In the mountains

The call of her name pulled Ember's attention away from the skyline of the Boreal forests that surrounded the base of the mountain. The girl's head spun around, glancing over her shoulder with only a slight tilt to her body, not quite making the full turnaround yet. Behind her stood the viking boy from the meeting. Though he was young, looking to be about as old as she was, his voice was not what Ember would have expected to come from a boy their age. His voice was rough, coarse like it hadn't been used much. But it wasn't scary or off-putting—just different. Ember didn't mind different. She was pretty different from the rest of her siblings after all. If anything, it just made her more curious about what made him different too.

Bright eyes of mixing sapphire blue and turquoise peered back at the wolf who wore a coat of deep purple that reminded her of the wines her parents drank. A little smile of flashed teeth to her host appeared on her muzzle. "Hi Erik!" she greeted the viking lad in turn. Ember, thankfully, was pretty good with names, and even though his father had only said it in passing, she had done her best to try and remember it. She said nothing about his voice. Maybe he was just under the weather. It would explain why he had been so quiet up until now. Erik nodded his head down a path, making it clear he wanted her to follow. Eyes wide and ears perked with interest, Ember was quick to spring to her paws and chase after him, moving less evenly through the dense snow than he did, a combination of his taller stature and her unfamiliarity with the snowy terrain making her look more like a deer learning to walk for the first time than the poised princess her mother tried her best to make her.

Once she had arrived at his side, Ember turned another sweet smile up at the taller boy, now able to really see the blending gradients of sunset oranges that mixed with the dusky purples in his fur. Erik clearly knew these mountain paths far better than she did, so she relied on him to lead the way. A cold breeze cut across the mountainside, making the girl brace against its bite, but she wouldn't be discouraged by a little chill on the air. Carpathians were made of tougher stuff and she was no shrinking violet. Glancing up at Erik again, Ember asked, "Where are we going?" He wanted to show her something, that much was obvious. Her curious nature demanded her to find out what.

"Ember Carpathius"