like the chestburster from alien but way less cool

He was working as fast as his rapidly numbing paws would allow him. Using his teeth in conjunction with his nails he chewed and claws his way down the dead horse's back. The frozen skin didn't want to peel away easy and ice had already begun to form between it and the fatty layers below. The shards of ice scraped at his toes and even though spots of blood were beginning to well up here and there, Sunder was cold enough that he didn't feel it. Even if he could have he would have been forced to ignore it. Time was of the essence. Alarm was beginning to settle in. He was genuinely afraid he was going to die in this miserable white stuff.

The horse spoke - the horse spoke - and Sunder briefly stuttered to a halt in surprise. He glanced between it and its bird companion in confusion and then cautiously started to dig at the hide again, glancing back at the horse every once in a while. It was only when the horse addressed him that he stopped again. Unfortunately, Sunder's grasp of Boreas' common language wasn't great. He had improved greatly since washing ashore last season, but he still found it difficult to grasp nuance. For that reason he was confused by the horse's words. "Block ston? Red warm't? Dunno what dat mean."