Autumn? Was this the season that the northern edge of this land was experiencing? It made sense to Aoi that of course north in any land meant colder, but he wasn't accustomed to the chill that this place had brought to his somewhat slender figure. In fact, he's only just begun to grow a winter coat in preparation for the change in season that brought cold, and snow, among the other unpleasant aspects of the season. He wasn't too fond of the season, merely because he deemed it to be a waste of the earth's time. For what purpose does winter serve, other than to starve animals, and death from hypothermia? The thought struck him as rather silly, questioning the earth. He must really be out of his mind today.

One amber paw after another, Aoi dragged himself unwillingly towards a strange building, keeping his head lowered against the wind to keep from further irritation from the piercing cold. How pitiful he must seem, practically ready to turn back at the mere presence of a chill that wasn't even at its full potential, nor would it be for a few fortnights at least. After the next few small gusts, Aoi stopped, taking advantage of the slight break form the constant wind, he took not of what was around him. Immediately he was fascinated by the place, unaware of the frozen over anomalies that lined what seemed to be a path up to the large building. The building itself was fascinating, as well, glinting from the what he would imagine in this climate to be permafrost covering the stone structure.

He waved his fluffy orange tail idly, examining his surrounding further, satisfied with himself for making the trip up here, though it would have probably seemed illogical, or foolish to anyone else, He believed it would make sense to chart ALL of the area he could manage to travel to mentally for himself to use if needed. Aoi briefly wondered how many of his kind would actually manage to make it to a place like this, and if so, why in the world would they choose to come here of all places? His thoughts were interrupted as the wind picked up again, carrying the scent of the ocean, as well as biting cold to the face of Aoi. He veered off his path hastily, taking shelter behind one of the pillars of ice from the wind, allowing himself to regain his composure before possibly scanning the area a bit more, or simply calling it a day, and leaving.

The language that was dancing in Maija's mind was not one would display in public. Then again, she didn't like showing anything she thought or wanted to say in public regardless. With that ironic thought in mind, she shook her majestic head and continued to walk through the snow and ice. What else would it matter if she let such thoughts race in her head? It was by pure chance that she had ended up in the Northern region of Alacritis. Ever since she had lost the whereabouts of her husband, Maija had been in a daze. The mental change had caused the golden-furred female to not be sure of where she ended up, which was definitely a change in the usual sharpness of her mind. The decisions she made in the past few days didn't register like they used to, making it more of a big deal than she let on. Now, as she walked through the fog of her mind, she also walked past the pieces of art depicted in the ice without giving them a second glance. How long Maija had been in this rut, she had no clue. All she knew was that if someone or something didn't yank her out of the water, she would surely drown in it. It was when she was thinking along those lines that something happened to snap her out of those thoughts. An opportunity opened itself up to her by a simple breeze that passed her nose. Aside from the stings of the cold air and ocean water a bit aways, she caught a scent that was unfamiliar. It stuck out more from the natural scents of her surroundings and her eyes were opened for the first time in quite awhile. That opportunity was a challenge in her mind and she took it. The stealthy wolf, who had been walking with a hanging head from being lost in her thoughts, perked it up without even thinking. Ears flattened against her crown, shielding themselves from the bitter cold as well. Maija's defensive stance was impressive and she allowed a few deep growls to escape from her snarling lips. Claws dug into the ice and snow beneath her, causing bits of each to rise and make miniature piles on either side of each paw. Her tail flicked behind her in annoyance. "Show yourself," she lowly growled, allowing her leaf green eyes to reveal a sliver of the burning fire within her chest. Maija waited, but patience was a rare virtue with her, growing shorter with each passing minute. speech here

