Dawn lights flickered and faded until the darkness of night took over, painting the sky black. A sea of stars offered small pinpricks of light, offering more than the small sliver of moon that only let off a dull silver glow. It reflected in splinters across the ice that dominated this area, its usual unmarred surface now jagged with the shards of ice that lay scattered across these parts. The surface of the ice sparkled like glass, so clear that the ocean life could be seen hundreds of miles below. The chill of the north was ever present, hence the permafrost that claimed the lake, freezing it in time and space. Fog started to trickle in from the forest beyond, dancing around the edges of the frozen lake as if not even the fog could touch it here. Not predator nor prey seemed to touch this icy landscape, no paw marks touching the snow that lay on the banks. Well, safe for one. A large set of wolf tracks cut through the thick blanket of snow, a straight path cutting right for the lake. His breath clouded before him with every exhale, though it was all too obvious that the thick coated wolf didn't mind the chill. His coat was longer than most, bulky after his life in the northern areas of the island. This was his homelands, or close to it, where he felt more comfortable than in the warmer landscapes that Boreas had to offer. A sigh filtered out of Lyulf's lips, his toes brushing the edges of the iced over lake. He had heard of this place before, devoid of life but so full of wonders. Sliding his paw forward, he watched with wide green eyes as bursts of blue erupted under his pads. It was like each movement came to life, mimicked by the blue lights under him. With wonder, he spread both front legs across the ice. It was a dance between himself and the bio-luminescent plankton that thrived in the frozen wasteland. A deep chuckle left the male as his head tipped back, pure glee on his tan marked face. His toes splayed out as he skated across the smoother part of the lake, avoiding the large sheets of stray ice that blocked his path. The usually withdrawn creature seemed to blossom during this fun task, not minding in the least that he was alone. Pushing on wards, he spread out his strides as he cut towards the center of the lake, closer to a large archway made of ice. It was hard to keep his focus forward, wanting to look forever at the blooms of blue lights before him. The bio-luminescent glow skirted up his limbs, painting his creamy legs with their gentle hue. His lack of direction was about to get the best of him though, as the male dove forward and careened into the archway that he had intended to go and look at. Splinters of ice shot from the structure, shattering like glass as they hit the thicker ice below, brilliant lights making them look like small explosions. Dazed and confused, he shook his head sharply as he fell backwards, a sea of light blossoming as if to cushion his fall. The whole icy structure seemed to rattle, but its immense size and thickness held it together. Lyulf let out a muffled groan as his head roared angrily at him, pulsing as he rested it on his outstretched limbs. Damn it all, he should have been more careful. Ears pinned flat against his skull as his eyes squinted closed, long tail tucking close to his body. Well, at least not many others seemed to be in this area, hopefully he would be alone to suffer in his own stupidity, over the embarrassment of his less than graceful act having been spotted. He couldn't even dare a glance around, his skull still throbbing too much to even open his eyes. "SPEAK!"

