Land of Ice

The woman's flattened ears let him know she noticed him, though he was unsure if that was a sign to stay away or if she was just letting him know she knew of his presence. Just to be safe, he kept a few feet between them as he sat down 'beside' her.

He was a bit surprised at her description of the ice towers. She was right, but he hadn't really thought of the structures in such a way. "That's a real profound way of thinking of them," he murmured, now seeing the towers in a new, deadly way. He surveyed the towers, but something didn't seem right. The thought didn't seem to fit right in his head. Deadly and beautiful didn't deserve to be in the same sentence, not to him. They contrasted each other too much to make sense in his brain. He grew up horrified by death, disgusted by it, hating how he needed to do it to live. His mind tied itself into knots trying to fit such different words together, or rather, he just didn't want to think about it.

"I don't see it though. I mean... ice kills people... but so can a really determined duck! We don't call ducks beautiful and deadly. To me, what really makes them beautiful, is how peaceful they look. They might seem like these huge, imposing death pillars, but they really aren't. They look all shiny and sparkle in the sunlight like stars in the day. They can create rainbows without needing rain. They just sit there like gentle guardians, watching over you as they sit static. The look graceful without needing to move. Now that's the greatest artform!"

He looked back to the freckled dame, a large, goofy grin on his face. "I understand what you were getting at, but I don't like thinking about the negative things. Death is just so..." He paused to consider his words, the smile starting to fade but never leaving. "Depressing..." He murmured this word. He didn't like it, as childish as that sounds. Though, as he thought about it, the entirety of what he said was childish. She sounded so smart and intense and here he was, bringing up deadly ducks and rainbows... She probably thought he was immature, though it didn't help he actually was a tad immature. He immediately noticed his mindset turning negative and switched the subject.

"Uh... I'm Novis! Probably should have started with that." He chuckled nervously before continuing. "What brings you here?" He inquired, noticing her short pelt. The season was nearing winter and this place already had a few feet of snow. His thick fur protected him from the elements but he wasn't quite sure about her. He wouldn't voice this, in fear of sounding condescending, but that wouldn't stop him from looking for signs that she was cold.