Aoi felt rather lethargic laying lazily sheltered from the icy wind, he flicked his amber tail, uninterested in the goings on around him at this point. He was rather thankful for the rest, having made a long journey up here, though he supposed he likely should start returning soon, not wanting night to fall this far north. He hated to admit that the chill of night could potentially pose a problem to him, not exactly being a winter wolf, nor having the coat readied to withstand temperatures of these extremes. He mused on and on, calculating and ranting internally in his head, before a presence dragged him rather forcefully from his thoughts. In fact. The presence was practically in front of him to his surprise, standing almost defensively, nails digging into the ice beneath her as growls erupted from from her maw. Aoi might have been impressed, if she wasn't seeking him, who was practically visible to every degree, and had even about been passed up by her. "I'f i'd been a snake, she'd have been bitten..." He noted in his mind humorously. Aoi found it a bit ridiculous that the female didn't know his location, yet had obviously detected him. He wondered if he had left tracks in the snow, then dismissed the possibility, as tracks would've led her to his spot of resting, surely she couldn't be that intellectually handicapped. So, Scent? This seemed a much more likely case, and more plausible for her not to know where he was based on that form of detection. However, there was still the fact he wasn't more than a mere 10 feet or so from her, so how did she possibly miss seeing him? Only a few moments had passed while he picked his brain for possible answer, he didn't allow much more time to be taken aside for thought, as the demand came for him to appear before her in a rather disturbing way. This woman was either fierce, or just a bitch, it was hard to tell. Briefly scanning over her with his icy gaze, Aoi noted that she wasn't too hard on the eyes to look at, but also made note of her combat superiority, clearly more experienced, and perhaps stronger than himself, it would be wise not to start a fight, though he also didn't want to deal with a hotheaded moron right now. That, indeed would just spoil his day, and this wonderful trip north. With a silent sigh, Aoi lifted his lean frame from the frozen ground, much preferring being on his feet to greet the female. He cleared his throat in an "Ahem" manner, drawing the fact that he was beside her, not hiding whatsoever to her attention in an almost teasing manner before responding. "Excuse Me, Ma'am, Are you looking for me?" He called out, in a cool, relaxed tone, fixating his icy gaze on the side of her face, calm, but serious in preparation for her facing him with what he would already know to be an unpleasant response, though the manner of unpleasant was yet to be determined, hard to say if it would be angry, or sarcastic, both of which he was preparing for. Speech,

She should have known the exact location of her so-called 'prey'. In reality, it had been because she was lost in her own mental fog until his scent had hit her nose. If Maija had been focused and was actually paying attention, she would have been the one to surprise him! Small details she missed made her all the more upset with herself, but for the first time since meeting Dragomir, she let the miniature failures go without thinking about them. Wow. Maija really was becoming more messed up than before. It was just something she didn't want to admit to herself yet. When the stranger revealed himself, Maija was surprised by the contrast of his fur and the ice surrounding them. He stood out like a sore thumb, and she knew that was another small detail she failed to obtain in her surroundings. Her ears remained flattened against her crown, making her eyes bigger and her face appearing defenseless and hurt. She kept her stony expression and her growls became shorter and more frequent as she started to shiver from the cold. She quickly shook all over, regaining her solid stance. Weakness was something she could not - WOULD NOT - let anyone see from her. Especially in the eyes of a stranger who, probably, had a reputation for raping and killing females who showed such flaws. Another Rotterdam in the world. Just what she - and the world - both needed. His words were relaxed, but his gaze rang with a different tune. Maija's heart skipped a tiny beat, so tiny she didn't even realize it had happened. Eyes were supposed to be windows to the soul, and he didn't seem to want anyone to enter. She felt the same way about her own soul, and with that small, comforting thought, Maija relaxed her snarling lips. Her guard still up, she kept her defensive stance as he spoke to her, sarcastically asking a question that had no definite answer. Maija decided to play on the question and she changed her tactic. Rather than give him the satisfaction of her sarcastic wit, she shook her lovely head and rose from her current stance. Her form stretched out, showing off the curves and how her fur changed from being long and thick on her body to the shorter fur that graced her legs and paws. At first, she did all right with, "If I knew who you were...perhaps," but she carried on with, "unfortunately, I do not. Therefore, my question to you is: Would you be worth looking for?" She blinked once, icy, leaf-green gaze burning into his own. "If so, it wouldn't be very smart having them try to come up here and risk their lives. So inconsiderate." Oh well. Coldness and sarcasm were a part of her; she couldn't live without either one. speech here

