Galloping through the snow, Angelus flew over the plateau. Suddenly he planted all four paws, his rump lowering and his legs locking as he let his momentum send him careening across the slick surface. He slid until all of his speed left him and then with another running start, slid back the direction he'd come. Again and again he darted and slid through the snow until it was so bumpy from his comings and goings that he couldn't get very far without hitting a drift. Tongue lolling, the young Prince trotted away in search of new ground to tear up. He was rather enjoying himself. Of course he could have been sliding down the knolls in Imperium, but today he wanted to venture beyond the borders in search of fun. Doing so made him feel grown up. He felt independent, free to go where he wanted and do what he wanted -so long as he didn't go too far or get into too much trouble and he came when he was called. Other than that he was totally allowed to do whatever he wanted.

This was a site to see. Strange objects protruded from the white blanket of snow. She trotted across the terrain looking over the unfamiliar objects. They did not quiet appear to be from the world that she knew of. Perhaps, this was a site that housed extraterrestrial beings! She had heard stories in her puppyhood of otherworldly creatures, but never really believed them. Ana figured the stories were nothing more than tales to scare the pups into staying in their den all night. She took a right paw and raked the snow off of a smaller piece of debris. She tapped it a couple of times to measure how hard it was then took a sniff and it smelled oddly similar to dried blood. Ana finally decided to give the thing a taste and stuck her tongue to it; however, it refused to release her tongue. She raised her head with a jerk, the metal dragging her tongue out of the left side of her maw. She shook her head in attempt to free herself, but it was a useless attempt. A noise nearby of hurried paws caught her attention, with metal still attached, she gazed in the direction of a young wolf who seemed to be enjoying this dreadful winter. Winter, in which Ana had grown to despise. The snow created frozen paws and uncomfortable night rests. She let out a distorted call to the young fella, it sounding more of a squeak than a bark. She trotted close to the stranger's location, soft eyes bright and eager to set upon another wolf - even if it were a pup. It was nice to have company at times. Traveling got pretty lonely after a while. With tongue still draped to the left side of her maw, metal still attached, she tried to greet the young male. Ni nere! Ny name is Nanatasia. Words were obviously garbled. actions • words • thoughts

The weirdest howl he'd ever heard stopped the boy in his tracks and caused his head to rise and his tongue to dart back into his mouth as he listened and looked around. When his eyes finally rested on the friendly looking little stranger and the Prince decided she looked too nice to mean him harm, his tongue lolled back out and he sent a toothy grin in the woman's direction. "Hello, Nanastasia! My name's Angel!" Largely unaware of what it meant to keep a polite distance, Angelus frisked closer. Unabashedly he took the stranger in. Wow was she short! The boy had thought Psalm was small, but this lady looked to be smaller. She was like, half his height. How cool was that? And sh- something on the side of her face caught his attention and interrupted him mid thought. He squinted, neck craning, as he tried to look at the left side of her face. What...was THAT? Politely, so that he didn't offended in case the thing was supposed to be there, Angelus asked, "Um, Nanastasia? You got something -a little something- right," he pointed at the left side of her mouth with his nose, "There." The boy regarded her with wide, innocent eyes; his gaze assessing as he tried to gauge whether or not he'd offended her by drawing attention to the blemish. ...Or was it even a blemish? Maybe it was a beauty thing where she was from.

Bright eyes lit up when the creature returned a friendly greeting. Tail gently swayed side-to-side - the young lady had forgotten about the metal that had found its new home upon her tongue. Nangelll. . . She attempted to repeat the name he had given her. Eyebrows would crease in irritation when she could not quite get the syllables correct. Only when Angel point out the piece on her tongue, did she remember why she had this new lisp. She felt herself blush. Thank goodness for all the fur to protect her obvious embarrassment. Uh, 'ell I thried tho 'ick this thing. . . A distorted sigh would follow her garbled explanation. It was useless. She tried shaking her head side-to-side, but the metal did not seem to loosen its grip. It resulted only in her tongue flopping to the right side now. An irritated growl rumbled softly in her throat. At least she could still growl with no problem. It 'on't come off. . . Eyes would looking pleadingly at the male in hopes he could free her from this shackle on her tongue, else she would be doomed to live with this accessory forever it seemed. 'elp? The sensitive Ana could feel tears build up pressure in her eyes. Oh, how embarrassing. . . actions • words • thoughts

