It never seemed to get warmer around here, and that suited Rota just fine. The trees seemed shorter this close to the ocean, and the ice glowed green under the midday sun. It was only when she looked closer that she realised, there was grass under there, and the rest of the trunks of the trees. She thought she had seen something similar at home, but there had been box structures down there too. She blew on the ice and polished it with her paw, and wondered how many lives had been lost when this narrow valley flooded and froze.

“Speech”

only dead fish go with the flow

The desire for cold had urged her further north, beyond the pack that had apparently recently set up among the nearby cave system and woods. Her paws took her across the ice, eyes downcast at the submerged trees and grasses below. It was a curious phenomenon, one she had not given too much thought about. But her focus was drawn away by a familiar reddish brown form up ahead. Her paws stilled, ears flicking backwards as she considered silently turning away and pretending she hadn't spotted her cousin. But she'd ignored her for long enough, so long that she now didn't know how to approach or talk to the woman.

Iðunn took careful steps closer, head lowering to shoulder height as she gazed at Róta who was seemingly focused on the ice and what lay beneath in. She inhaled, jaws opening to say something, but no words came to mind. What was there even to say to her cousin? A thousand apologies? That seemed like a good place to start.

She stopped once again multiple wolf lengths away, and simply stared at her. The words just didn't want to come out of her mouth; they felt stuck in her throat. Unsure of how Róta would react to her presence she stood there silently, an unreadable expression on her face even as a war of emotions stirred within her.

Green eyes glanced sideward and caught sight of a familiar form, so close to her own colouring but a few shades lighter. Made sense they would look kinda similar. After all, they were related. The huff that left her lips caused a cloud to form in front of her face, before her attention was diverted to movement between the trees. A small herd of deer were moving between the frozen tree tops, pausing to graze here and there. There was an old doe with a limp, and a couple of younger targets too. Wordlessly, she tipped her head towards the herd with a singular raised brow. It would be a far easier time with two of them.

“Speech”

only dead fish go with the flow

Well at least she wasn't shouting up a storm and getting all in her face with anger. But then again Róta wasn't often quiet and brooding, and Iðunn had a feeling she was bottling up her emotions. She had no idea exactly how her cousin was feeling, but maybe that was for the better for now. Her cousin silently motioned towards a deer herd up ahead, and Iðunn also wordlessly moved forward. Her icy blue eyes examined the ungulates in the distance, eyeing the older doe with a limp and the handful of young ones, likely born this past spring.

She sidled up to Róta, glancing sideways at the younger woman with a mix of emotions on her face; unsureness swirled into regret, before quickly morphing into determination. Maybe by helping her cousin with this task, she could figure out just what was going on in her mind, for she was certainly not about to ask outright. Words meant little without action to back them up, and lately her actions had been quite shitty.

Iðunn stalked forward, paws easily finding grip in the snow from years of practice as she came up on the herd. The wind was in their favour, but with minimal foliage to hide them they couldn't get too close without being spotted. Crouching down in a small bush, she turned to face Róta with two slightly raised brows, silently asking what next? This was her cousins' hunt, after all, and she'd wait for orders to be given before doing anything else.

Hunting 1/3

Róta would never claim to be good at feelings. Not after all she had been through anyway. The fact that her cousin had moved to join her without hesitation was enough of an excuse to exhale, a large amount of the tension leaving her body as her shaggy and unkempt coat shook with the weight of her steps. Idunn's pause reminded her how long it had been since they had hunted together, and she gestured towards the older doe. Not only would her limp slow her down in the snow, but her size put more meat on her bones by default. Sure it would be tougher and grizzlier that one of the younger animals, but the mothers would put up less of a fight too.

Spread paws kept her from falling too far beneath the snow line as the heavyset woman moved forward, taking aim at the haunches of the deer, the herd just now picking up on their presence.

“Speech”

only dead fish go with the flow

-hunting 1/3-