I didn't realize there were polar bears in the polar sound...

Even with spring in the air everywhere else, the north was still fairly chilly at this time of year, and Red reflected that perhaps once he'd explored here it might be wise to make for the south again. Or the west - he'd heard that there was deserts over there, and he was fairly well suited for deserts. More suited for them than for glaciers, anyway.

As he picked his way along the shore, he was amused to see chunks of ice still floating in places, pushed there from more northern reaches by the current. Eventually they'd probably melt - it wasn't THAT cold here - but for now, they definitely added to the ambiance. He'd seen a pod of black and white whales surface briefly way out in the sound, which had definitely been a sight he'd never seen before and probably made the whole trek worth it despite the chill. A herd of reindeer fleeing some predator further up the shore had gone past him a couple minutes ago as well, though he'd had yet to see the predator that had startled them. Maybe another whale had surfaced closer to the shore and startled them into running. His presence certainly hadn't convinced them they were safe enough to stop, though, and they'd very swiftly disappeared from his sight. A pity - it would have been nice to take down one of the calves he'd seen tagging along. Patterns made from dyed tufts of reindeer fur made good decorations for armor. They weren't so easily ruined by battle as a full fur was, and you could just replace individual tufts as they did get damaged. Oh well.

Occupied with his thoughts and the vague little song he was humming, he didn't notice the traces of a rank oily scent that a stray breeze gusted across him for a brief moment. He probably should have been paying closer attention...