly into a look of envy. But as soon as Hyperion could define it, the envy was also gone. Then she looked almost... sad. Something was definitely troubling this young lady, and he wanted to find out what it was. He wanted to help her, if possible. No face should ever look that lonely. He waited patiently as her gaze traveled, eventually returning to him. You remind me of my brother, she stated. She didn't exactly say it, for there was no inflection in her tone. She stated it outright, as if telling him that the sky were blue. Her gaze was firm and unmoving as she listened for his response. Hyperion let out a soft chuckle. He didn't want to offend the girl, of course, but her tone amused him a bit. Though her voice seemed stoical, there was an underlying tone of something else. Maybe this was a compliment. Her expression, after all, suggested that she missed this brother of hers very much. After pausing for a moment to gather his thoughts, Hyperion answered her. "Well, thank you, miss. I'm assuming that's a good thing? I don't know your brother personally, of course, but I'm sure he is a wonderful young man." At this, the old male gave a sure nod. Perhaps saying something kind like this would warm her up to him. He wasn't exactly keen on descending that hill just yet. Walk. "Talk."Think.

Walk | Talk | Think

The old man chuckled, and for once Yin did not feel it was a sound made at her expense. Her temper remained unprovoked as she waited, studying him in his silence until he formed an answer for her, offering thanks to her accidental compliment. She said nothing, reacted with nothing more than a blink while pondering how it was she could have found what she assumed her brother would be like in a few years as opposed to how she ought to find him now. Would he ever show again? Did he know of this stranger who resembled him in manner if not in appearance? Yin supposed they would have gotten along swimmingly from the start, and had she been present she likely would have been staring irritatedly away waiting for the moment they could leave. Funny how she had finally found value in someone when her brother was not there to see it.

"He is," she answered, her tone still more or less flat despite the sentiments the conversation was bringing up. Or was. There was no telling where Yang had gone, what he had gotten into, during their time apart. There was no way for her to know that he was safe let alone alive; so much time had passed since their last run in that he could have been anywhere. Somehow she needed to find him again, that crazy, too-soft twin of hers. She needed to protect him with her guardedness, counter his naive optimism with her protective cynicism. "Better than I'll ever be."

He listened as the white female offered a few curt replies, still more than he had managed to get out of her as of late. But he wasn't about to complain. Hyperion admired the protective shell that this girl held around herself. He wouldn't dare jostle the tight chain she kept around it. For there was only one key to fit that lock, and the elder could tell that key belonged to her beloved sibling. Her brother. The unknown wolf whom she had compared him to. Hyperion suddenly wished that he could meet this young man, to see their similarities for himself. But he'd traveled these lands for years and had never come across either of the two siblings, so the chances of encountering the other were probably very few. But it wouldn't be impossible, either. Lost in his thoughts, the older male blinked in a sort of dazed surprised before returning his amber stare to the girl. "Better? My dear, you are too hard on yourself. I'm finding you to be great company on this fine day." With a slight bow of his dark head, the gentleman smiled. He would be courteous to this female. She was obviously troubled about something. Or perhaps she was always like this... it didn't matter to him. Hyperion wasn't lying when he spoke. She was great company. And he would let her know that. The snow shifted beneath his feet as he moved a bit, pacing along the crest of the hill they were standing on. He let his gaze drift over the trees once more, parting his lips to let his tongue hang out a bit. This climate was certainly a relief to his tired bones. It was like a splash of refreshing water on a hot day - or rather, on an endless number of hot days. This summer had been one of the worst ever, at least in his memory. But it was beginning to cool down now. "May I ask where you are from?" Hyperion wondered idly, returning a piece of his attention to the white maiden. His ears turned to acknowledge her as he spoke. "I hope that question doesn't cross a line for you. I'm simply curious, seeing that I've never met you or your brother in the past." Walk. "Talk."Think.