A shiver crawled down Kai's spine as the bitter winter wind whipped at his fur with little abandon. Even for a wolf who was built for northern weather, who thrived for the feel of the snow beneath his paws and the cold to seep into his coat, even this wind was a bit too much for him. He would survive, he knew that, but seeking shelter would be to his advantage for the evening. With no sun overhead, there was little relief from the chilly air except to seek shelter - so when he found a crack in the terrain in the base of a mountain, he could've cheered for joy. While he loved adventuring and braving the elements, sometimes being comfortable was equally as enjoyable, and after all the wandering he'd been doing lately he felt like a bit of a break was in order.

He hardly hesitated to slip into the dim light of the cavern, barely illuminated by the glow of the slowly setting sun. It cast a hazy glow over the horizon, and with each moment that passed the light seemed to fade. Luckily his eyes slowly started to adjust to the light as he moved lazily into the unknown. There was little caution to his step, though perhaps it would've been smart to be at least a touch cautious; he was aware of this, but it didn't stop the oversized male from trudging on. As his eyes adjusted to the cavern, he realized it wasn't just any cave.. the stone walls seemed to be carved with an assortment of pictures that he couldn't quite see. Kai squinted as he tried to make some of the designs out, wondering what sort of creature was responsible for them.

© argent 2017

Shelter, if only for a little while. The winds nipped at her fur in a way that made her cringe. She wasn’t used to comfort by any means, but the weather seemed harsher than it normally was – ironic as she had been heading south for quite some time. She found a cranny to shove herself into to shield herself from the harsh winds, figuring that it could be time for her to settle down for a nap. She still found herself cautious. She knew she could sleep but the likelihood of her getting much without the fear of someone more abrasive finding her.

The thoughts she tried to keep to herself were interrupted when she noticed that she already wasn’t alone. The male towered over her and she briefly considered leaving, because maybe he hadn’t seen her yet. She was simply thinking realistically… she couldn’t go back out there and face the wind for some unknown measure of time. “Hello.” She greeted softly as one of her paws scraping nervously at the ground in front of her. Her tail slowly swayed from side to side. “What’re you looking at?” He was squinting at the wall. Was he feeling okay? Perhaps he was ill..?

As much as Kai loved the bitter chill of winter, he liked not freezing to death just as much - a brief respite from the elements wasn't going to kill him, and he reckoned he might even feel a bit better after finding refuge for awhile. It wasn't much of a surprise that someone else had a similar plan in mind, and he slowly turned as he heard the gentle clicking of claws against stone. His ears perked, body stiffening instinctively as his attention turned from the walls to the stranger. He assumed that she, too, was simply seeking shelter.. and further inspection told her that she was rather young. Not too young to be away from her parents, or at least one parent, but.. young, nonetheless.

He wore a friendly enough smile, his tail waving slowly where it lay behind his oversized form. "Greetings!" Kai returned the easy greeting with a slightly more exuberant one, raising an eyebrow as she asked him a question. "I was trying to get a better look at the walls of this place. It seems like someone - or something? who knows - somehow carved designs into the stone." His silver gaze left her again, drifting back to the walls as he squinted at them, still trying to help them adjust to the dim light. "Here, come over this way and take a look!" Kai gestured with his snout to the wall, ushering her off and then pointing his muzzle toward a cluster of carvings of strange shapes.

© argent 2017