Nangel? Gently, he corrected, "It's Angel, ma'am." It was no wonder she couldn't talk right. That thing hanging off her tongue had to make it pretty hard. After he questioned her about it, Nanastasia tried to explain how exactly she'd gotten the thing on her tongue. Her words were so garbled that Angelus had to listen extra hard to figure out what she was saying. He leaned forward on his toes, his ears straining and his eyes squinting in concentration. She tried to do what now? L-ick...something? The thing on her tongue was stuck, not put there on purpose? Well, that was a relief. If she'd said it was there on purpose Angel would have had to lie and say it was pretty. It wasn't. He watched with much open curiosity as she unsuccessfully tried to shake the piece of metal off. After a moment of frustration, her eyes sought his and Angel gulped as he noted the tears. Ah, man. He didn't do crying. It made him nervous and oddly enough, made him want to cry too. She pleaded for help and he jumped forward immediately. Of course he'd help. But how? Now that he had the opportunity to look at it up close Angelus had no idea how it was even stuck. It was just...stuck. It wasn't biting or pinching or caught on anything. The piece of metal was just there. Tentatively, his eyes darting back and forth between the piece of metal and Nanastasia's eyes, he reached out and grasped the thing between his teeth. Once it was in his grasp Angel's eyes stayed riveted on the woman's as he tried to gauge her reaction to his efforts. Watching closely, his movements slow, he pulled back on the piece of metal firmly.

Angel. Angel. Why would this thing keep her from pronouncing his name correctly? Why would it cling to her as it did? It was embarrassing for the young wolf, terribly embarrassing. Never did her adventures end up this way. . . Well, there was this time that she had caught her head in a hollow tree-stump. Her nose had got her into trouble that time. A sweet fragrance bloomed from within it, and it turned out to be a lone wolf's collection of wildflowers. Of course that same lone wolf would be her savior, well, he was actually saving his stash. The loner accused her of being a thief and chased her for who knows how far. After her cry for help, Angel would move forward and grab hold to her shackle. He pulled on the metal, yanking her tongue hard enough that it felt like it was going to give before the attachment. Though, it eventually gave way, leaving a dry frosty place on her tongue where it had been. Surely that was going to blister soon. She snapped her tongue back in her mouth, the area burning from the warmth of her mouth as it defrosted. Thank you, Angel! You must really be an angel. The name is Anastasia or Ana if you would like. That thing just wouldn't turn me loose! I've never seen anything like that, but I sure hope I never see anything like it again. She would end her words with a firm nod. No way would she be touching anything like that again. She gave the metal one last hard look before quickly using her right paw to bury it beneath a heavy lump of snow. Hopefully she was safe from it now. Eye would meet Angel's momentarily before shyly looking down at her paws with ears gently laid back. It was kind of awkward having a boy cling on her tongue that way, even if he was just a pup and answering her cry for help. Looks like you enjoy the Winter. I'm not liking it so much. It's the first Winter I can actually remember well. I was just a pup during my first Winter and Momma wouldn't let me peak out at the snow, said it was too cold for little paws. I think it's too cold for big paws too! She paused for a bit, feeling like she was talking too much. She tended to do that when she was very nervous. That or hide quietly while others' spoke, but she was the only one here and it would be rude to hide from him after he had helped her. actions • words • thoughts

double post - oops

OOC: If you post in maintenance they'll delete the extra post for you c:

Finally the piece of metal tore loose. Angelus dropped it immediately. He didn't know what exactly made it stick to Nanastasia's tongue and he had no desire to find out. The sticky piece seemed to have been holding in a flood because as soon as it was off and her tongue back in her mouth, the woman let loose a torrent of words. Ohhhh, Anastasia, not Nanastasia. She called him an angel (Ha. Ha. He'd never heard that before) and then ground the piece of metal into the snow. "Yeah, that was pretty weird," he offered. "I've never seen anything like it. It didn't have pinchers or anything." "Looks like you enjoy the Winter." At this Angelus nodded his head vigorously, his face brightening as his thoughts drifted back to sliding and digging tunnels. When she stated she didn't like it, his head stilled and his expression lost a little bit of its cheer. She didn't like winter? Who didn't like winter?? Winter was amazing! More a statement than a question, he said, "How can you not like winter! It's a lot of fun, there's lots to do. Like sliding down hills or across ponds, or digging tunnels and pouncing on people!" OR dragging them in, which he'd never done before, but was definitely going to have to try now that he'd thought of it. Ash would make a good target, he silently mused, as would Eva.