Aoi showed no indication of noticing the importance of the females movements, expressions, everything, really. This was the force of habit that had been ingrained into his mind by his father. Analyze everything to its fullest, Aoi was a failure if he missed a single detail, or failed to recognize the importance of an action. Nobody is all-knowing, he understood this, but his father left him with enough teachings to follow the path he'd trained for. Not everything is readable, in others as well, which was a frustrating fact in cases like this, though Aoi and the females gazes locked, neither of them gave an inch, not revealing anything to each other, as most gazes of commoners gave so much away about themselves. This intrigued him, as there usually wasn't much difficulty in analyzing others. He had also learned to make himself less readable to others, though his constant locking himself in his thoughts made him very statuesque outwardly when thinking, which helped tremendously. His thoughts were wandering again, as he watched the female give herself a subtle shake. As described, it was subtle, just a slight jolt before regaining her composure. This was noted, she was either freezing, irritable, or trying to prevent herself from lowering her guard. He almost felt sympathetic, guilty even, that she had thrown up such a wall to fend for herself, and also slightly annoyed at the notion the female might've thought it would even be possible for him to take advantage of her. They both should clearly know who would win a struggle between them. Aoi had absolutely no combat experience, nor even the heart for fighting, if anything, he'd merely submit, as physical conflict accomplishes nothing for him, and wastes his time. His cold gaze disappeared for a moment, blinking slow in an apathetic manner as the female rose from her stance to reply to him. It appeared like she was trying to draw attention to herself. Whether it was an intentional gesture or not, Aoi couldn't have cared less, and didn't think on it aside the not previously made in his head. Her response caught him a little off guard, though he didn't waver the tiniest bit. His gaze actually darkened in response to her words. So sarcasm was the name of the game, huh? He dearly hoped that the question put forth to him was rhetorical, because it was a stupid question to even consider asking. Even so, it called for some manner of response, but how to go about it? He didn't want to be rude, to the female, nor could he answer her in a way that didn't make him sound arrogant. Ah, whatever happens, he supposed. "Your question makes an interesting point, however I'm simply not full enough of myself to tell you that i'm every wolfs' dream, awaiting the worthy here at this frozen paradise" His tone softened as the joke, hoping that the female would, at the very least, feel safe in his presence. He definitely would do her no harm, and the thought would never cross his mind. Though if she was going to keep up this waste of speech known as sarcasm, he may have to fight to keep civil. This isn't something he wanted, on his peaceful trip up here. "Inconsiderate, hm? I feel obligated to remind you that you are also present here, in this harsh environment. What would possess you to come up here? If you simply wandered here, I must say it's a sad sight to see someone unknowingly endanger themselves, wouldn't you agree?" He added, his voice fighting to keep from sounding like he was mocking her. Though he didn't mean to sound offensive, she did in fact bring his response upon herself. Upon finishing his response, he closed his eyes, briefly tilting his maw skyward and inhaling deeply, before locking his gaze once again with the females before her. Though his expression was different upon opening his eyes. He was almost smirking, icy pools glinting with slight amusement. Speech,

If Maija had been a different wolf with a different past, she would have been able to spill her guts out to this stranger. His words were sarcastic and filled with amusement, but he was concerned. Even through the mask that he had over how he spoke, Maija could tell he had an inkling of a soul behind those icy eyes. A tiny piece of her wanted to break free from her bonds, to tell him that she was in agony because of her husband leaving. She wanted to let her soul escape her, to let it fall upon his ears that she was still grieving, that she didn't know who she was anymore. Alas...she couldn't do it. After living a life that consisted of abuse, neglect, and coldness, Maija couldn't pull herself to the point of being that exposed. The tiny piece of her was reclaimed and pushed behind her wall, made sure to keep quiet as she kept her icy gaze locked on his. "What good would it do, to tell a complete stranger about my reasons for being here?" The wall was up, but that didn't mean it was made of permanent stone. Her ears remained flat on her crown as she tore her gaze from him, padded towards the edge of the walkway, and looked out at the stretch of ocean that she saw. "It is not as if anyone would understand, would be able to relate or comprehend the damage that has been done." She let him see a bit of what she was thinking and immediately regretted it. Weakness was definitely one of her biggest pet peeves, especially about herself, and she hoped that it wouldn't be her downfall in the end. The golden-furred she-wolf turned and looked back to him over her shoulder. Her leaf green gaze was still stony, but glinted from the light that surrounded them from the ice. "It really does depend on what is behind the sight in the first place." She shortly snorted and reclined to her haunches. "As for you...I don't see how you can say anything when you were up here in the first place." speech here

