As it turned out, it was pretty fucking cold in the north. After their … visit with the Armada, they had made the decision to keep going rather than turning back. A decision that Aresenn was beginning to regret. Yeah, the scenery was nice to look at. But this perpetual winter crap wasn’t something that he’d care to entertain for very long.

When they happened upon a large, relatively open expanse, he had to hesitate a moment to process what he was seeing. They looked like little miniature trees poking up out of the ice. How odd. However, upon closer inspection … it seemed that they had fairly large trucks for such short trees, and what kind of tree could root in such thick ice anyhow? Then he understood. The parts of the evergreens that they could see were merely just the tops, and the majority of the tree remained frozen underground. Interesting.

Whatever their reasoning was for traveling farther north, Sephiran was starting to regret it. He had hoped to find something interesting in their journey beyond the market, which hadn’t been what he was expecting. The farther they traveled, the more intense, and bothersome the weather became. It snowed nearly all day and night, and was much colder than what he was used to. Even with his thick coat, it felt like the winter chill seeped all the way into his bones. And he hated it.

So when they were met with another expanse of white that seemed void of life, he considered telling Aresenn to turn back and head south. He didn’t care for the submerged pine trees that poked out from bottomless layers of ice, as it didn’t interest him at all. “This is boring.” He snorted, pivoting away from the pirate boy to gesture him to follow. There was nothing for them to see here.


"Speech"

He wasn’t able to examine the tundra flora for very long before a sudden rush of movement caught his attention. Near the edge of the icy water, a creature emerged. He was vaguely aware of Sephiran complaining in the background … but he didn’t care enough to pay attention to the whining. This semiaquatic beast on the other hand, was fascinating. Not very tall, but huge nonetheless. It looked kind of canine but didn’t have any legs, but fins instead. In its mouth, a fish larger than anything he had ever seen caught. The animal certainly had his attention. “What do you think that thing is?” He asked his traveling companion quietly, as he gestured to the Leopard Seal in the distance. Whatever it was, it looked like it was built more for water than it was for land. If they could just lure it a little further away from the edge of the ice ... he bet they could take it.

But something caught Aresenn’s attention. Sephiran turned back around, bicolored gaze narrowing to peer across the tundra. A large creature, which was hard to examine given their distance, had emerged from the water's edge to sprawl out on the ice. It had something in its mouth, crushing it with its jaws, which caused blood to squirt onto the abyss of white. His nostrils quivered, saliva pooling inside of his mouth. He could smell it even from here.

Aresenn spoke up, asking what he thought the creature was. “It looks like a seal.” He said, moving forward to cover a few feet of the frozen terrain. Back home, his pack had an annual seal hunt, which was an event they had inherited from their grandfather. But, those seals were small, and came from warmer waters. This thing seemed otherworldly compared to what he was used to seeing. “But it's way bigger than any seal I’ve seen.” He mused aloud, mulling over what exactly this thing was. The leopard seal must have noticed them at this point, as it lifted its head from its meal, snorting out a burst of misty breath before taking another bite while looking in their direction. It didn’t seem scared of them at all.

"Speech"

When Sephiran explained that he thought it was some kind of seal, Aresenn simply nodded in acknowledgment. If there were seals around Obsidian Beach, he had never encountered one- and he felt like he would remember such an interesting creature. When his companion pointed out that this particular seal was larger than any of the ones that he had personally encountered … that part interested him even further. “Do you reckon we could take it?” Aresenn asked, while his attention remained fixated on the giant seal looking back at them. It was clear that the animal didn’t perceive the two wolves as a threat. Perhaps that should have been their first hint.

When Aresenn nodded in acknowledgment, Sephiran exchanged a glance with him before moving forward again. The beast kept them in its sight, gnawing on the carcass it had within its jaws, which again alerted him to how dangerous it may be. But that didn’t deter him. And when his companion asked if he thought they could take it down, haughty laughter bellowed from his throat. "Only one way to find out." He said, his lips contorting into a smirk that revealed nearly all of his teeth. Surely this would be just as challenging as fighting a bear or a cougar, which was a feat they had accomplished before. "Just stay clear of the water." He warned, before moving towards their left to try and make a large circle around the beast. "If you fall in..." He wanted to move out of its line of vision, so they could ambush it. "game over." The words rolled off his tongue nonchalantly, but the threat was all too real.

"Speech"

Only one way to find out. That seemed to be the general sentiment behind the majority of their interactions. So why would this one be any different. Aresenn offered a quick nod as he narrowed his eyes to try and examine the seal a little more thoroughly- as much as their distance would allow. The only reassuring conclusion that he came to, was he was fairly confident that they could move faster on land then the seal could drag itself around. But as Sephiran echoed aloud, the seal was the apex predator in the water. Falling in … especially as cold as it was, would be certain death. That was comforting.

