Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn nodded to Aku as he suggested they head down to the lake. She had to agree, plus with evening on the way she'd feel better being near a source of water. Water meant life and life meant food. Aku explained that he was from far away and she found herself absently nodding along as he spoke. "Same, this land is very new to me." Soon she was forced to focus on picking a patch down to the lake. In some ways going down was trickier than going up and she could feel her paws slipping on the ice. However, with some perseverance they soon reached the lake.

Night had fallen by the time they reached the lake but it was still beautiful. The night sky stretched out above them in it's deep slate blues, spotted with brilliant stares. The lake itself stretched out before them, dark and foreboding. It quickly became clear that the lake was frozen solid and had been for some time. Jynn sighed. Well, so much for her hopes of finding prey. Pillars of ice stretched out from the lake and she wondered what might have caused them to form that way. Were they frozen trees?

Jynn started to walk across the lake then yelped in surprise and scrambled back. "Eeeek! Aku did you see that?" She sniffed nervously at the ice before reaching out a paw and stepping on it. Almost at once a rich blue glow appeared. She recoiled as if she'd been burnt, ears alert. What the heck was the glowing thing?

The pair lapsed into silence as they worked their way down to the lake. The ground was slick with ice and the constant slipping of his paws was beginning to make the pads very sore. He would have to look at them later, but if he had his guess the ground had just about sanded them down to nothing. All he could hope was that they weren't raw otherwise he would have to rest a few days before continuing. Granted, he wasn't in a big hurry; this hunt was years in the making and the trail had gone cold long before he had started, but he didn't wish to hole up in an inhospitable place. The only saving grace was that he would have access to water. It had been awhile since he'd gone fishing and it was wearing strangely on him. He couldn't remember the last time he'd gone this long without a swim.

Even from a distance Aku could see the lake was quite impressive; a thought that only solidified the closer they got. It's surface was clear and pristine, and... He squinted. Jynn appeared to realize something was up at the same time as she let out a startled yelp and jumped back. With a frown Aku bent at the water's edge and looked down into its frozen surface. The blue glint from where Jynn's foot touched it caused him to jerk back with flaring nostrils. "Blessed mother..." He eyed it from a distance as though it might bite. Never had he encountered such a thing. "Boginky must live here. If we are to cross we must tread carefully..."

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn kept her eyes fixed on the glowing lights which slowly faded while Aku spoke. She risked a quick glance at him. "Boginky? What's that? Is it dangerous?" She hadn't been physically hurt by glowing blue lights but as far as she knew the glow was a warning against nosey trespassers. Jynn huffed and started to pace along the edge of the lake. The shortest distance between two points was a straight line and she'd rather just walk across the massive lake than go around it but if this Boginky thing was mean then they'd have to take the long way around.

"What do you think? Shall we try to cross the lake or go around? I did figure we could rest of the night once we got to the other side, unless we should wait til day to cross the lake." Maybe the boginkies were nocturnal.

Aku stood stiffly on the bank staring at the ice like he expected answers to leap out at him. He glanced around them in search of signs the frozen waters were inhabited. Boginky liked to hide in the reeds and scrub that rimmed bodies of water. There was nothing as far as he could tell; no grotesque foot prints in the snow, no claw marks on the ice. No sign that a twisted beast in the shape of an old woman lived and hunted nearby. Still, to be safe, he explained to Jynn, "A boginka is a demon. She is most feared for stealing newborns and replacing them with changelings, but sometimes when there are no babies around she gets lonely."

He moved to the edge of the water and pressed a paw to the ice. "Then she gets angry and she pulls wolves down and drowns them." After letting that sink in Aku turned to Jynn. "I think we should try, just carefully. If there is one around perhaps we will escape her notice if we are quiet and if we do not...perhaps the ice will slow her down." It was a risk, sure, but Aku had no idea if there were even any boginky in Boreas or if they were native only to his homeland.

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn didn't really believe in demons or things of that sort but she did believe that legends came from somewhere and she would not be the list bit surprised if there was some giant creature in that lake. Something that lured in its prey with the lights then burst through the ice to devour them. Though the ice did seem pretty solid. Jynn stepped on it again, the lights bursting to life under her paw step as she tried to gage the thickness. She looked to Aku and nodded. Ok, she was ready, time to sneak across and hopefully not get eaten.

Jynn moved swiftly and carefully, sliding her paws into place more so than stepping for fear of slipping and alerting something foul of her presence. Once again they moved in silence, Jynn held her tongue as the hours seemed to stretch by until at last they reached the other side of the lake. Jynn let out a sigh then bent and kissed the land. "Oh, thank goodness. I'd have hated to end this trip early as an entree."

With grim determination Aku stepped out onto the ice. He watched as shimmers of blue danced away from his paws and couldn't help but note that they were quite lovely. It was still too soon to say whether or not they were an omen of some sort, but harbinger or not, they were beautiful. The ice seemed solid enough. Under any other circumstances he would have walked across the lake without trepidation as the conditions were right for a worry free crossing. Only the threat of a strange and beautiful mystery sullied the journey.

The time slipped away with nary an incident and soon enough the adventurous pair were on the other side. The sky overhead was a deep inky blue dominated by a large, bright moon. It cast a glow on the snow and ice below that lit the landscape almost as well as an overcast sun. The bank loomed bright and welcoming, and as soon as Aku's paws hit it he let out a sigh of relief and felt a weight lift of his shoulders.

He chuckled as Jynn kissed the ground and though he didn't copy her he shared the sentiment. "How about we place a little distance between us and the water and call it a night? There has to be some shelter around her somewhere to get us out of the elements."

-exit-