Why was it that finding peace with both Costanza and Ginna brought him no peace? Well, perhaps that wasn't true. It had brought him peace. However, it seemed peace would not stay with him and soon Harbringr felt the familiar restlessness and exhaustion that came with his returning nightmares. His motivation started to dwindle. He knew he should hold a training session for the warriors but instead he focused on patrolling obsessively, circling around the borders of Habari. He felt low, but he couldn't figure out why.

Harbringr took a sudden turn to the east while on patrol, heading toward Fenrir's Maw. He started along the treacherous, winding trails in search of distraction.

True peace was something Eyrún hadn't known in quite some time now. It was hard to find purpose after enduring the trials she'd embarked upon, after Muninn had been taken from her - well, not taken persay, but offered up as a sacrifice to show her devotion to her gods. Though she still had Huginn, her one raven companion, she couldn't help but feel as though something was missing. Eyrún had no idea what that something was. It was easy to get lose in her thoughts as she wandered, and over time she'd headed east. While some wolves might be searching for somewhere to hunker down for the winter, somewhere to ride out the frequent storms that plagued the lands, Eyrún had a quite different thought process. Only through suffering and perseverance could she prove her faith and put herself back on the right path.

Though the day was a relatively mild one, all things considered, these steep mountain cliffs were not easy to navigate. The trails were slick and winding, and often she had to pause and calculate how to climb higher with minimal risk for injury. All worries of potential dangers were cast aside though when she spotted someone up ahead, not far from where she'd been climbing. Huginn had been scouting further ahead and had yet to return to her, but she figured he'd seen him already and designed him a non-threat. Eyrún let out a bark as she leapt onto an outcrop just beside her, aiming to climb a bit closer. "Lovely day for a hike, isn't it?" Eyrún called out cheerfully.

Harbringr braced himself against the bitter cold wind. This was an unforgiving terrain but in some ways it was the cold and the beating of his own blood in his ears that reminded him he was still here. In some ways he ought to be grateful that it was a mild day as far as this winter went. Though it was cold there was still sunlight and no storm clouds or snow in sight in the sky. The ground was another matter all together.

His head jerked back as someone barked out a greeting and he turned to see a lovely woman standing on an outcrop nearby. Now free from his obsessive delusions of his deceased wife he was finding a new appreciation for the beauty of the women he met. He had sworn to his wife til death did they part and she was gone now. He accepted that. Harbringr turned to face the stranger with a playful grin. "Aye, a beautiful day for such a brutal winter. Though, if I may be so bold, the day couldn't hold a candle to you. It's a wonder the sun doesn't race from the sky for fear of being compared with your radiance."

Eyrún wasn't really one to stop and dwell on the natural beauty of the world, even if she knew it to be so. Her gods were powerful and thus the world they had created was one full of beauty, but she was more concerned with duty rather than leisure. Well.. at least most of the time. The stranger that suddenly caught her off-guard was quite handsome, and for a moment her captured her attention fully - a bright spot of warmth traversing the otherwise frigid mountain pass.

His charming words earned a laugh from her. Eyrún wasn't a woman easily swayed by the words of others - she didn't need nor desire their approval - but she was vain enough to enjoy a little attention nonetheless. "Sól would never allow such a thing. The sun must endure," she joked back lightly, gladly taking a few strides towards him. A tiny bit of warmth from being within reach of him sounded quite pleasant anyway. "Who do I have the pleasure of meeting, hm?" Eyrún tilted her head and raised a brow as she studied him a bit closer, deciding that he was quite beautiful himself, definitely gifted by the gods in that department.

Harbringr felt a warmth growing in his belly as he flirted with the gorgeous woman. It made him feel young and free, tasting what he'd missed out on for years so consumed by his loss. He wondered if he might taste more? She spoke and he chuckled."Fair enough." She moved closer to him and his tail wagged lightly back and forth as he lightly rolled his shoulders forward and then back again, stretching before moving a bit closer. "My name is Harbringr Klein. What about you? Would you care for some company on your climb? I find myself without much direction, just going where fate wills. I'd happily take your lead." He wondered what had drawn so elegant a woman to such a brutal place.

Eyrún was glad to not be alone right now; her moods were often fickle and short-lived, but in this precise moment she didn't particularly feel like being alone. And what better place for company than these secluded mountain trails? And such handsome company at that. Eyrún hummed thoughtfully to herself as he moved closer, mirroring him slightly as she stretched out her forelimbs. "Eyrún Finnvi," she introduced herself easily. Briefly she let her gaze fall from him, drifting to the steep cliffside just nearby. This place was certainly a dangerous one, even without the hint of snow in the forecast, though it was not quite warm enough to melt the ice that caked the trails. There were sections that were more easily navigated than others but the world was still bleak and frozen, despite the sun overhead. "And some company would be lovely. I'm pretty much doing the same. My life's led me in a different sort of direction and I suppose you could say I'm searching for... purpose." It hadn't been with Valkyrie and her crew; losing them had made that much obvious. Her devotion was strong and true, and yet she still felt aimless, unsure about how to best serve her gods - which was exactly why she'd found herself here, in this harsh landscape, as if somehow traversing this mountain might help her see things more clearly.. or at least continue to prove her faith to whoever might be watching.

Harbringr moved carefully along the path as it narrowed, pushing them closer as Hari sought to avoid being too close to the edge. Now that winter had moved in the trails in the Maw were more treacherous than ever. Falling to his doom was certainly no way to impress a pretty lady. She spoke about her search for purpose and he nodded knowingly, having struggles with such questions himself. "It's an uncomfortable feeling. I've felt a similar way when the original empire I was a part of fell. Thankfully, my sister started up a pack here and gave me a rank within it so I had something to strive for. Now I keep myself busy as a warrior for my niece. However, I can't say I really felt purpose til I had my sons. Before it was just going through the motions of being a warrior. Patrols, training, patrols, training. Now at least I can break my day up with making sure they're prepared for the world and able to carry on my legacy."