He casually followed the Saxe boy out of the seal’s immediate line of sight- slowly drawing nearer to it in an effort to get as close as they could. “What’s the plan?” He asked, near silently. “Or are we just going to make it up as we go along?” To be fair though … that was still a plan. Just not as thorough as he would have liked it to be.

Somehow, despite their impulsivity and lack of a plan, the teenagers were typically successful in their schemes. So, his plan was bland and lacking any real detail. All he conjured up was getting close enough to ambush the thing and avoid falling in the water. Aside from that, he just wanted to rip it to shreds. “Plan?” He huffed under his breath, trying to stay quiet as they crept forward, using larger mounds of snow to conceal them from the leopard seal. "Keep taking chunks until it bleeds out.” He mused, before reiterating his warning. “And avoiding the water at all costs.” He abrutply stopped, lowering himself almost onto his belly to sink down into the snow. Silence settled into the small clearing, before he heard the creature start to shift on the ice. He shot one last glance to Aresenn, giving him the signal that it was time.

He suddenly surged forward, leaping out from behind the mounds of snow and onto the ice. His claws scrapped against it, and he had to really focus on his balance to keep himself upright on the slippery surface.

"Speech"

When asked what their approach would be, he was given a lackluster response. With a silent scoff and a roll of his eyes, he offered an annoyed nod in acknowledgment. “Alright, so make it up as we go along. Got it.” Aresenn mumbled to himself. However, he wasn’t given the opportunity to press for more information before they heard the large beast scratching around on the ice just on the other side of the snow embankment they were sheltering behind. With a final look at Sephiran, he received the impression that it was going to be now or never. And with a final sigh, he followed the Saxe boy up and over the mound that had concealed them from the Leopard Seal’s sight.

The snow made it a little more difficult to move as quickly as he would have liked. The ice on the other side was even more of a challenge. However, there would be no turning back now as he pursued Sephiran the rest of the way to their target. It seemed their soon-to-be victim had noticed the charge and was making its own preparation to defend itself. Orienting to face its attackers with splayed jaws and a barking growl that rumbled deep from within its chest.

As they charged out from their hiding place, the leopard seal twisted its body to face its attackers. It snapped its jaws, barking at them to deliver a clear warning. Attack and die. But the boys wouldn’t be deterred by the danger, even though they were at a serious disadvantage. Their paws were slippery on the ice, and the water’s edge was only a few yards away. Their only hope of success would be if they could keep it out of the water long enough to bleed out.

With Aresenn at his side, Sephiran moved forward, a guttural snarl bellowing from inside his chest. He snapped at the creature, barking and lunging forward before reeling himself back a few feet. He nearly slipped while doing so, but his actions were meant to distract the seal, so Aresenn could make a move. The seal smacked its tail against the ice, which caused a wave of vibration before it slid forward to pursue the Saxe boy.

"Speech"

Aresenn did his best to bow up, hackles raised and teeth curled to try and answer with his own threat. However, he wasn’t able to make a steady foundation like he normally would as his claws raked against the ice in a futile attempt to gain traction.

It seemed that Sephiran was trying to distract the seal, which meant that he was once again going to be tasked with the first part of the disabling. Great. The Praetor boy slowly began to stalk around the seal- snapping at the air between them when it glanced in his direction. However, it was clear that the other yearling was putting forth a more aggressive display. So that was the one it chose to pursue. As it passed him by, lunging after Seph, was when he went to make his move. Scrambling to close the distance, he tried to take a shot at its blubbery shoulder. An attack that was far more difficult to land than he had anticipated. It was surprisingly a challenge to open his mouth wide enough to sink in his teeth- as the seal lacked very little loose skin to take hold of. However, he made enough of an impact for the amphibious predator to feel the attempt and get pissed off. Aresenn pushed off the lumbering mammal- using the momentum to his advantage as he scrambled back in a momentary retreat just as the thing turned on him. Its splayed jaws only inches away from making contact.

Aresenn caught the gist, understanding what Sephiran wanted him to do. While he kept it distracted, the pirate attacked its shoulder, tearing away a chunk of blubber and muscle before retreating back to a safer position. Aresenn took the seal’s attention with him, as the creature used its front flippers to pill itself across the ice after him. And, with it distracted, Sephiran lunged forward to make an attack of his own. His jaws splayed wide and he grabbed behind its flipper, where it connected to its belly. His saber fangs sunk in deep, drawing spurts of blood to the surface that sprayed across his face.

His fangs gave him an advantage in depth, but it also created a problem. He wasn’t able to quickly retract himself as Aresenn had done. The seal twisted with him still attached, lurching its body to throw him across the ice and towards the water’s edge. He slid about a yard, clawing at the ice as he neared the ledge of the ice, stopping himself with only a few feet to spare. That was close.

