Lumi found herself in a tumultuous terrain where the jagged field stretched out unevenly. Some of the glaciers had pathways carved out towards their peaks, but none seemed very promising. In the midmorning sun, their edges glittered and the clear parts of ice were akin to windows exploring the depths of a world long passed. As Luminosa peered through the crystalline structures, she wondered what it would be like at the top, how crisp and fresh the air must be and how inviting the direct sun must feel on her north-worn hide. If she could manage to find a viable pathway, she may get to experience it just yet.

Arató had wandered north, aimlessly following the cold that best suited his plush attire. He wandered until sheets of ice crept over top of the dirt, until the presence of other life seemed to ebb away. It was a marvel of beauty where he found himself now. Glaciers rose around him, tossing the morning light around the frozen glass and off of the fiery twines of his pelt. His hackles stood on end with sheer excitement, tail swaying behind him as he moved deeper into the forest of ice. His muzzle tipped into the air, breathing in the bitter cleanliness of the air and the traces of life that braved this chilled world. He recognized one scent in particular, strong and warm and close. Deer. He knew the creatures to be prey for some; although, they were often too big and too nimble for him to hunt by himself. While he had scavenged their flesh on occasion, they were not high on his hit list. He wondered what one might be doing in such a desolate landscape and picked up a trot in their direction.

As he drew closer to the deer, he noted a second scent which was far less familiar to him. He akinned it closest to a raccoon, or perhaps even an opossum. Yet it was something entirely different from these things. His curiosity peaked even further and he broke into a run, a whine escaping him. He finally caught a glimpse of the cervid just ahead of him and barked in greeting, bounding towards the creature with perked ears and a strange hum of eagerness coursing from his chest.

The jagged expanse glittered with the sun as Lumi continued to search for a path upwards. From somewhere in the distance, a bark. Legs locked, eyes scanning quickly. A barking wolf was likely not a hunting one, there was no need to fear. Nostrils flared and picked up only one scent. A lone wolf. Golden eyes flitted from glacier to glacier until the autumnal wolf flashed between them. Lumi turned to face him head on, her tail wagging in a way her Mumma's often did. He bounded towards her with the eagerness of a pup, his messy coat not quite hiding his young age from the doe. She looked at him warmly as he approached, taking a few steps over the gilded ice towards the visitor. "What brings you bounding in my direction, dear?"

Claws dug into the ice beneath them as the boy skittered to a stop in front of the doe. She turned to face him, pale and nearly glowing. A delicate bow was strewn over the side of her face. Arató thought she was unlike any deer he had ever seen before. If he wasn't mistaken, she even wagged her tail at him; a gesture which he quickly returned. Then she spook to him. His eyes widened with glee and his body tremored with it. "I hear the voice of the hooved," he murmured giddily, "Ah, I cannot say I have ever conversed with your kind, maiden of light". He shook himself, letting the cold air siphon through his coat as bits of dirt and bark fell to the ground from the forest he had visited not long before.

"I am here for the adventure of it, for the stories I have yet to hear. You must be looking for stories yourself, to be out wandering where no forage grows," he answered her. Looking around them, he caught a glimpse through the sun fractured wall of a glacier at an unmistakable set of bones. He cocked his head at the sight, his voice growing wistful and more of a humming than actual speech, "the stories they'd tell, I wonder. I wonder. The stories of the skeletons never buried". Antsy paws shuffled atop the ice and silver eyes turned back to the peculiar deer. "Does the maiden of light wish for company to write her stories?"

The wolf wagged at her, then spoke in a kind of silly way, which delighted Lumi. He called her maiden of light and shook bits of wood and dirt from his coat, speckling the pristine icy ground below him. "I have conversed with many of your kind, page of the forest," Lumi offered with a light smile and flit of her tail. The boy continued, saying he was looking for stories, saying she must too since forage didn't grow here. Luminosa chuckled lightly, "So I've been told," she replied, thinking back to the stag she met not too long ago.

The glaciers cast warm illuminations of the sun, the light becoming especially intense around their corners. The faint doe had to squint her eyes as she looked for a clear pathway.

The autumnal wolf surveyed the ice, looking at some of the bones in the ice and asking about the stories the unburied might ask. "Wouldn't being encased in ice be considered buried enough?" Her question was genuine and lighthearted. As she looked around, the male asked if she would like company. "That would be delightful," she replied, giving her tail another short wag. "I'm trying to find one of these to climb..."

The vibrant deer claimed to have spoken with many a wolf before, and this pleased and confused Arató – both in equal measure. She defied the unspoken laws of nature which he thought to have been true. “Law breaker, I see. How wonderfully rules are bent”. He giggled to himself, rather pleased with the doe and the title she gave him, ‘page of the forest’.

He looked back at the ice as she addressed the fossilized remains. “Hmm, I think to be buried is to be concealed, to be barred away under dirt and darkness. They continue to see, but they can never tell. A glass hell where they are forever condemned to watching. Watching. Never at rest…” he paused for a moment, admiring the growing intensity of the morning light over the ice, “No. Not buried enough,” he finished with a hum.

Arató pulled away from the skeletons to look back at the doe as she agreed to his company. Elation overtook him, swaying his tail high over his back and pricking his ears. A series of whines trembled from his maw as he looked up at the pathways around them. The few trails that led up the glaciers were indeed in rough shape. He pranced a few paces away from his company, trying to peer at their options from different angles. As he looked for the least treacherous ascent, a rhythmic thrum escaped him, almost musical in nature, “turn the page, and up the ice. Climb the cold to please the maiden of light”.