Art by Evelyn

Thistle wasn't usually a fan of traveling at night. For one, the north had a nasty habit of becoming blisteringly cold once the sun had set, and even the onset of summer had done little to make it any more bearable. For another, she wasn't about to get jacked up by some creature twice her size just because she couldn't see as well. This place was a pleasant exception in most regards, barring the ever present chill. A thick blanket of snow remained on ground, and the moon was full enough to give the land a gentle glow. Not quite daylight, but illuminated enough for Thistle to feel secure. It also helped that she was hopelessly lost and didn't have much choice in the matter. If she was being honest with herself, which she wasn't, Thistle had no clue about how she might return to the den she'd carved out two nights past. In a landscape as white and monotonous as this one distinguishing landmarks seemed few and far between. When she'd caught sight of the low-lying plain to her northwest, she figured that at the very least it'd make for easy travel while she searched for a new site to bed down for what remained of the night. It wasn't until she was practically at it's edge that she realized it was no frozen plain at all, but instead a frozen lake. Oh well. It would still make for easy travel, so no fur off her tail. She had only walked a few hundred yards when a vague shape appeared ahead, further towards the lake's center. At first Thistle thought it might be some mercurial spirit out for a night of fun, romping around as it was, but it soon became apparent that it was actually a wolf. But what on earth was that strange light emanating from below its paws? Thistle paused and frowned, taken aback by a moment of uncertainty. Maybe it would be better to turn back... It was then that she saw the creature careen headfirst into a pillar of ice before sinking dejectedly to the ground. Thistle grinned. She schooled her features into a mask of concern and hurried forward. She noted the blooms of light that began to appear beneath her own paws as she went, an object for further study at a future date, but pressed on now with a clearer goal in mind. "Hello, there!" She called out, clear and gentle, "Gods, are you alright? Are you hurt?" In her opinion having the opposing party dazed and confused was the perfect way to begin an interaction. Saved her the trouble of manufacturing it at any rate. She locked her paws and skidded the last few lengths to the male's side, much more gracefully than he had comported himself, she thought with an inward grin. Perhaps wandering around in the dark had its perks after all. "Speech"

The throbbing started to dull, the chill from the ice starting to seep into his bones as he lay against it. The ground below him had died down again, no more glowing to make him a literal beacon as he splayed oh so dramatically against the arch. The calm and cold seemed to be aiding in regaining a steady head, focusing on the steady rhythm of his own breathing. Just as he started to feel right in the head again, quite literally, he heard the sound of a gentle voice call towards him. 'Shit,' he thought, scrambling on the slick surface to try to pull himself into a standing position. Of course, the ice refused to help him, leaving him scrambling for a hold, an eruption of blue under his paws only further highlighting his act of grace. His toes spread wide as he curled his dull claws into the ice, finally looking less like a fawn on ice as he maintained an upward stance. Awkwardly, he glanced over his shoulder to fully look at the pale female who stood before him, her long limbs spinning across the frozen lake like she was born on it. His green eyes narrowed slightly in envy, but he quickly cleared his throat to wipe the look off his face. Instead his gaze found her own, a sheepish smile finding its way onto his mauve lips. "No, I'm quite alright, thank you," came his bland reply, tearing his eyes away from the stranger to look instead at the archway before him. It was just his luck, in the one moment that he decided to make an absolute fool of himself, someone happened his way. The lone male preferred to be just that, 'lone, and even more so in the rare moments like this. Hurt, no, but perhaps his pride had a chip taken out of it that his stumble had been seen by the likes of an absolute stranger. The art of conversation wasn't one that he was skilled at, all too obvious by the long pause of silence that followed his answer to the lady at his side. Awkwardly his tail swayed behind him, daring a peek at the pale stranger. What was he supposed to say now? It was late? Gee, the moon is pretty tonight? Lyulf inwardly rolled his eyes, cursing his recluse nature in moments like these. He wasn't just going to walk away from her after she showed obvious concern, no matter how tempting that option may sound. Licking at his suddenly dry lips, Lyulf carefully shuffled his weight across his paws. "At least you seem steadier on your paws," he commenting, scolding himself at how that only recalled to his own dumb acts. Heat rushed to his cheeks at his own stupidity, knowing it was far too late to take back his words now. Well, hopefully she found his dumb comments charming. Either that or she would grow bored and just leave him alone again. Then he could get back to exploring the frozen lake and playing with the bio-luminescent creatures trapped under the ice. He wasn't about to ask for her to join him either, it would just be moment after moment of prolonged silence and stupid remarks. Was that even enough to get the flow of conversation started? Doubts rattled around in his still dully aching skull, anxiety pricking at his chest. Apparently he was good at making himself come across as a real winner, just another reason for him to put in his "better off alone" column. Lyulf made himself a hard wolf to understand, an an even harder one to befriend. It was better off that way, whatever he may think in this instance. His once flat ears pulled forward at half mast, swiveling to see if the lady had left him to his own devices yet, or if she was daring enough to humor him. "SPEAK!"