If anything, Aoi was much more amused now, noticing the wall she had been fighting to keep up continuously crumble and renew itself. He had no idea what troubled her so much about him, or even in general enough to be so closed off, though Aoi supposed he shouldn't expect to be trusted having only exchanged a couple words. But the apparent strain wasn't healthy for anyone, and he wondered if he could ease the strain a little, though he still wasn't sure if this female would be a waste of his time, or if she even in fact wanted to be helped. The pain and frustration of having to act as she does, to feel and she feels Aoi wouldn't imagine to be a very welcome way to live. At the same time, to act like this seemed ignorant to him given the circumstances. A confusing person, this one, he thought silently, listening intently to her words. His ears directed towards her like tiny orange sonars, he absorbed her words, her tone, analyzed them, while his powdery gaze focused on her movements. A frown formed slightly as she puller her gaze from his, tilting his head slightly in confusion. For one so.. insecure, she was leaving herself very vulnerable now. He watched carefully as she padded away a few steps towards the walkway, staring out at the seemingly infinite pool of water known to us as the ocean. He couldn't determine the purpose of her actions, nor did he really care at this point. His brow raised ever so slightly when she looked back at him, responding rather rudely, questioning his being there as well, or rather, trying to dismiss his comment on her being here, justifying herself. Though Aoi actually had a reason to be here, simple as it may be. He decided on a rather bold move, rising up from his sitting position slowly, then slowly pacing up to the female, not hesitant in the least. Aoi was relatively sure no harm would come to him for what he was about to do, if anything, it'll be the only real nice gesture he would offer. He padded up around her, planting himself in front of her almost defiantly. He made sure to position himself so that he didn't block her view of the ocean, in fact, there were two reasons behind his action. The first of which, was preferring to be face to face with those whom he talked to, not to be stared at backwards by some snarky female. The other, was to shield her from the wind. It was cold, and he had already regained a good portion of his warmth form sheltering behind a pillar. Having done this, he continued locking his gaze with hers intently. Though his response wasn't as "nice" or joking as before, there were hints of both sarcasm and concern inlaid with his words. "I wouldn't expect someone of your nature to share anything, so I won't pry, nor will I pretend to understand someone of your situation. I am here taking a note of the land, and location, risky as it is, and that's simply it. My questioning you here was merely pointing out you're being careless, and even as a stranger I feel like you should take better care of your life." He took a deep breath after the words flowed from his maw, recollecting his thoughts. He still wasn't sure why he didn't just leave the female up here alone, or why he even bothered trying to speak to her. Perhaps it was just him, being a wolf, to feel natural concern for anyone of the same species, where their lives safety was concerned. No matter, he might get bitten at this point, this wasn't the time to be locked inside his mind. Speech,