After a moment he settled on one pathway a short distance away, which appeared to be the least steep, and relatively clear. He yipped excitedly and pointed his nose at the path, “does that one suit you to try, maiden?” He looked to the doe for confirmation. Admittedly, he did not know how well the hooves of woodland deer fared on icy slopes. He knew them to be surefooted enough on stable ground, far more than he was himself. Although they didn't have claws, so perhaps the ice would be a challenge for the lady's hooves.

The autumn buy called her a law breaker and a brief flash of panic and confusion swept across her face. She was neither! She followed all the rules - she was sure of it. She went to protest, but the boy laughed, moving on to another subjects. Ah, a joke perhaps? Perplexed, Lumi flicked her adorned ear, but left the matter alone for now.

The odd little wolf went on to explain what it meant to be buried. He said they'd need to be concealed to be able to rest. "When I die... I think I'd like to be in ice. To be able to see the sunrise and sunset. To be able to watch travelers pass by. I think I'd rest easy, watching sleepily like when the summer nights draw fireflies from their hiding places to dance across the sky." The girl smiled, remembering the many warm nights with her family. "To doze with such a brilliant show is surely rest."

Both in the odd pair pulled away to examine the pathways. Lumi followed, her tail flicking with ease as the excitable young one looked over the jagged expanse. He sang out in his observations. He seemed to find one he liked and asked if it was to her liking. Golden eyes surveyed even brighter slopes. It was not too steep. It was still ice. She had to give it a try. She nodded, trying to reassure herself then turned to her company. "Page of the forest, we must go for it," she lilted, trying to match his tune, but missing his rhythm in favor of trying to rhyme. "If I shall fall, -uh- help you must call...?" She wasn't sure she was good at this...

Tentatively, Luminosa took a step on the ice. Her hoof dug into the ice, allowing her to get all four of her legs up. She teetered, worried at any second her feet would slip from beneath her. She looked to the wolf for reassurance before continuing. It was slow and arduous, but she was halfway there. She paused, unsure of whether to continue or to go back down.

He himself did not see much use in laws and rules. He had no interest in tailoring his ways to abide by them, nor did he actively seek to break them. They were merely a concept which he recognized but did not put much thought into; fickle things belonging mostly to the by and by. This maiden, however, seemed to be offended by the notion of breaking a law. His ‘law breaker’ comment had twisted her expression in a sort of panic. He thought it peculiar, as she was talking with a wolf, after all. Despite this, she seemed to settle her nerves and continued to speak of the frozen fossils.

He listened with twitching ears, tilting his head curiously as she told of peace and fireflies. “Hmm,” he hummed pleasantly in thought, wondering at the notion of watching every rotation of the sun and every living thing that passed by. He thought he’d much prefer to be put away, where he wouldn’t be tormented by the notion of living and doing, while only being able to see. Although, her notions seemed pleasant enough. “Perhaps, maiden, your light is never meant to be kept in the dark. Frozen in shimmers. Fire and glass. Waking every new day with the sun”. Yes, perhaps she would fare better in the ice than he would himself.

With their attentions climbing up the ice, away from laws and burials, the doe agreed to his suggestion for a pathway to the top of the glaciers. In doing so, she seemed to attempt to mimic the rhythm of his speech. She seemed to stumble a bit over the words, even so, the boy wiggled happily and let out a short yip of approval. “Indeed, maiden. Help I shall call. Help I shall be if your light should fall”.

Arató followed behind the deer as she began the ascent up the glacier, stepping slightly closer each time she seemed to falter. He kept his own stance wide, digging his claws into the ice for support. His forever antsy body grew still as he concentrated on his footing. By the time they climbed what he presumed to be halfway up, the pale lass paused as if questioning their efforts. When she did, he made to close the gap between them and touch his nose to the side of her flank. He meant it to be a gentle touch, as not to disturb her balance, but enough to reassure her. “Do not worry so, my maiden of light. Nose before tail. The climb is halfway through”. Before them, he could see the rising sun just barely cresting overtop of the path before them, casting the ice with an array of glittering rays. “Up the ice, just follow the sun,” he would hum as they went.

Her new strange friend revealed that perhaps she was never meant to be hidden in the dark, and so perhaps their burials would be different. What a grim thought, having just met, to be considering one another's death!

As the duo climbed higher, the autumnal boy ushering her onwards with words of praise and a soft touch. He told her to follow the sun, and she did just that, hiking higher and higher with each trembling step.

At first, the light blinded her, pale eyes squinting shut, but as she took another look, it was because her head was peeking over the icy edge. They were at the top of their climb! Short tail wagging excitedly, the deer turned back to her friend, "Look! We made it!" Lumi cast her head in the direction of the sun, a thousand glittering peaks greeting them at the top.

It was a beautiful sight which met them at the top of the path. The frozen wasteland stretched out to surround them in an array of cold, desolate, and equally stunning furrows and peaks. The sun fractured off of the sea of ice with a nearly blinding intensity. Seeing as they were on slightly more level ground now, Arató slipped past his newfound friend to approach the edge of their glacier. He sat himself here with his fiery tail swaying behind him. Silver eyes closed as his nose lifted into the chill of the breeze. It smelled clean up here, not much like anything other than cold. He wasn't sure he liked the emptiness of it. It was almost too clean, too empty perhaps. Yet he was not alone in it. "We made it," he repeated, opening his eyes and looking towards the pale doe. "Does it please you, maiden?"