Columns rose miraculously from the frozen lake, forming towers of crystalline ice and archways all across its surface. A maze of frozen water crisscrossed its surface, making for an adventure not too far from home. The crunch of snow underfoot gave way to the near silence of walking on ice. Rough paw pads and thick toe fur meant that the ghost was adept at moving across all the surfaces of the north by now.

The ice lit up beneath her paws as she touched upon it. A soft laugh slid from between her lips, mercury optics closing for a moment. This place still managed to surprise her. Bioluminescent plankton. It was official, the north could offer anything the southern areas could. Shaking her head lightly, she trotted further onto the lake. Memories of her childhood, fuzzy with the passage of time, came floating back. Days spent bounding through the mangrove with her brother, chasing the glow of the plankton through the roots.

She passed through an archway of ice. There were twigs and leaves trapped inside, speaking to the lengthiness of time spent forming it. A steady drip of cool water pattered on the ice, and she tilted her skull heavenward to accept the fresh water onto her tongue.

This. Place. Was. So. COOL.

Okay, so Ashmedai didn't really come to the north much. He had only come a few times to see his cousin- Stori- and his Uncle Laufey. Apparently that pack was gone now too. Well that sucked. That was, like, his second favorite pack. Okay, he had only been to three packs, and obviously Imperium was his favorite and Abaven was his least favorite, but that wasn't the point.

Still, he didn't expect to find this place. It was icy. Like- a LOT of ice. There were large masses of upward ice, reaching towards the sky as if they were treed. Ice trees, yup, that was cool. Some were all bendy and made arcs towards the floor.

As Ashmedai walked, a light caught his eye. The ground? The ground lit up? It was like that place in the deep south! Ashmedai barked at the ice and began clawing at it excitedly. Maybe he could dig some of the little glowing guys up.

Nearby, though Ashmedai didn't notice, another wolf drank some of the cool water. He didn't see her. He didn't care at the moment. He was gonna get the glowing ice.

Frantic activity nearby alerted the femme to another's presence. Damn, she must be getting old, not to notice this. Rounding the side of the arch, she noted that a great blue male was trying to break through the ice. Oh, to be so naive. A few delicate steps closer, and she found herself regarding him a little more closely. Though the northern chill was doing wonders to ease the misery of her heat, there was something to be said for how it heightened her appreciation for a fine looking male.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." She murmured, tail sweeping across her thighs. "I don't think you'd like what would happen if that ice managed to break." If this boy were to fall through, there was a good chance he might not come back up. With all that fur, he'd be pulled under in no time. That would leave Liri to save him, and that would be a herculean task in itself.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. I don't think you'd like what would happen if that ice managed to break."

A voice called out to him. Ashmedai paused, his head sweeping to see a woman. Her scent his her. Heat. She was in heat. Ashmedai knew better than to get involved with that. He knew damn well better than to even talk to all of that. But wasn't it tempting? Ashmedai pulled his tail closer to his own legs. Not now, libido, not today.

"If the ice broke, I could catch the blue guys. I wonder if I brought them to a pond, if they would, like, reproduce and make a whole blue pond.

Okay maybe now wasn't the time to talk about reproducing. Ashmedai coughed, "What brings you all the way up north? You know, a pretty scary pack used to live around this area."

The male stopped for just a moment, and looked up. Part of his face was stained in white, like someone had given up halfway through painting him. His response was decidedly casual, though it became apparent this was the first he'd seen of the plankton.

"They might." She hummed, shrugging her shoulders lightly. The heavy accent made the gesture seem much colder than she had intended it to be. That's how it always went. "In the east, there's a mangrove with waters full of them. Or there was, when I was young." She added, directing her attention in that direction for a moment. There was still a pack there, last she had checked. The boy coughed, a genuinely awkward gesture. What had she done to make him uncomfortable? A pang of worry bloomed in her chest for a moment. He asked why she was here, and brought up the past inhabitants.

"Do you speak of Glaciem? They're the last pack I paid much heed to." She questioned, raising one brow. It occurred to her that she had ignored his initial question. Nice one, Liri. She cleared her throat. "As for why I'm here, my family has a long history of living in cold places."

The woman said the plankton might breed. Her accent was rough, but growing up in Imperium had made him all but immune to mean remarks- intended or not.

"In the east?" Ashemdai repeated. He had never seen them there before. When she was young? Just how old was this woman?

In response to him saying there was a pack in the area, the woman asked if it was Glaciem. "Um- no," Ashmedai answered a little too quickly. He hadn't meant to, but really, this Galciem probably didn't have anything on Yfir. "I meant Yfir. Like everyone there seemed just as tall if not taller than me. Brute strength and mountains and all of that."

