Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn had ducked inside the shallow cave for just a moment and when the wind picked up she turned to continue only to see the snow falling as a storm began to move in. Large flakes swirled and tumbled in the wind. It stirred the mist that cloaked the feet of the mountains. The maw was made of several peaks, many of them capped in snow and she eyed the twisting paths that lead from her location to destinations unknown. One wrapped around the side of the larger mountain to her left while the other snaked directly ahead to a thinner peak. Jynn danced on her paws for a moment before adjusting the mountain goat she had strapped to her body to help keep her warm. Jynn went left, keeping her body close to the side of the mountain as she navigated along the icy trail.

Life was pretty damn good, Kai had to say. He'd slowly been getting to know his children when he could, grateful for when they were old enough to make more decisions about their future. He was glad that Justice didn't seem inclined to keep them with her - in fact, half the time she seemed glad whenever he could wrestle them out of her sight - and he was just as grateful. He knew his relationships with them would surely blossom in time, and though Kai was hardly a patient man, he found it remarkably easy to be patient when it came to his children. And even though he found himself wanting to spend more and more time with them, he'd decided to make a brief trip to the east.

He'd been born in the east, and though the northern blood ran strong through his veins he wasn't used to the snow as much as some wolves might be. Especially in the east. It was more common in the mountains, but the intensity of the storm that rolled in still caught him off-guard. He'd already begun his ascent when the storm began to grow stronger, occasional gusts of wind ruffling his coat and making the snow fall seemingly sideways. The mist that hung low to the ground made the visibility even worse. Oh well, he'd have to continue on anyway. He was confident enough in his navigation skills that he was sure he could traverse this mountain pass, or find somewhere along the way to hunker down until the storm simmered down. As he continued his climb he caught the faint silhouette of someone up ahead, and he let out a bark of greeting - and warning, sort of - to the stranger. It was hard enough to see where you were going up here, let alone whether or not someone was trying to sneak up on you, and Kai wasn't interested in scaring anyone off the side of a mountain today.

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn moved carefully, almost shuffling along the trail to try and avoid putting weight on her paws in a way that might make her slip on the ice and right off the edge. It was probably stupid to keep going along such a craggy, dangerous path. There were numerous steep drop-offs like the one next to her and while she half-entertained the thought of turning around she wasn't sure she could even do so until the path she was on widened.

At least there were plenty of caves around if she needed to take shelter and if the storm kept intensifying that might be soon. Best to keep an eye out. At that moment she heard a bark behind. She bent her head til it was almost upside down as she tried to make out the figure behind her. "Hey there! Sorry you have to talk to my ass, not sure I can turn around here but it looks like it should widen up here a bit. Name's Jynn!" She was having to speak louder now to make sure she could be heard above the wind as she continued walking forward.

Now this was a storm. Already the storm had begun to brew into something potentially dangerous, though he'd gone too far to turn back now. Heading back down the way he'd come might prove as dangerous as trying to traverse the mountain pass and find somewhere to hide out the remainder of the storm. Either way the journey was quite a dangerous one, fraught with risks, and he was grateful for a little company that was as foolish as he was. Kai wasn't going to complain. Narrowly avoiding a rather slick bend in the path, he regained his composure and loped ahead, trying to gain traction on the rocks that were rapidly becoming more icy as the snow began to stick.

"That's alright, I've seen worse views!" Kai quipped back, voice booming loudly out over the ambient noise all around them. The wind had begun to pick up, amplified by the rocks surrounding them; it wasn't quite what anyone would consider white-out conditions yet, but the storm was certainly ramping up in intensity. "I'm Kai," he returned the greeting, taking a few longer strides to close the distance between them as much as he could without falling to an early grave. Only when he got closer did he realize she was not quite a wolf at all, at least like one he'd ever met. But it didn't matter to him; as independent as he tended to be, he was glad to have company on this trek. "Headed anywhere in particular?" Briefly he cast a glance to the east; the snow that had begun to fall made it hard to see very far but there was a sharp drop-off, fading into nothingness further down.

