It was early morning and the scent of the first hints of spring was in the air.  The air was crisp and still had an edge to it, but no longer the bite from winter raged.  A few clouds lingered in the sky but they were white puffy things and moving away from them.  Naiche stood near the lake, leaning down for a morning drink, brow pursing over the white fur starting to show itself more around his eyes.  What was up with this? This wasn’t a few random bits of white fur but growing thicker.  He still wore his cloak but had already seen that there were white markings along his back as well.  Naiche could only imagine this had something to do with the cave.  If the place had caused so much of his fur loss then it must be the reason for the change in his coat, at least his coat was far more filled out now. The stranger in the water and Naiche looked at each other for a moment.  The eyes weren’t the only change, the damage to his muzzle was healing but left a nice scar behind as a reminder of that fight for reaper.  Looking up and over his shoulder he saw the wolf who had given him the scar, “good morning Asla.  What do you think?” flicking his gaze to the water again and up at her, “the white fur seems determined to keep growing around the eyes, and some on the back as well.  I keep assuming it will stop but the white seems determined to take on some shape instead of just stray strands.” So was it an improvement or worsen his looks in her mind?  Certainly, Asla wouldn’t have a problem in the world with a blunt opinion on the matter, no niceties from her on a subject like this one. "Naiche"

Spring had apparently broken its springs because it barely sprung. The birds were singing but there was still snow and she was still cold. Hurry up, warm! Stupid snow... Asla kicked a bit of snow as she made her way quickly across the territory on her patrol. She was somewhat grumpy today. Sleep hadn't been kind to her last night despite being cozied up next to Naiche. And speaking of Naiche...

The golden brutes voice rang out as she drew in close. Maybe a little too close for him, but dammit... she was cold and he was warm. He seemed a little self conscious about the white that had popped up around his eyes and she took a moment to thoroughly inspect the white fur that had replaced the gold. After a moment, Asla shrugged. "I think you look dashing." She then grinned. "At least they aren't pink or green." She had no problem giving compliments when they were warranted. She had no problem telling the truth either. Had the markings been ugly, would she have told him though?

"So what are you up to today?" She had been patrolling, but her first round was finished. "I caught the smell of a beast earlier but I lost the scent." She mentioned it absently, but secretly hoped that he'd want to investigate with her. No matter how they'd started, she enjoyed spending time with him now. Time, hardships, life and death. It had all culminated into a deep sense of trust.

It was cold, and he was tired of cold.  He’d might be willing to go bald a year if they could have spring now.  When she got in close he didn’t resist, at least not right away.  It was as if his brain took a few moments to remind him they weren’t in a den where he could guarantee no one was watching them.  It was cold though damnit! He had just moved to take a small step back for a tiny bit and looked surprised at her word choice.  Dashing?  Whatever term he would have come up with for it ‘dashing’ hadn’t been in there.  Naiche had never thought poorly of his looks, and liked his appearance just fine but had never before nor now thought dashing.  Huh.  His nose wrinkled up on pink, “Pink, I guess it's better than bald but debatable.”   “Well, I had intended to go on patrol and then see about setting up some sort of training exercise for some students, test them out but,”  but she had caught the scent of a beast and that sounded like more fun right this second.  When had he last fought another predator like a bear or tiger or lion?  Lion.  That brought back memories. “we can’t have some beast roaming around near the pack.  The two of us need a bit of sport to keep in shape also anyway.  Why don’t we go find this beast of yours?  I can do the rest of it after we kill or chase off whatever you found.”  Yup, it was work, sure it was.   It was time to fight with Asla again, a great fight that would help him feel relaxed and sleep deeply even through this crappy cold snowy day. "Speech"

One of these days he'd stop moving away from her. She was bound and determined. Eventually she'd hammer it into highs thick skull. Physical contact was good! Sometimes she wanted to shake him. He was eager enough to snuggle up when they were alone but as soon as they exited the den, he acted like he couldn't stand to be near her. It was a blow to the ego. Didn't he know that there were others who would be more than happy to be in his place? Mojito, Indigo, Basilisk, Kaizer, even Raijin would show her affection in public. So what in the hell was wrong with Naiche?

Asla kept her tongue, only giving a dry laugh when he commented on her assessment of his looks. She liked the white. It emphasized his annoyed, sour expression. That was his normal expression, anyway. She noted the white flecking gradually showing up on his back as well. It was nice and it broke up the varying shades of gold. The marks did make him nicer to look at.

Naiche laid out his ideas for the day. It was pretty amusing how much he'd thrown himself into his new role. As Reaper, it was her duty to make sure that the wolves of the Armada were trained. She didn't necessarily have to be the one to train them, however. Asla was thankful for Naiches assistance. Especially with her father's new brood.

Naiche expressed interest in seeking out the bear that she'd sniffed out and Asla gave a light shrug. "Alright. Let's go." She was still a little miffed at him for stepping away from her, plus she was grumpy from lack of sleep so she stepped away from him and began moving off in the direction where she'd scented the bear. If he followed, he followed. If not, she'd fight the bear herself.