Frosted tongue still ached from where her shackle clung to her. Nevertheless, it was nice to be free of its hold. She nodded at the boy's words. It definitely did not have claws or pinchers or anything that would hold it in place. It just simply stuck there, but it was not sticky. At least, not sticky like honey or the sweet nectar from certain flowers. But oh well, the thing no longer matter and she knew better than to try and taste another foreign object again. That just did not go so well. The boy turned enthusiastic when the subject of Winter came about. He seemed to enjoy it very much, especially the slippery frozen white substance that seemed to lay just about everywhere. Sliding across the icky substance just begged for a broken limb or a fractured paw. No way could one make much of an adventurer all broken up like that. But did adventures not take risks sometimes? That IS when all the cool things were found, when one takes a bit of a leap and crawl through a tight space or wiggle through brambles that seemed to never end. That's where all the special stuff hid. But what on Alacritis did sliding around on snow have to offer? Maybe I will give it a whirl sometime. She glanced at his eyes for a moment before retreating them back to the blindingly white blanket at her paws. So are you a wanderer too? She would pause, face flushing again beneath her pelt. I mean, you don't have to answer that if you would rather not. I don't mean to nose in your business. I'm a wanderer - going wherever my paws take me. Most other wolves I cross have homes, though. Makes me feel rather odd. . . And it did make her feel strange. She would like to be normal, but it seemed the more wolves she met, the farther from normal she strayed. actions • words • thoughts

"Maybe I'll give it a whirl sometime," she said and Angelus perked visibly. "You should! I can show you, if you like." He knew where all the best spots were. Some of the knolls in Imperium were tall enough that someone sliding could pick up a lot a speed. The boy was willing to swear up and down that he'd once slid faster than he could ever run. Anastasia went on to ask him a question. The boy was naive enough not to recognize how flustered she became after asking. He took her flustered statements in stride and remained clueless to her discomfort. He was just happy this grown up was talking to him like another grown up. It made him feel like one and he liked that a lot. Exuberantly, he said, "Nope! I'm from that pack over there," he gestured over his shoulder towards The Knolls, "It's called Imperium and my dad's the alpha." Pride laced his tone. He was beginning to become aware of how unusual it was for someone to have an alpha for a parent, and it was becoming a source of pride for the boy. He was a prince and that made him special.

The boy seemed too enthusiastic about the idea of skidding around on a slippery hill. It was just begging for a disaster. No, not her thing. All she needed was a broken limb to cripple her and keep her from exploring. Uhh. . . maybe we can some other time. She would stumble with her words, not really wanting to heart the boy's feelings, but she really did not want to get injured today - or any day, really. I am sure you are really good at it. A pure professional at the sport. She would nod firmly at the words, a compliment she would hope that would ease any disappointment if she had caused any. His tone seemed to get increasingly energetic with his responses. That was good, it meant she was hitting all the right spots with this chat. That was a first, but a welcome one. Perhaps, it was because of his youth that allowed the conversation to be much easier. He seemed to brush things off quite easily, something that she could vaguely relate to from her own puppyhood. Though, when he pridefully announced he was the son of an alpha, it immediately made Ana tense. Would there be an angry king that came diving out at her for talking to his son? Oh, she hoped not. Oh, a prince? Where is your dad now? Surely he doesn't want you straying too far from his sight. It was a round-about way to dig for the information that made her uneasy. She could really feel her flight senses kicking in, but she held herself here anyway. actions • words • thoughts

Awwww, she didn't want to play? Too bad! He could have shown her a lot of cool things, but it was okay. Maybe he'd try to find Psalm and see if he could get the boy to take him on another adventure. Or maybe he could take Psalm sliding. Angel was sure the other boy would enjoy the snow games as much as he did. "Oh, a prince?" YES! A prince. The coolest prince ever. "Where is your dad now? Surely he doesn't want you straying too far from his sight." Angelus shrugged. "I don't know," he admitted, "Maybe walking the borders? He does that, like, all day. There's a lot of ground to cover. And," he said indignantly, "I am not a baby. No one has to watch me." Curiously, he queried, "Why do you ask? Do you want to meet him?" Surely she didn't think he needed a babysitter! He was huge! Massive! And most importantly, NOT a baby. Sure, he had limits to how far he could go, but no one had to watch him all the time like Ashemedai. She wasn't planning on tattling, was she?