I'd rather be dead than live a lie
BURN THE WHITE FLAG!

The cloud cover remained as the duo travelled farther north into the Frozen Field. They had managed to avoid the rain but as Natha looked out over the icy landscape it began to snow. It was soft, gentle snow that floated lazily down to earth. The snow was a reminder that winter would be along soon for snow in the autumn wasn't terribly rare. Their window for exploration ahead of winter's snow storms was narrowing. "Well, I'm glad my winter coat came in early now. It doesn't look like its going to snow too hard."

A vast array of silvery glaciers stretched out ahead of them and Natha was anxious to try climbing one though as she approached the base of a particularly large one she caught sight of a cave. "I'd like to try and climb one of the glaciers but take a look in here, Lyulf!" She went a short ways into the cave, marveling at the smooth, glass-like walls.

He yawned as they moved more into the heart of the North, although more out of being relaxed than actual boredom. Never before would he have thought that he would be in the companion of a large cat, let alone be enjoying her company this much. "Usually not in the fall, but it's hard to tell so far North," He commented lightly, hardly feeling the small flecks of snow as they fell into his mauve coat. It was easy to fall into step behind her, letting his thoughts wander as he trailed after her. It was far easier to be in her company than anyone he had met in quite some time, counting his lucky stars that he had met her on that frozen lake. Smiling seemed more natural now, a hint of one crossing his lips as he saw the mass of glaciers ahead of them. He had seen little ones of these before, but nothing compared to the vastness of the ones that stretched before them. Lyulf couldn't help but let out a hum of wonder, head tilting to one side as he looked all the way up. Narrowing his emerald eyes, he could spot some tracks that led up the side of the ice mountains, seemingly by the constant steps of animals. It was a risk, to climb so high, but curiosity burned in his chest. Given just how high they stood, he had a feeling that it would be quite the vantage point on top, giving them a good view of all the lands around them. Natha's voice pulled him out of his thoughts, mirroring his own thoughts about wishing to climb up. He was a touch nervous though, even though he had lived quite literally on a mountain, rocks were much easier to climb than ice and snow. But he shook that away, scattering flakes of snow off his back as he trotted to catch up to her. She had found a cave at the base of one of the glacier, an almost blue glow coming out of the cavern. His eyes grew wide as he stepped forward, looking at the precise cuts in the ice. They were so smooth that they looked more like glass than anything else, seeming like they could see on for miles. Lyulf brushed his coat up against the smooth walls, twisting towards the left as something caught his eye. Deep in the ice, something sat, frozen in time. Rushing onward, he pressed his nose up against the ice, squinting as he tried to focus on the distorted shape before him. "Is that a fish?" He called in wonder, not daring to take his eyes off of it. It looked fully formed, like if he turned away, it was going to dart back off into the water. He knew it wasn't possible, but it looked so... real. Well, it was real, but alive!

I'd rather be dead than live a lie
BURN THE WHITE FLAG!

Natha marveled at the strangeness of seeing walls made of ice. Were they always frozen? Did they melt in the heat of the summer and if so what held the cave up? Was there stone beneath the icy walls? It was hard to tell without the sun to illuminate them. Natha followed after Lyulf as he stepped into the cave, grateful for his company. At the mention of the word fish she immediately trotted over. Golden eyes squinted as she cocked her head and she gasped.

"Hey! You're right, that does look like a fish. I wonder how it got in there. This cave had to have frozen really suddenly to trap it like that." She stood up on her hind legs, paws against the ice as she tried to get a closer look. The cave was really fascinating but she didn't feel like going to far into it. The lack of solid stone walls made her wary. "Want to try climbing to the top of this glacier and checking out the view?"

Natha ran over, standing upright to peek at the fish he had found suspended in the ice. His tail wagged a few times as he twisted and turned, trying to get more clear shot of the creature. It was so strange to see it there in front of him, all intact like it had just been yesterday. But Lyulf had seen ice like this before, and it probably froze in here years and years ago. After all, it didn't look like any fish that he knew. Humming thoughtfully, he was about to turn to see if he could spot anything else, when Natha suggested moving on to climb up top. His ears flickered back slightly, but after a moment he nodded. He had come to realize that a quick change in area often collated with the feline's discomfort, and he wasn't about to push it. He could always come back later and explore the caves on his own, after this was all said and done. "Lead the way! You're probably much better at finding a sure footed path than I am," He commented lightly, that half of a smile returning to his lips. If he was the one to lead, he had no doubt in his mind that he would take one wrong turn and land them both back on the snowy ground, most likely in some matter of disarray. Shivering at the thought, he left the cave with a measured gait, taking one glance back at the frozen fish. As he left the enclosed ice walls, he peeked up at the sky, feeling the flakes drift back down upon his face. A more tender grin took over his features, head tilting to the side as he spun to look for Natha. It was going to be quite the climb, but he just knew that it would be well worth it.