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn barked out a hearty laugh at the man's comment. "Glad to hear it!" She winked at the man who introduced himself as Kai. "Nice to meet you, I'm Jynn, a real fish out of water in these lands. I don't suppose you're familiar with this area?" She was a jungle dwelling sort so the icy, winter conditions of the jagged mountain range were definitely something else. She kept working forward, eventually stopping as the ledge widened into a flatter area where a few hardy evergreens had managed to take root and grow. She pressed up against one of the trees, grateful for the small shelter against the wind.

Kai asked where she was going and she thought for a moment. "Well, I'm thinking south, maybe down the mountain to get out of this weather. You?"

Kai returned the chuckle gladly, pleased she took his sense of humor in good stride. There really was nothing quite like having a positive outlook on life. It felt even more important to him now, now that he'd had children, to ensure he lived his life to the fullest and laughed all the while. Being serious all the time was just too much work, so why even bother? Her introduction earned another loud laugh from the male. "I've been here before. Not this exact spot, but," he shrugged, not that she could see him from her position a few long strides up ahead. He'd spent a lot of time in the east overall and these mountains were more familiar to him than the ones in the north, just thanks to where he'd been born and the routes in life he'd taken from there.

Though she was unfamiliar with these lands and definitely stuck out climbing this mountain in the midst of a storm, he admired her determination. Not many individuals possessed such a spirit, wolves or otherwise. "Hard to really get a good grasp of where you're going with all this snow though," he admitted. It wasn't quite blizzard conditions yet but Kai had a feeling it was going to get to that point before the day was finished. He leapt forward a few strides, moving with surprising grace across the icy path as he loped a bit closer to her and onto the ledge she'd found herself on. "I'm not sure. I'm just here on a brief little trip. Gotta get back to my kids before much longer," he admitted. It was a strange thing to say, let alone get used to, but he wouldn't change things for the world.

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn glanced back at Kai as he stated that he'd been to the area before, just not this part. "Is this weather uh… typical? Or is it just a winter thing?" She turned her focus swiftly back to the path ahead. It made it really hard to hold a conversation but it was better than he staring back at the man and walking right off a cliff.

Jynn nodded as Kai commented on the snow. It did make it really difficult for one to get a good sense of where they were going. The clouds blocked the sun and diffused he light in such a way that it was difficult to use the sun to tell directions and she had no compass on her. So, it was all going to be instinct and educated guesses, but at least she had company.
"Yea, this is not easy, that's for sure. I did make marks on trees on my way up here but they're so sparse its not working as well as I hoped." She turned along another turn feeling some relief as they were finally facing south, or what she was pretty sure was south. "Aww, kids? How's father hood treating you? And if you want you can join me. I'm hoping to maybe find a cave or something here on the south side. See if the storm let's up."

Was it typical? Hmm.... Kai thought over it for a short moment. "Uh. Sorta? The mountains are always pretty intense in the winter but this season seems a bit worse than any I've faced." The volcano's eruption had caused a similar string of intense weather a few years back, with the ash clouds hanging heavy in the sky for weeks on weeks, but this was different. It was endurable though so Kai wouldn't dwell on it for long. He had no doubts they could find somewhere to hunker down as the storm intensified around them - with or without her, it didn't matter much to him - and that once it passed he could safely make his way down the other side of the mountain. It'd be a trek, but no more difficult than similar journeys he'd taken before.

She admitted she'd made some marks to try to find her way back - but with the trees as sparse as they were up here it didn't seem a reliable method to track the way they'd come. He was distracted by the mention of his kids though, perking up a bit as he strode forward a bit closer to her now that the trail opened up. "It's great! I don't see them all that much - they're being raised by their mom in her pack. Should change once they get older though," he admitted, sounding quite chipper about it. They were their own individuals, each three with unique personalities and interests, and he only wanted them to do whatever was best for them, with little interference. "Finding shelter from the storm sounds like a good idea," Kai admitted, letting her keep her lead as they began their precarious descent down the south side of the mountain.