Apparently she was here because her family spent time in cold places. Okay, Ash didn't really have a response to that. He nodded, "I didn't really stick to where my family stuck I guess."

He had forgotten. Again.

"By the way, I'm Ashmedai. If you wanna give a name, you can. If not- I dunno, some people are picky about it- it's fine too. You Said your family lived in cold places? Did they run Glaciem? Did they live here?"

At bringing up the eastern lands, the male seemed not to understand. Apparently he hadn't seen them. No matter, it wasn't so different from the ones here. She put the rest of that train of thought aside, dismissing it for now. The man seemed surprised that Glaciem had been brought up, and was quick to dismiss the pack. Isardis had been one cunning man, from what she had heard. Though, he might have been too young to know of his reign. He explained that he meant a pack called Yfir, which was rather unfamiliar to the woman. Apparently she hadn't been paying much attention in her travels. Surely she should have noticed a pack full of giants.

He added that he didn't follow the customs of his own family. She offered a tiny smile, nodding in agreement. She was definitely the oddball of the family, anyways. Svetovid had disappeared, and he hadn't come to their homeland like she had.

"Well, my coat is a little too thick to live in the south." The ghost said. "Besides, there aren't many contenders for territory in the area. I can roam as I please." She added, nodding to the barren tundra that seemed to surround them on all sides. When the male introduced himself, his name seemed to be just as interesting as his coat. Ashmedai. He proceeded to ramble a little, though it didn't bother her much. She had time, and nowhere to be after this. Ashmedai asked about her family, and whether they lived nearby, perhaps running Glaciem.

"Lirika Vera Lunashka is my full name, but you can just call me Lirika." She introduced herself with a dip of her head. Haunches would lower to the ground, tail draped over the ice underfoot. "As for my family, we reside mostly in the area to the northeast of Auster. Quite far away, actually. A man by the name of Isardis ran the Glaciem that I mentioned, I'm not sure if you know of him."

The woman said her coat was too full to live in the south. Then she said there wasn't a bunch of packs here so she roamed. Ashmedai quirked an eyebrow, "What if there was a roaming pack? Just theoretically. Would you travel with a pack?" Ash had never heard of a traveling pack. Was that ever possible?

She gave her full name, Lirika Vera Lunashka. She said her family lived in Auster. Wasn't that... way... waaaay down south? Ashmedai stammered, "The super south Auster? Like the pretty much an island Auster? Maybe I'm thinking of somewhere else, but didn't you say your fur was too thick for south? Were you raised there? I hate to be hot. I'd leave and come north too!"

The woman mentioned the man Isardis as the alpha of the old pack. Ashmedai didn't know him and shrugged. "Never heard of him. It's only ever been Yfir and its alpha Katja up in the north for me."

The man posed an excellent question, one she had yet to consider. A roaming pack. Interesting. Pallid tail would thump gently against the ground a few times, eyes traipsing heavenwards as she thought. Her own pack had been a very deep rooted one, since they had laid claim to the land not too long after the disaster that had struck the old kingdom. So far, she had never even encountered such a thing to leave her pondering it.

"I think I would. Once I got older it would be difficult, but as of now, I think it might be an interesting endeavour." She replied, nodding sagely. It would be interesting, to roam about with the safety of numbers. Perhaps she would struggle less in her day to day. The thought process was interrupted as he questioned further as to her kingdom.

"No, much farther away than that. Our climate was similar to the north, here, so perhaps I should have explained differently. My homeland is far to the east of this continent. I apologise for the miscommunication." The phantom stumbled momentarily over her wording. Perhaps she was already feeling the effects of age, and saying weird things. Like her mad aunt. Gods above, she would not become like that woman. May she die before such a tragedy occurred. When he mentioned that he had never heard of Isardis, she nodded again. She herself had never laid eyes upon the man, she had been too young. Her mother had been the one to mention him, and somehow she became enthralled for an evening. She made her mother tell her all about the northern tyrant.

"I've never met this Katja, but now I hope I do. She sounds like a fine woman, if she can lead such a group." Was about all she had to say about that. The name was interesting, and she vaguely remembered having a cousin who's name was similar. Almost certainly a different wolf.

The woman took time to consider Ashmedai's thought of a traveling pack, eventually deciding that she would, in fact join it. She brought up an interesting topic of elders. For that matter, what would pups do? Pups would have to be planned or... something so they wouldn't hold up the pack. Unless the pack wanted to carry pups or settle down till they could roam too, but then if someone had pups every season they wouldn't be much of a nomadic pack, now would they?

