Lel was bitter, not completely sure as to what had happened only that he had lost his home. One minute he had been watching his mother fighting a strange woman and the next she had been pushing them away, back towards their home and then when they were all gathered up she had ushered them away from that too. Lel hadn?t wanted to leave, that den had been his whole world for most of his life and while he now knew of the wide world beyond it he was loath to lose that little hole in the ground. Perhaps that was what has prompted him to wander so far away from his family, into the snow: Spite. He had slipped away from his family determined to find his old stomping grounds, they couldn?t keep him away if he wanted to go there! But the boy had gotten lost. And the wind has picked up, blowing snow into his face. A little puppy growl rumbling up from his chest he scanned the horizon for the massive trees that marked his home land, instead his violet gaze fell upon a yawning cave mouth. He changed his direction so as to head towards the cavern. Stepping into the shelter of the caves he shook the snow from his ivory pelt, ink dipped tail swishing slightly. The place was damp but at least he was out of the wind. Speech,

She had been ousted from the ship she took refuge in, now she was searching for another place to escape the blizzard. Her brown fur was rimed in frost, and her breath crystallized around her nose and mouth. She shivered, feeling miserable. This wasn't at all what she had imagined her life as an adventurer would be like.

Finally, shelter appeared again in the form of a cracked in the mountainside, large enough for her to squeeze through. She did so, then shook herself out, sending flecks of ice flying. Arayne sighed, happy to be out of the wind. It was only then that she noticed the cave was already occupied.

At first, she thought he was a fox in it's winter coat, but then she began to pick out the broader muzzle and smaller ears that marked him as a wolf. A cub, no less. Confusion clouded her eyes as she tilted her head. He didn't look old enough to fend for himself. "What are you doing here alone, pup?" she asked him. "Is your family around?"

The cavern was rather boring in reality, but he?d take it?s mundane shelter over the howling wind outside. He shuffled, and breathed out, a puff of white rising from his mouth with each exhale. The cave might have protected him from the wind but it was uncomfortably damp. The sound of paws crunch through the snow reached him, he assumed it was simply his mother or maybe Dempsey to come fetch him back. Well he wasn?t going, he would stay here for as long as it took, but he wanted to go home and would only leave this cavern if they went back. But then he heard the voice, it was not one he recognized and he whirled around, fixing the stranger with his violet gaze. She was an unfamiliar looking woman, covered in browns and russets. He pulled her ears back at her questions. What silly things to ask. ?I?m here cuz I wanna be.? He said, pouting somewhat. Speech,

Arayne paused, surprised at his ill temper, then laughed quietly. "Then please forgive me for wondering what a young pup is doing alone in a blizzard." She lay down at the opposite edge of the cave, giving the moody boy his space. "You just don't look old enough to be adventuring out on your own, that's all." She began licking and chewing at one of her front paws, trying to work out the chunks of ice caught in the fur and pawpads. "Especially in killer weather like this. Did you have a fight with your parents or something?"

She had been a rather obstinate child herself, especially with her royal upbringing. Still, as she had grown up, she had matured, making friends outside the nobility and finding them far more kind than the girls of her own social statues. They were weasels and backstabbers, who'd smile when you walked by and talk behind your back as soon as you were gone.

The strange woman?s laugh made him frown, ears pulling back to give him a rather comical expression. He could make out the sarcasm in her voice and it displeased him. The boy brooded silently, glaring violet daggers at the strange woman. He snorted and turned his nose up. ?I?m old ?nough to do wha?ever I want.? He said proudly. He turned back to watch her pull the frozen ice from her toes. He debated over what to divulge to the woman, he wasn?t quite old enough to understand the intentions of others might always be so pure but the defeat of his mother had dealt a blow to the boy. It may not have been him who lost but it had been his once proud mother. He looked away from the woman, seemingly done with talking. ?I ran away from them? for now.? He muttered finally, albeit stubbornly. Speech,

"If you say so," said Arayne, wresting out a particularly hard piece of ice. She growled quietly. "I hate this weather. It feels like I can't take five steps without turning into a block of ice." Her efforts ceased, however, as the pup confessed that he had run away from his family. It struck a chord in the girl. "I'm sorry to hear that." she said quietly, expression mournful. "What happened?" His parents had to be so worried. Parents... Guilt suddenly crashed down on Arayne, making her cringe. Had she not done the same thing to her own parents by leaving home without telling them? Yes, her parents could be snobs, and yes, they had tried to marry her off, but there was no doubt in her mind that they loved her. "I ran away from my family too," she mumbled, dropping her head. "Speech"

Lel did not like that the woman was doubting him, it might have been obvious to the outside world how young and unready for the world he was but the boy though that he was more than able to look after himself. He showed his displeasure by wrinkling his nose at the woman. He ignored her growled comment, knowing it wasn?t meant at him and deeming it unworthy of his attention. It was only after she commented on his admission that he really paid attention to her again. He didn?t need her sympathy but it did feel good to know that someone seemed to care how unhappy he was. He considered for a moment, cocking his head to the right before finally speaking again. ?My mommy was fighting a strange woman and when she lost she made us leave home!? It was all very unfair to the boy. Why did the strange woman get to keep what his mother had lost? The woman spoke again and he rolled his eyes. If the boy had been capable of any sort of empathy he might have felt sorry for the woman, identified with her maybe but the boy did not seem to have that capacity. Speech,

She noticed his muzzle wrinkling, but thought little of it. He looked big for his age, but he was still a cub, and she didn't exactly feel threatened. When he finally explained his reason for running away, however, realization widened her eyes. "Your mother...was she an Alpha in your pack?" she asked. It made sense when she thought about it. It couldn't be some sort of banishment by a higher-ranked wolf, since Lel claimed he didn't know the challenger. The only theory she found plausible was that it was a duel over a title. She pitied the cub, even as rude as he was. He was too young to understand pack politics, all he would understand was that their home was taken from them. She tried to put herself in the pup's place for a moment, imagining what it would be like for her father to be deposed. She found herself unable to see it happened. Her father was a talented fighter, and he had his guards besides. She realized then just how sheltered a life she had lived."Speech"