-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ray was a sorry sight. There where many times in her young life where see had bitten off more then she could chew, but time and time again she refused to let them bring her down. Now, without family and alone, and with the lingering reminder of her certainty that she could make her own path... failure hit her harder them ever. She had searched for her family, she had trained to better herself, and instead of success, she was a wreck. Assured of her own invincibility she had taken on a fight and lost, with broken bones and scars as her momentum, and a kink in her tail that she would likely carry for life. It had taken her just under three months to heal, and after she had dragged her sorry self back to obsidian Beach, Tar had been gone. She couldn't blame him, not really, she had already failed him once, he likely thought that was just who she was now. With her spirits broken, she had become a shadow of former self. She lost wait in her recovery, and never regained the weight. She ate enough to survive, and was constantly on the move. We didn't remain in one place for long, and made no friends. She smothered the spark of her personality, and lived a year in misery and self doubt. She remained in the haze until the tail end of Autumn, as she made her way around the Submerged Woods, paws dipped in snow, and shuddering at the chill in the wind. She most certainly couldn’t forget that Winter was around the corner. The lake that drowned the forest had frozen over, a sight she hadn’t seen before. Curious, she moved forward to sniff at the tops of the trees that poked through the frozen ice, like spikes on the back of a hedgehog. A few paces over the ice, she would hear the first splinter of cracking ice break the silence in the air. She felt the shift in the earth beneath and let her eyes trail down, seeing the spread of cracks like veins through the weight. She moved slowly down onto her belly, spreading out her weight, but it wasn’t enough, even as skinny as she was. The ice cracked beneath her, and she howled as she plummeted into the chilled water below. "Speech"

Mortar wasn't sure what had brought him here. Wanderlust was a good excuse, but at this point could it even be called that anymore? He still had no home so he was always wandering at this point. He'd lost some weight but not enough to be concerning for himself. It was getting close to winter and prey was bound to be scarce to find without a group to help him. Even with as large as he was he wasn't stupid enough to try to take down something larger than himself. Small deer yes, but things were hardly easy in the harsh north and most things tended to be large.

He wasn't sure why he stayed here. Maybe it was because the constant need to keep moving for survival was a nice distraction. It kept his mind busy so he didn't have to think about things. For example the crushing loneliness that still seemed to follow him everywhere he went. Delaney's company only curbed it slightly, but even it wasn't enough to stop his brain from reminding himself that all his family had left him and that Ray had been gone, again for over a year now after she'd promised not to leave him. What was it about himself that made wolves feel the need to abandon him without a word? He wanted explanations that it seemed like he would never get.

So yes, the north was a welcome distraction to his heavy heart. He wandered around aimlessly not quite sure what he was looking for. He would have been content to leave finding that the trees poking through ice wasn't enough to keep him busy, but the cracking of the lake caught his attention. The splintering sounds filtered through his ears and his head turned towards the location. All he could glimpse was blue and gray fur before it plunged into the icy cold depths. The howl that followed was chilling and Mortar wasted no time in rushing forward. Whoever it was had been under probably a good thirty seconds by the time he arrived. Already the ice was cracking more under his weight so he wasted no time plunging in as it gave way underneath him. The water was freezing, worse than anything he'd ever felt in his life, but he held his breath as bi-colored eyes searched the murky water.

There!

He spotted the wolf below him so he urged himself onward while he tried to ignore the chattering cold that threatened to overcome him. Finally he reached the other canine and teeth latched onto its scruff. He made sure he had a good hold before struggling upwards. It took what felt like ages for him to get them both to the surface. His oxygen deprived muscles were screaming at him, but the cold air was almost refreshing.

The struggle was far from over though - the hardest part was upon him. His claws scrambled to get a grip on the ice that just kept breaking under his weight. Keeping them both afloat was taking a toll on him as well and the ice refused to hold him up. This is not where I die, this is not where I die, this is not where I die. He told himself. He'd thrown himself in this stupid lake to save this wolf and he'd be damned if they both drowned. It felt like forever after constantly clawing away at chunks of ice that just kept breaking, but finally he managed to find a thicker bit that didn't break immediately. He was panting now as he heaved them both up on the ice, himself first, before he finally managed to drag the other wolf up with him. Once he was certain the wolf was stable on the ice with him and shakily let go. it wasn't until he looked the wolf over that he realized who he'd saved.

"Ray?" He whispered, mostly to himself, unable to find the energy to say her name louder.

"SPEAK"