Aeternum

*Pyrrhic* · 02-19-2019, 04:53 PM

Pyrrhic slunk after Ashiel with his head low and his ears at half mast. He had never experienced conditions like this and he hoped to never experience them again. It was just too cold. Perhaps if he'd had the fall to prepare he would have been fine, but him and his thin coat had come up to Boreas directly from the dry heat of northern Auster. To say he was ill prepared was an understatement.

The boy shivered as he walked. Every icy blast knifed through his thin fur and caused a fresh wave of gooseflesh to roll over him. He was miserable, but he clung stubbornly to the belief that complaining was beneath him and refused to utter a sound. This was good for him. Like the ache in his legs after a long run. Physical exercise strengthened his body. Surely willpower worked the same way. He just needed to practice.

The cold and the misery it created didn't make Boreas any less fascinating. Well, today it did, but the rest of the journey so far had been mild enough for him to enjoy the scenery. Something he was struggling to wrap his head around was just how different everything was here. The weather, the lands, the plants, the animals. Everything. Well, except maybe squirrels. They looked about the same here. But where were the tapir? The porcupines? The dik-diks? He hadn't seen a single one.

"Aureus, Pyrrhic, stay close. We need to find shelter." Oh great. Pyrrhic's eyes settled on the dark clouds. They were low and menacing, and seemed to swallow the tops of the mountains as they crept over them. Another hard wind swept down the cliffs and sliced through his coat. With the wind came even bigger snowflakes. The boy gaped at them. They were almost as big as Benkos' thumb!

Speaking of Benkos, right on cue the mandrill, draped in the skin of a takin for warmth, tapped him on the shoulder. Without a word he pointed towards one of the rock walls and Pyrrhic, following the finger with his eyes, lit up upon seeing what his companion was pointing at. "Look, Ashiel, there's a cave!"

The boy was so eager to be out of the elements that he ran to the cave without giving his uncle time to asset it. If it was good enough for Benkos it was good enough for him. He ran to the cave and after peeking in to make sure it was safe, squeezed inside. The entrance may have been small, but the room beyond it was big enough for all of them to stretch out comfortably.

Pyrrhic wasted no time in making himself comfortable. Throughout the years debris had blown (or been brought) into the cave so the boy sectioned off a portion of dry branches and leaves and began to make himself a nest. There was plenty left for the other two wolves if they chose to make something for themselves. The branches, having had years to dry, snapped easily and more than once Pyrrhic suddenly found himself working with sawdust instead of a branch, but he made do. No doubt he'd exit the cave later quite a bit dirtier than when he went in, but that was a sacrifice he was willing to make. It was better to be warm now than clean later in his mind.

Out of the corner of his eye Pyrrhic watched as Benkos strolled over to a small ledge and leapt up onto it. His hide shawl fell off when he jumped so after he seated himself, the mandrill reached down to retrieve the skin. He quickly wrapped it around his shoulders and pulled it tight. Although thr mandrill had never (and would never) admitted it to Pyrrhic, the boy knew he was as miserable as he was.

"Bet we're gonna be here awhile, huh?" He shot a teasing glance Ashiel's way. "Don't suppose you know any good stories, hm?" They were going to need something to pass the time. May as well find out if Ashiel knew any good stories. If not him, from experience Pyrrhic knew Benkos had some wild tales to tell. He'd heard several already. When he was younger the stories of war and monsters had made it difficult to sleep on more than one occasion.

"Pyrrhic" "Benkos"

Word count: 712
Thread total: 997

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