"Speech"

Now that he had the seal’s full attention, he made more of an effort to put on a display for it. Growling and snapping with his hackles raised and tail arched over his back. It clearly had the advantage of traversing the ice as it glided on its belly, and he was left scrambling on his nails. However, he could see the moment when Sephiran made contact by the twist of pain in its face.

The seal immediately turned on its other assailant at that moment, leaving its opposite side vulnerable and open for attack. Aresenn made his best attempt at a dash forward- sinking his teeth into the side of its blubbery neck. As it discarded Sephiran, it immediately turned back to take a shot at him. There would be no dancing out of the way from this one, but in an effort to keep himself out of reach, he hooked an arm over its back as he tried to pull himself as close to the creature as he could. The seal arched its body to the side at the same time he shoved off the ice with his hind leg for borrowed momentum. He was able to haul himself most of the way up on the seal’s back, but he still felt the connection of teeth on one of his hind legs despite his efforts to control its head through his hold on its neck. He winced in pain, but shook his own head to tear at flesh while fighting to maintain the hold he had managed- all the while trying to land a kick to the creature's face in an effort to free himself before being thrown aside as Sephiran had- or worse taken to the ocean to drown.  

Pulling himself back onto his feet, it took a few moments to regain his balance and a grip on his surroundings. Which happened just in time for him to see the beast grab one of Aresenn’s limbs, while he shook his head to fortify his attack. Sephiran surged forward, haphazardly sliding across the ice, as he closed the distance between himself and the seal. With its attention on Aresenn, he launched off his hind limbs, propelling himself forward with open jaws that closed around the side of its neck. His fangs sank deep, penetrating through blubber, muscle, and into the vessels hidden beneath those layers. He also wrapped his front paws around its neck, his back claws clawing against its slick skin, as he held on for dear life, hoping their attacks would work together to bring it down.

But of course, it wasn't going to go down without a fight. It started to flail wildly, twisting on the ice to try and throw them off. He snarled through the flesh in his mouth, biting down harder, as the seal started to make a dash for the water. But with the amount of blood covering Sephiran's face, it was only a matter of time until the blood loss made it dizzy enough to lose its balance. He just hoped that would happen before it could reach the water.

"Speech"

With one of his hind legs firmly in the seal’s mouth, he snarled in rage around the hold he fought to keep. While the teeth grinding against the tissue of his leg wasn’t pleasant by any means, he was certain it was far better than the alternative where he was ripped away and thrown to the ground to be dealt with. With another desperate attempt to kick it in the face with his free hind leg, he frantically sought out a solution in the back of his mind.

However, in an instant, it was no longer needed. He felt the jarring impact through the seal’s massive frame- what he assumed to be Sephiran taking a similar hold on the opposite side. Out of reflex, his back leg was dropped to try and get at the other assailant. But with the creature being weighed down by two different entities on either side … he could feel the shift from rage to panic. In an uncoordinated attempt to get back to the ocean, it started to try and pull itself towards the edge of the ice though considerably slower with the extra resistance. Now that he was free, he did his best to brace against the seal to make its chance of escape as difficult as he could personally manage, all the while cutting at flesh and muscle with the twist of his jaws to make as big of a mess as he could.

The leopard seal kept writhing and thrashing, trying to make its way to the water. This went on for what felt like an eternity, but in reality, it was only a few minutes. It lost its bearings just before it could slip into the ocean, as it came crashing down onto the ice with enough force to cause it to splinter beneath them. It released a long, sorrowful groan, drawing its last few breaths before it became very still. The usually white ice and snow were now stained red, steam rising from the ground from the heat of the blood. Sephiran stood there for about a minute, trying to catch his breath and retract his teeth.

And, just as he pulled his fangs out of its body, the splintered ice cracked beneath the weight of the seal and its assailants. In a panicked daze, Sephiran pivoted and bolted back towards the land, reaching it with only seconds to spare, as the ground shattered beneath them. The deceased predator fell into the ocean, sinking down into its depths and leaving a stream of red in its wake. Which left them with no prize to claim for their efforts! With his tongue hanging from his gaping jaws, Sephiran panted to catch his breath, looking for Aresenn to see if he had fallen into the ocean or escaped with him.  

-insert dramatic ending xD-

"Speech"

Until its dying breath the seal fought its way back to the ocean. Unfortunately for the seal, it would fall just short. Luckily for himself, he wouldn’t have to try and figure out how to tread water in freezing temperatures. When the seal grew still, so did he and Sephiran. Collecting themselves through heaving breaths, though the opportunity to do so didn’t last for very long. Suddenly the sound of splintering ice cracked between them, and just as soon as he came to the conclusion to thrust himself away from the edge of the ice sheet … the ice broke in a way that the seal slid off into the depths below. A wave of violent annoyance overtook him as he stared, blinking at the spot the seal had been- the smears of blood being the only evidence that anything had happened at all. “What was the FUCKING POINT!?” In the end, their wasted effort, all for nothing.
//END THREAD