The concern was the silver lining of all of the words he spoke. She didn't take to the emotion very well. It was like a full rush of scents as a pup, when you don't know what to do with it except deal. In her case, Maija didn't tend on staying around long enough to do such things. Pups also had more patience and her own level of such a thing was very low. She snorted at his concern, thinking of it as false and not something he really meant. After all, the concern she had felt before had only been from Dragomir. Even then, it was rare because Rotterdam would appear without warning and the warmth from her husband would evaporate into thin air. Such painful memories haunted Maija, consumed her mind with the negativity that came from those thoughts. She pushed them away from herself, from the mental part of her that desired to have them erased. Her internal conflicts were beginning to grab hold, but she tried not to show it. Her walls were indeed becoming strongholds that were irritants to the golden-furred fae. If someone wanted to do a psychological evaluation on her to prove she was close to mental instability, they would have had the perfect specimen. Maija snorted again, closed her eyes, and blocked those ideas from her train of thought. Another time, perhaps. His sarcastic remarks only added fuel to the burning fire that was dancing and licking at Maija's soul. She didn't want to admit it, but even as he was digging under her skin in the cold atmosphere, she was beginning to hope that his feelings of concern would stick around. Maija lacked the chance to get close to others aside from Dragomir, and she needed it. Whether she cared to admit it, she needed solace. Instead, she scoffed and said, "My life must be pretty bad if a complete stranger thinks they know exactly why I make the choices I do." She flicked her tail behind her, ice green gaze staring into his own blue orbs. "No one would ever understand, no matter how much would be revealed." She decided to let him see a bit of her soul, the troubled part that wanted to be free of all the strain and memories of the past. The internal battle would always go on, regardless of her mental voices that tried to soothe them. Maija was sure that it would be a lifetime of such things. Dealing with it all, alone...how was she going to? She had no one. It was then that she began to feel funny. Her eyes looked up to Aoi's own gaze, matching it with the burning intensity as she softly stated, "...I don't feel good." It was the first thing she said that wasn't masked behind faux emotions. Maija's body then lowered to the ground. Her eyes closed and the cold seemed to wrap itself around her. She felt the side of her head hit cold ice, like stone marble in a kitchen. Her body was shivering from the icy bites that nibbled at it, first at her paws, then moving up her legs, tail, and to her main abdomen. It felt as if her body was wanting to shut down, but fight at the same time. Her emotions began to swirl inside of her, causing a flare-up in her chest. She began to twitch, muscles independently moving of their own accord. It was as if she was fighting off something invisible, but even she didn't know what it was. speech here

The words that flowed from the females mouth meant little to Aoi. He didn't care what she had to say at this point, or rather, it didn't matter. The entire point of focus now was the females eyes. Drowning out everything else, he kept his attention entirely on her gaze, for a few reasons. The main reason being he wanted to see if she would ever loosen up her wall, drop her guard for even a moment around Aoi, though he would never take advantage of the opportunity, it would be comforting to know if he was at least slightly trusted. Much to his surprise she returned the intensity of his gaze directly back at him, it was definitely equal, if not more so than his. Not quite a fierce look in this girl, more like a swirling maelstrom or negative emotion, it really was quite hard to describe. And just like that, his time ran out with the mention of her next few words. She didn't feel good? Aoi could imagine so in this climate, and his presence. But immediately after muttering the words to him, she sank to the frozen ground. As if to add more to his concern, she closed her eyes and lay none too still. She was shivering.. and.. twitching? Was she having a seizure? No.. she wasn't convulsing, it was hard for him to pin down. He had little to no knowledge of things in the medical field, and was wasting time on his thoughts. "Wake up stupid.." He thought inwardly to himself. She needed to get out of the cold. That was first. Kicking himself into gear, he stood, and padded the small distance between them hurriedly, She may not like, or want him to take care of her, but he couldn't let himself rest if he were to leave her out here freezing. How to carry her? This was the question. He could easily drag her across the ground, but that would just be cruel, and painful for them both. He may not like to admit that he felt, well, anything for the female, but the softer side of him wouldn't allow himself to intentionally hurt her either, at least not physically. He leaned down, wrapping his teeth gently around her neck. Though he had decided not to use this method, it was needed partially in order to perform what he had planned to do to carry her. He tugged carefully, trying almost too cautiously not to cause her pain as he inched her closer to the side of the path. There, at the edge of the path, the ground wasn't quite as elevated, and her body needed to be higher than his to hoist her onto him, as he lacked the physical strength to simply lift her. At the edge of the path, he positioned the female's body parallel to the edge, then, taking a few steps to align himself slightly below her off the path, he tugged at one of her paws to roll her off the path onto his back. To any other wolf, this would look very comical, he mused, the way that it looked, the humans might've said it looked like Aoi was giving the girl a "Piggy-Back Ride", the thought humored him. But this wasn't the time for jokes. he glanced slightly over his back, limited in his vision because of her. Worried that she might struggle, Aoi spoke softly, "Don't Struggle.. I will not hurt You."He had hoped that she heard, and understood. Hell, at the very least he hoped she didn't think of him as a murderer, or a rapist, that would be enough relief. Testing himself, he walked forward a few steps, making sure he could still move, supporting her weight, to his surprise it was rather easy. Aoi had no idea where to go, none, he had only mapped this place in his head, so anywhere around that could be used for shelter was unknown to him. He started walking at a brisk pace, south. South, Warm, the only thoughts that were registering in his mind now was moving the female out of the norther area, though he knew it would be impossible for him to keep this up very long. He kept wandering aimlessly, occasionally stopping to adjust, or rest himself briefly before continuing. Almost stumbling off, Aoi realized he had walked to a small cliff, peering over the frozen side he noticed he was standing on.. a cave? Hesitation was not existent, he immediately skittered roughly down the side of the small cliff, nearly losing the female from his back, and darted inside. It was dark, and it was getting later in the day, If she didn't come around soon, they'd likely be stuck there for the night, or risk freezing to death. He settled her down gently on the ground, gazing over her, concerned, checking to see how hard the trek he had made with her on his back affected her. The awkward positioning might leave her a bit sore, but no damage had been done, he exhaled loudly in relief, glad that he had stumbled across this place, but was he glad to take care of her? She was kind of a bitch but.. He supposed he enjoyed her sarcasm enough to enjoy her presence overall. Worried, that she may yet be cold Aoi settled very hesitantly against her, laying on his stomach against her back. He gently tucked his muzzle against her neck, trying to give as much contact as possible, to spread warmth to her body. He worried that she may yet rip his head off for this, but Aoi supposed it didn't matter at this point. -Exit Aoi- Speech,