He had no idea if mentioning his children would be a strike against him but it was the truth. They were the only thing these days that kept him grounded. Even when he felt he just wanted to run off and do something dangerous or leave for a season or two he remembered his children and knew he needed to be there for them. He at least had that.

The narrowing of the path forced them closer together, and truthfully Eyrún wasn't going to complain about her proximity to Harbringr. She wasn't one to ever truly let her guard down but likewise she trusted in her own abilities to maneuver out of situation once it became dangerous for her to handle; she was equally as confident now as she drew in alongside him, the fur along her side briefly brushing against him. She nodded, grateful he understood how she felt in a sense, even if he hadn't had the same exact experience they could both relate in a way. "I understand. I lost touch with the group I was part of - the whole reason I'd even come to Boreas. I can't shake the feeling I've been being tested. And failing miserably," she admitted, a rare moment of vulnerability for the normally quite closed-off Finnvi woman. She was often perceived as a bit expressive and quick to speak, compared to other wolves, but rarely did she speak of the innermost workings of her mind so freely.

The feeling that she was somehow not living up to her full potential weighed heavy on her. Harbringr explained he'd felt that way until he'd had sons. Children. She'd considered having offspring of her own - how else could the Finnvi bloodline carry on, anyway? - but she'd never spent very long dwelling on it. It was hard to imagine another wolf becoming so involved in her life. She'd want to raise them precisely how she wanted, no other way. They'd be taught their purpose in life, to serve their gods and secure a place in the afterlife, and to ensure their survival until then at all costs. Eyrún let out a wistful sort of sigh, bracing herself against a gust of bitter wind and inadvertently pressing herself closer against Harbringr. "Well, that all sounds quite admirable. Raising warrior sons, I mean. Are you certain you're getting enough time to yourself? Or is that why you're here?" Eyrún lifted a brow, grinning with a hint of suggestion.

Harbringr had to admit he enjoyed the tingle of her brushing against them as they were forced to walk closer together. More so than her fur was her scent. It kept pulling his thoughts in inappropriate directions. Although they were both adults and if she were interested in an intimate evening he certainly wouldn't turn such a lovely creature down.

She began to speak again and he pulled his thoughts from her body to her words, explaining how she'd lost touch with the group she'd been a part of and felt as though she was being tested. Hari nodded. He could understand the feeling, though the answer usually seemed quite individual. He wasn't quite sure what Eyrún's would be.

As she pressed closer to him with a sigh he felt his heart start racing. He grinned coyly at her. "As perceptive as you are beautiful." Hari nodded. "Yes, I needed some time to collect my thoughts. Though I definitely wouldn't say no to more 'adult' company." He shifted his weight slightly, seeking to press his side more deeply into hers.

Her own thoughts were straying in the same direction. But really, who could blame her? Eyrún had been on her own for quite some time now, without the intimate company of another - her dutiful little slave didn't count, for that was an entirely different sort of relationship. Fulfilling, yes, but in a different sort of way. At the end of the day she had to remind herself she was still a mortal and had all the desires of one, even if her focus was generally skyward. She was hardly a hedonist in the way her father had been rumored to be, but she wouldn't deprive herself of a positive experience simply because. Perhaps her gods had led her to this man for a reason, after all..

She let out a content sigh at his response to her. Enough about feeling as if she'd lost her purpose and was searching for it; her thoughts shifted to something far more tangible, suddenly lost in his company. "A man of fine taste," she grinned coyly at him, noticing he had moved to press closer against her. "Some adult company sounds wonderful to me." She emphasized the word 'adult', leaning into him and aiming to nip lightly at the side of his neck. "If you think you're man enough," she added with a smirk.

Harbringr's heart jumped as she pressed near to him, voicing her mind was heading in the exact same direction as his had gone. For a moment he didn't even feel the cold for the pool of sudden heat churning in his belly. He twisted his head as she nipped at his neck seek to lick the corner of her jaw. He grinned, spying a cave. "Let me show you how man enough I am." He whispered, gesturing to the cave with a wink. A cozy cave, a gorgeous woman, and a howling snow storm outside. How had he gotten so lucky? Desire pushed all other concerns out of his head as he focused in on the present and everything he wanted to do with the gorgeous creature in front of him.

It was likely this was yet another test sent to her from the gods above, but Eyrún was suddenly enraptured by his company. Perhaps if she was a wolf of stronger will she might be able to resist the temptation, but the truth was that she was a mere mortal, subject to the desires of the body as much as any other wolf. Perhaps someday she might be strong enough to resist such a moment but today she was not. She'd been tested enough and she couldn't shake her desires for this man, even if he might be a stranger. She breathed him in deeply as he led her somewhere more secluded, if not for warmth then for some privacy. Not that anyone else had a chance of being nearby but getting out of the storm brewing around them was definitely ideal. She wouldn't hesitate to lose herself to him, for a rare moment forgetting all the thoughts that plagued her mind and giving in to pleasure.

-fade to black-

In blocking the winds, the walls of the cave provided sudden warmth that only added to his own internal fever. If he'd had pelts of some kind he'd have happily laid them out first but his mind was swimming so rapidly he wondered if he could even contain himself that long. Just breathing in her scent was getting him high. He felt like he might lift right off the ground. He stretched out his arms, seeking to wrap them around the base of her neck as he eagerly sought to release his thoughts into oblivion. Let his mind still and quiet for a moment of ecstasy as his body was given the reigns.

-fade to black-