As she trotted along at an easy pace to one of the lands near her home, paws crunching on the layer of frost that covered the ground and breath hanging int he air with each exhale, Rhea wondered how soon the first snow would be. If she had to wager, she'd say pretty soon. It was positively freezing out today, so cold she was honestly keeping an eye out for any flakes drifting through the air. Just in case. Wouldn't wanna miss the first snow!

Sometimes she forgot there was a whole world out here to explore and enjoy outside of Abaven. Honestly, Rhea was very much the sort that could never leave home and be perfectly content. Unfortunately she'd come to decide that she needed to leave more if she was going to become a better hunter. You couldn't only look for prey in one place after all. Her mission to practice tracking again was quickly diverted in favor of investigating the lake though. The surface seemed to be entirely frozen solid, and she wondered just how thick the ice actually was.

Settling on the sandy shore, the cautious young woman would stretch out a limb to lightly press on the ice. When it didn't crackle of groan in protest, her pointy ears perked with interest and a hopeful look passed over her dark, fairy-like face. Rhea wasn't as brave as her brothers, so she didn't immediately try to walk on the ice but rather switched to putting both front paws on the ice while remaining on the shore. Man, she really wanted to try sliding across it but she also really did not want to fall in...

Rhyme couldn’t complain about Imperia’s habit of leading him where he needed to go, but he wished she would use her words sometimes. She expected him to follow her with out questioning, and while he wanted to he couldn’t with her form so far away. She was close enough he could see her clearly but not close enough they could speak. He huffed softly to himself as he followed her, eventually leading the pair of them out of Abaven’s claimed territory.

He was led a bit of a ways away before he realized they were following a member of the pack. He caught her scent but he couldn’t remember a name or what she looked like. Imperia continued on and Rhyme dutifully followed until they came upon the lake. His bright dual colored gaze would finally rest upon the young she wolf. He still didn’t remember a name, but he thought she was one of his second cousins. She also looked like she was about to fall into the ice.

Growing up in Imperium he was well versed in the changing of the seasons, and the cold it eventually brought. He knew now that he was older that ice was dangerous until the weather was consistently cold, and it was not that yet. Worried about the girl’s well being he made his approach, not quietly so he didn’t startle her further out onto the ice. "I don’t think it has been cold enough for ice skating yet." He offered, not as a chastisement but as an observation.

""

A voice suddenly rang out from close by and Rhea jumped, as per usual, but seeing as her front legs were on ice that caused them both to slip out from under her simultaneously. The girl landed flat on her stomach, legs everywhere and chin hurting a bit from landing on the edge of the ice. Oof, not a good first action when someone was coming over to talk to her. She still caught what he said but had to take a good long moment to really appreciate how awkward that was.

Lifting herself up, Rhea stepped back onto the shore carefully and shook out her fur before turning and smiling at the man she now recognized and gave him a few wags of her tail to indicate she was in fact perfectly okay despite her clumsiness. "Have you ever... ice skated?" she asked, testing the word on her tongue and logging it for later use. "It sounds fun, but I think it might be a little intimidating to be out on ice like that. Especially in the middle." Honestly she was probably just lucky that she hadn't fallen through when she fell on her face just then.

Imperia continued her absent minded flight, now that Rhyme had found his quarry. She was forgotten as Rhyme offered the girl a warning, and was greeted with a faceplant. His heart jumped as he readied himself to pull her from the icy water within. However. The ice didn’t crash, and she was just awarded with some mild bruising at the worst. He doubted she even really got wet. He tried not to chuckle at her as he paced closer.

She returned to the land and gave him a smile, obviously recognizing him slightly. She questioned his name for the activity, rolling in over her tongue as she finally decided how fun it might be. He managed a nod, he’d never really been able to enjoy a session himself. Rhyme had never done it while in Imperium, and he’d definitely not while a slave. He’d seen pups do it though, and they always laughed hysterically. "It indeed looks fun, and dangerous. Until winter is fully upon us it wouldn't be safe."He told her,validating her fears. "I’d like to try it when it does fully freeze though." Rhyme added, hoping to bolster her courage.

""

Straightening herself up a bit, she shuffled closer to him for easier conversation and to get a little further from the water. Trying not to focus on how warm her cheeks were after that embarrassing fall, she did find some hope in Rhyme's admission that he would like to try this ice skating too when winter was fully set in. "If you do, we should see who can skate across the fastest," she said with a cheery smile. Rhea wasn't really all that competitive, but she liked making games of things. Maybe her brothers would enjoy ice skating?

"Do you know other fun things to do in the winter?" Rhea asked, suddenly curious what other activities she might be able to enjoy in the season of snow.