top of the world

The further in he ventured the clearer it became that a suitable shelter was somewhere to be found. Through the snow suddenly loomed walls and arches, and yes, more ice spires. Aku had never seen anything like it. It was an amazing, breathtaking structure and he couldn't help but wonder how it had come to be. Surely it hadn't grown like a tree, spewed forth from a volcano, or been whipped into that shape by the wind, so how then? All he could do was marvel as he skirted the outside.

A bark rang across the spires and sent them humming with an ethereal vibrato. The sound caused Aku to jump and look up first at the spires in wonderment and then around in search of the origin. His eyes fell on the tall, dark figure of a woman. She reminded him strongly of the wolves back home, but he'd come along way so he dismissed her similarities as mere coincidence. "Hello!" he called back before casting a significant look at the spires. "With the storm it's near impossible to scent boundaries. I'm not trespassing, am I?"