I'd rather be dead than live a lie
BURN THE WHITE FLAG!

Natha grinned at Lyulf. "You know it! Just walk behind me, I'll pick a good place for wolf paws." She slipped out of the cave and eyed the glacier for a moment before finding a good place to start. She pulled herself up and began the climb. She tried to stick to areas of bare rock but it was impossible to avoid snow and ice altogether. There were a few areas where it seemed like there was a natural pathway up the glacier. She moved to follow the pathway. "You doing alright, Lyulf? If it gets too hard and you want to turn back let me know." Natha continued working her way up, her large paws helping to stabilize her.

Soon Natha found her way to the top. Peering out over the horizon she turned back toward her friend. "Hey, Lyulf, you've got to see this view!" Mounds and mounds of glaciers stretched out before her. It truly was a frozen field. She wasn't quite sure what had caused them all to form this way but it was really neat to see.

She made it look so easy, the way her body seemed to effortlessly glide up the side of the glacier. He was thankful that it was she who had picked the path, his more narrow paws slipping a few times. The familiar bite of ice against his pads brought him an odd melancholy feeling, a faint smile touching his lips as he remembered his mother teaching him to climb. If only she could see him now, hanging out with a lynx, climbing and exploring like they had always loved to do. Natha called down to him, asking if he was doing okay. He nodded, but then remembered that she couldn't exactly see that right now. "Doing okay, thank you! You seemed to pick a good path," he commented, seeing the way that it cut through the glacier like many paws before them had worn it down. Lyulf puffed as he picked up the pace, having lagged behind as memories consumed him. Already he could feel the burn in his legs, not able to help the small chuckle that rumbled in his throat. "I used to be able to do this a lot easier, looks like I'm out of shape," came his soft words, hoisting himself forward with a powerful kick off his back legs. Natha beat him to the ledge, leaving him to scramble up the rest of the path to catch up to her. As he pulled himself onto the lip of the mound of ice, he gasped as the view expanded before him. He could see for miles up here! There was a sea of glaciers below them, almost looking like the ocean itself had frozen over. The sharp blue of the ice caves cut through the dim light of the morning, his eyes wide as he tried to take it all in. "This is incredible..." He breathed, more taken aback by what he was looking at than tired from the climb. It was one of the most amazing things that he had ever seen, another laugh slipping free. "You could stand up here for hours and not see the same thing twice!" Commented the wolf, turning to Natha with a look of wonderment on his features. Sure, he had been high up before, having lived on mountains most of his life. But there, the higher you climbed, the less you were able to see below. The twist of fog and clouds usually blocked the view from below, but this was totally clear. "Wow... thank you for taking me up here..."

I'd rather be dead than live a lie
BURN THE WHITE FLAG!

It was cold, the wind washing over her but even so she felt like she could look out at the vast landscape for ever. It was strange how small she felt. Looking out over a vast field of massive glaciers made her realize what a small part of the world she was. She grinned at Lyulf. "No problem! I'm glad my curiosity paid off positively." Speaking of curiosity she was ready to move on to the next land. "We could easily spend weeks here and not explore everything there is to see, but I think I'm ready to visit the next land." Her head turned and she peered down the path they'd just climbed up, a soft sigh escaping her lips. "Now the climb down…" Natha started working her way slowly down, moving more slowly than she had going up. It took some doing for her to go in reverse but the excitement of exploring another breath-taking land kept her going.

A smile was shared between the two unlikely friends, Lyulf's tail wagging in glee. This whole adventure was so unexpected. Even though he had very much been planning to explore all of the North on his own, this was even better than that. Not only did Natha help him get to places that he might have ignored by himself, but she kept him from spending too long in one area. He missed the constant sight of a home, and going from place to place would make him pause, sadness welling in his chest as he thought of his own homeland. But now, she was dragging him away before the more somber emotions took over, allowing him to only rest on the positive. Even now, the feline pulled him from his trace, away from the view and back down the way that they had come. On his own, he would have spent days here, searching the tunnels and walking along the top of the glaciers to see all that he could. But now, here she was, leading the way down. He couldn't help but laugh softly, falling into very careful steps behind her. The decent down would be even harder than the way up, but he trusted Natha to lead him down the right path. An odd thing, this trust was, after he swore that he wouldn't let anyone else in his life after what happened in his past. There was just something so... genuine about this lynx, something that made it easy to be with. Lyulf would never be able to display his true appreciation for Natha, there was no way to express it that seemed good enough. And so he followed her, hoping that his eagerness to stay at her side would be a token enough, for her to realize just how wonderful this all was. -exit, end thread-