As Aoi was getting Maija in from the chilly and life-threatening weather, the gold female had an "out of body experience". She saw herself from above her body, watching closely as the autumn-themed male got her on his back. He had struggled in the beginning, but he then got her situated squarely so he could move. Maija's lips began to curl into a snarl as she urged her body to move, to wake up and be caught offguard by the act of this complete stranger, but...it refused to do it. For the moment, Maija was suspended in midair. Once Aoi spoke a few words into her ear, Maija felt a bit of her return to her body. It wasn't enough to make her fully wake up, but it was enough to have his words reach her auditory canals against the icy wind that surrounded them. She couldn't help but want to fully return then, but something kept her from going back to her body all the way. Her patience began to wear thin, but she continued to wait. Aoi seemed to be taking her to a cave that sheltered any weary travelers from the icy weather. She saw through the ice and rock that Aoi curled himself around her form, which had stopped shaking and jerking from the internal battle of emotions. The male didn't seem to be trying anything, since she was unconscious, and another tiny piece of her heart's shield broke. Maija hadn't seen kindness like this in a long time. The last person to show her such a thing was Cael, and that was because she had a bad wound. His job was a Medic and he had to show her kindness to treat her injury. But this..something was kind of off about it to her. She decided, in that spiritual state, that maybe Aoi wasn't being like this because he had to...but because he wanted to. Maija then felt herself being lowered back to the earth. She reclaimed her body and settled in before her eyes fluttered open. Most of the cold had been shunned away from her chilled form, replaced by the warmth that came from the smartass curled around her. The golden-furred fae didn't lower her defenses, but gave in to the warmth that surrounded her. Sleep was what she really needed, and time. God, lots of time. She snuggled into a ball, allowing Aoi's tail to slightly curl around her. Leaf green eyes opened in slits as she grumbled, "Thank you" beneath her breath before closing her heavy lids to fall into a dreamless slumber. Solace was what she needed and even if it was temporary, she would take it. -EXIT Maija- speech here