Oh, so she wasn't from the south, but from the east. Ash thought of his travels, but he probably didn't go far east enough, or maybe her pack didn't exist anymore.

Lirika said she would want to meet Katja. Ashmedai's tail wagged in response, "Yeah, I wonder what they're all up to. I had a cousin in that pack too, but I guess either they moved on or the pack dissolved. It seems so strange though..." Ashmedai never understood how such strong packs crumbled. The weaker ones (in Ashmedai's opinion) were still around, so why not those two?

"What ever happened to your home pack?" Ashmedai asked cautiously, trying not to step on any nerves.

Ashmedai seemed enthused that she would want to meet Katja, and it became apparent why. A cousin? Everyone seemed to have family in these lands, and yet Lirika had no clue if her brother still remained. There was no trace of him. He mentioned that it seemed strange that the pack was gone now, and the woman shrugged her dainty shoulders once again.

"Time passes, some things simply do not stand to its tests. Even the strongest will eventually fall." She murmured, watching a lone crow cross the horizon. There had been plenty of groups all over this continent, and they had come and gone just as quickly. "I believe it is our job to pick ourselves up and continue, rather than let time claim us as well." Soft vocals would add, a gentle sigh passing over her lips. That was the truth of it all, that adaptability had to become a second skin. Things moved fast on this continent, faster than many places, for some odd reason. When he asked about the kingdom, a tiny smile would toy with her features.

"Oh, it's still there. The kingdom is nothing especially gargantuan, but it is strong. I was born here, in a pack called Ludicael, and when my mother died and my father left, I decided to explore my heritage. I found distant relatives who still practised the old ways, and spent some time with them. Hence why I wear these." She lifted a paw, a vague gesture to the brilliant cobalt feathers woven into the fur of her chest. No doubt he had noticed them by now, it seemed only right to offer an explanation for them.

The woman's words spoke of her age. She had accepted the flow of life and followed it. Ashmedai wasn't really sure where he fell in that cycle. He guessed he was still fighting to find his place in the flow.

"Pick ourselves up and continue, huh?"

Apparently the kingdom she came from still existed. Lirika explained how she found her heritage, pointing out the feathers on her chest. Ashmedai almost snorted, "Sorry, I'm really sorry- I just, I haven't seen anything like that before and I wondered if maybe you grew them from your chest and I didn't think I should really poke into bird-wolf business."

Ashmedai composed himself, licking his lips nervously. "What do they mean? I have a friend who's whole family is named after birds. Her name is Sparrow. Maybe she'd like something like that? It could remind her of her home and her ancestors that live far away from this region."

Now that Ash thought about it, she got her name from her mother's side of the family and she wasn't on best terms with her mother. Maybe a feather would be a terrible gift.

It seemed apparent that the male was unsure as to how the flow of life was whirling around himself. Part of the woman wanted to assure him it was alright, but she opted to hold her tongue. Not many took well to unsolicited advice, after all. He snorted, amused by the feathers upon her breast. Lirika was unsure how to react to that, brow creasing in confusion. He explained himself, how he wondered if she was a bird-wolf hybrid. A tiny laugh erupted from her jaws, crinkles forming at the corners of her eyes. He continued, explaining that he had a friend named Sparrow who might enjoy the tradition herself.

"Well, if she were to do so, she would need to understand the culture from which she has adopted the tradition. My culture is what others would call a closed religion, in that outsiders cannot simply call themselves one of us." Accented lyrics would explain softly, mercury gaze focused upon his features. "I mean no disrespect in saying this, of course." She added suddenly, wondering if this information would crush his spirits. "I spent quite some time learning the ways of my family, before I was allowed to partake in the ritual. On the first hunt, around the time one reaches sexual maturity, one is to bring the first bird they come across to the pack. The shaman will meld the two spirits together, ensuring another life after this one." The explanation would end simply, and she hoped it hadn't bored the young man.

Ashmedai listened as the woman spoke of the rights and rituals around her feathers. He was pretty sure he had seen someone just wearing them before. Who was that? Was that someone in Abaven? No, maybe not- but it would have fit.

Ashemdai nodded along, trying to absorb everything she was talking about. He wasn't really sure how he felt about religions and gods and rebirth- everyone seemed to have a different theory- but he wasn't just going to dismiss the woman and her thoughts. Instead, he listened carefully. Eventually she stopped and Ashmedai tilted his head, "Are all bird feathers linked to the religion? I'm pretty sure I saw someone wearing some before, but they were obviously not a part of their fur. Also, what if the feathers fall out when you shed? And do the feathers get old and tattered? Can you replace them?"

As usual, Ashmedai was full of questions. When something piqued his interest, he just HAD to get answers.