Art by Evelyn

The graceless male did not seem to be overly jazzed to see her, which suited Thistle just fine. On the inside she found this whole situation deeply amusing, but he didn't need to know that either, now did he? She affected giving him a thorough look-over despite an assurance that he was quite alright. He stood like a freshly born calf, paws splayed out around him as he found his footing. Thistle wondered at first if he'd lied about being alright, but soon realized that no, he was just having one helluva time with all of this. That assumption was compounded by him remarking, "At least you seem steadier on your paws." That did pull a laugh out of her, albeit a small one. "Just helps being light, I think. Less weight to topple me over." Her shoulders lifted in a dainty shrug. "Truth be told I was wandering blind before I saw you in the distance, so to speak." Thistle shifted sideways and again the light flared up beneath her paws. She looked down, as if miffed that the strange paranormal activity of the ice had interrupted her. "I certainly understand the fascination with this place. We're you exploring here for this... mystical ice?" She stamped her foot for emphasis, both pleased and exasperated with the resulting bloom of color. She didn't have any idea why that was a thing, which obviously meant that it was something to be grumpy about. Any knowledge that was not already nestled within her skull was something to be sniffed at. Amusing perhaps, but she wasn't a pup any more. Pretty. But if this was all the region had to offer she'd gladly leave it behind. Barely anything to eat, paltry shelter, treacherous walking, cold. The list went on. Never mind the fact that it was her own poor navigation and survival skills that had led her here. "Anyhow, I'm Thistle. I was just looking for a place to bed down for the night, but I'll leave you to your business if you're sure that you don't need any aid." Not that she'd have been able to offer much more than a shoulder to lean on if he had, and even that would have been tenuously given. It was more for the sport of the thing that she'd even approached this strange male in the first place. "Speech"

He was clearly not used to talking to others, having to blink several times at the female's answer to his statement. Was she calling him fat? His stony look slipped as he batted his lashes, falling quiet for several heartbeats as he studied the lighter coloured wolf. She was of smaller stature that he was, so it was a mere observation, right? While Lyulf was average over all, she was more dainty as she said, proving that her words were just statements of facts over being an actual insult. There wasn't too much time to linger on each word that she said anyways, given that she moved on and spoke about the creatures that burst under their paws with each shift of their weight. Lyulf realized that he still hadn't said a word, clearing his throat as if to prepare to speak again. "Partly," he said casually, shaking out his coat to rid it of shards of ice that had settled there with his fall. "Mostly just aimless wandering I suppose that brought me here. I'd heard of the bio-luminescence creatures before, though..." To say he wasn't good at talking was an understatement, his awkward demeanor bringing a choppy, uneven quip to his words. The striped wolf just wanted to slink away and lick his proverbial wounds at having been caught in his little slip and slide action. "Looks like our reasons for being here aren't too different." Noted the male, recanting her statement of wandering blind, not catching the full meaning of her statement. If he could smack himself in the face, he would have when the female stated her name. Right, shit, that was something that normal wolves did while meeting others. Heat flushed his pale cheeks as he licked at his lips, trying to chase his nerves away. "Erm, right, I'm Lyulf," He stuttered out, cursing inwardly at his tedious attempts at being somewhat normal. Despite the fact that he was used to being on his own, and much preferred it that way, the fact that the female, Thistle, wanted to leave him so soon. Was he truly that strange? When she spoke of finding shelter, he perked up a little bit, looking back towards the shore behind them. "I saw a few burrows on my way out here, if you'd like me to show you where they were." He offered. She had wanted to give him aid if it was needed, he should at least do the polite thing and offer her a paw as well, right? Most of the ones that he had seen were quite small, and given that it was always frozen up here, it made it a lot harder to dig them out. But he was sure that there was at least one that she would be able to squeeze into, perhaps. Shuffling on his paws once more, he cast his gaze away from the slight female, pretending to be fascinated by the blooms of colour below him. "SPEAK!"

Art by Evelyn