WC: 374

A shiver racked its way down Kuroki's spine as he pressed north, following in his Sire's footsteps as they tracked some freshly stomped footprints. For as long as the young Prince could remember, Hattori had been preoccupied by the creatures of the north, almost obsessive as he kept a watchful eye over Ashen's borders. Kuroki got it, mostly, since his Father was the Shogun and all but now they were leaving he saw no good reason to trail after them. Why not let them go back to wherever they came from? Why did it matter? Those questions rolled around in Kuroki's mind, only to pause when he shot his sister a side glance. The weather was clear but icy cold, he could see her well enough, but the wind made him squeeze his eyes into a squint as he eyed her up and down. She'd shot up like a bamboo sprout and was about the same height as him now, just as capable as any warrior koi, just a little clumsy on her paws is all.  Still she was eager to do whatever Hattori asked and Kuroki thought it was all beneath her, like she deserved better. But it was hard to say as much when he'd heeded his Father's call too, when he was slogging through the snow and ice, trailing after a creature that didn't belong.

Kuroki let out yet another sigh.

And that's when he saw it, in the distance, just on the ridge above. The looming figure of a deer taller than any that was native to Boreas. Kuroki stiffened at the sight of it, then took a step forward to get a better look. It was tall as hell, you could stack several Hattori's op top of one another and still that wouldn't be enough. Three wolves, no matter how skilled, wouldn't stand a chance at bringing it down. And yet Kuroki felt his muscles tense all the same. Just because he wanted to, just because he could.

Kicking off into a sprint, he dashed ahead. The creature reared it's head and was quick to realise what was afoot, it twisted on its hooves and disappeared beneath the ridge as it made to run away. The chase was on.

 

The young princess had followed her father’s call farther than she had ever been away from home. Even with her father to lead them, Kiyohime felt nervous about being out in the unknown. She tried to rely on the fact that she had both her big (or not so much bigger anymore) brother and father here to keep her safe and guide her along. Hattori knew what he was doing, and he wouldn’t actively place her in any danger that he or she couldn’t get herself out of. For once she was thankful for her massive paws and relatively small size. The sun returned and melted the top layer into an icy crust that she navigated on top of with relative ease. She slipped and fell, and broke through a few times but didn’t have to use her small form to wade through any drifts. The wind was the most difficult part of the trip. At many points she had to lean against her father’s legs lest the wind and ice carry her away just by pushing her.

She wasn’t near as heavy as her brother either. She wanted so badly to be a little lady like her sister Ikigai. She was so beautiful and perfect, but here she was, nearly tripping over her own paws, as she travelled the countryside. She was just so much better at hunting and fighting than she was making tea or music. A fact she didn’t like to admit, not even to herself. So when her father asked she said how high despite how much she needed to be practicing her writing or.. Walking. Kiyohime went through a thin patch of ice as she took a step forward. Her white front paw went crashing through the snow and she bonked her chin on the hard ice.

Ike made no noise to how much discomfort she was in, and would shoo away any glance her father might have given as she picked herself up and followed Kuroki nonchalantly. She didn’t even notice he’d stopped until she bumped into him lightly, but he gave her no notice and Ike followed his attention to see the incredible beast upon the ridge. The deer was massive, not to the size of the wolly elephants, but larger than any deer she had ever seen. By the look of her brother he hadn’t either. Her wide dual toned eyes took its majesty in for just a moment longer before Oki put a paw forward.

Then he was running and Shuriken made a split decision to follow after him, her paws were swift and fierce if not incredibly clumsy so she struggled to keep up but chase onwards she did. They were lucky that it didn’t intend to turn and charge on them because it was so big it could have pummeled them into the ice with ease. Maybe it was nervous about disintegrating the ice bridge further. She couldn’t know but she would run after, escorting it back to its home.

Wc:501
Total: 875

Wc: 364
Total: 1239

It was stupid, foolish, and Kuroki knew his Father would rumble as much, but he just didn't care. There was nothing better than this, the sense of wanton freedom as he charged through the snow, his heart racing both from the thrill and struggle of it all. His grin grew when he noticed Ike following suit, probably against her better judgement too. For a moment he wanted to ward her off, she was clumsy and silly and he didn't want her to get hurt but-it was kind of fun. To toss the rules aside and to run and chase, even though the chances of "catching up" to their prey were slim to none.

The creature wasn't in any danger, but it ran tantalisingly all the same, it's long legs carrying it across the snowy terrain with easy strides. If nothing else it was getting a dramatic send off, one last hurrah before it left the confines of Boreas.  Kuroki liked that idea and kicked it up a notch, his legs and lungs burning as he ran as fast as he could manage, with all the snow slowing him down. The orange figure of his Sire soon was lost to the white of the snow, he didn't intend to follow, it seemed. Whatever, he'd catch up sooner or later and give them both a tongue lashing. Till then freedom was theirs.

Over the ridge and down the slanting hill, the massive expansive of ocean soon came into view. It was so bright and blue that Kuroki's dark eyes strained to adjust to the change in colour. There stretching out in the middle, shattered and crumbling, was the remains of the Ice Bridge. Kuroki had never seen anything like it and he almost stumbled in awe, wondering if he could push this even further and try to cross it himself. To see what wonders laid on the other side. After all, if all manners of creatures had made the journey why couldn't he?

And so he pushed on, almost slipping a little as he put his first paw on the ice. Ahead the deer ran on, clopping across the bridge with a marked note of care.



 

Shuriken tried not to focus on her paws as she raced after Kuroki and the king of all deer. A grin wouldn’t be wiped from her face and as her long gait reached a top speed over the snow the world was given a glimpse of the grace the princess might one day possess. The young wolves crested the ridge and were greeted with the sight of the ocean and the ice bridge. Their quarry was in no danger, but seemed to almost take joy in the feeling of flight. Of return to where it originated. The girl’s dual toned eyes took in the patterned speckles of clouds as they raced across the sky above her. The wind buffeted her thin frame but she was driven on by the exotic scent of the god deer.

She raced after her brother and the majestic creature and as she watched it run the girl felt herself trying to mimic its graceful movements. She wouldn’t come close, and her thoughts automatically made her lose the beautiful stride of her own. Instead she began to leap after Kuroki and the deer, instead of alternating her paws she bounded behind. She gained a bit of ground as he was taken aback by the incredible view.

Kiyohime followed him to the edge of the ice and carefully put her paws against the slick surface. She didn’t know where the king of deer was going but she wanted to send him off. Ike could run shoulder to shoulder with her brother now, but the disintegrating ice bridge certainly wouldn’t allow them very far into the ocean. It wasn’t going to get back past them at least, so surely they did their due diligence.

Wc: 286
Total: 1525