TIME IS A BUTTERFLY, I'M RIPPING OFF WINGS Under the midday sun, the cloud cover overhead was barely holding on to its reign over the skies. Thin beams of sunlight broke through, turning the pillars of ice that rose up from the lake into glittering, crystalline monoliths. As one dove hued paw collided with a loose chunk of ice, it went skittering across the lake. Rather than shattering against the arch of ice that it struck, the pointed chunk embedded itself in the larger body with a hollow thunk and was still. Intrigued by this turn of events, the titan plodded over to get a better view. Well, that certainly was something. Whiskey eyes fell upon a few more loose shards, probably the size of his paw or smaller. The giant settled himself behind one of them, taking aim at a distant pillar of gleaming ice, and smacked it with the pad of his forepaw. Away it went, skidding and spinning over the slick substrate until it collided with the target. Thunk. Same result as before. Upon further inspection, a few shards had broken free of the small projectile, but it remained intact. Now there was the question of whether or not this could be replicated in a more refined weapon. With a low hum, curiosity took hold of the hellish beast. Scooping a few loose chunks of ice into a pile with his forepaws, he kicked and prodded them until he had assembled a sizable pile from which to choose. Now he had room for error, and could simply start over if he didn't like what was happening. If the ice was strong enough to be used as a weapon, he might be able to get away with some truly vile acts. Or, he could make use of the naturally occurring substance for hunting. Skinning an animal with a knife was one thing, but if he forgot a knife? Maybe ice could do the same job in a pinch. Now, all he would need to make this work was a heavy, flat stone. If it was anything like knapping, a hammerstone was critical. Amber eyes lifted to scan the expanse of the frozen lake around him, searching for any kind of sizable stone. When nothing was immediately obvious, he rose to his paws with a low growl of irritation. Why couldn't everything just work for him? What was the obsession with forcing him to exert energy and effort over the littlest things? Heavy steps brought the behemoth across the lake, weaving through the maze of strange, frozen pillars. They might serve as good defensive barriers, in the event of a raid or some variety of chase. A small band could hole up here and never have to worry about being caught, if they learned the land well enough to be able to lead their pursuers into ever more confusing circles and dead ends until they gave up. Upon the snow covered shore, he managed to unearth a nice, heavy stone. It was just round enough to work perfectly for his needs, and he carefully collected it between his jaws. It wouldn't be that useful if he chipped or broke a tooth while carrying the damned thing. By the time he had returned to his pile of ice and strange ideas, a fervour had settled into his bones. He needed this to work. He was determined to make this work. Flopping heavily onto his belly, he clasped the stone in his grip and pinned a chunk of ice beneath his wrist with only one edge poking out. He struck once, a decisive blow to the edge that would have freed up a flake of stone, had he been knapping with rocks. Instead, the entire block of ice shattered. Auds pressing flat against his skull, the beast bared his fangs and snarled in frustration. Of fucking course, how could he have thought it would go any other way? Fucking idiot. Pinning a small chunk of the offending ice beneath his paw, he raked dark talons over its surface in frustration. Crimson dipped banner thumped angrily against the ice, causing blooms of bioluminescence beneath the ice with each frustrated strike. Whenever he found the nerve to finally calm himself, and looked at the stupid ice trapped under his paw, he found himself tracing the gentle curvature of the scores that ran through the ice. Flesh never held the marks quite so beautifully, always ragged and inflamed at the edges. Wait. That was it, all he needed to do was carve the ice, instead of knapping. A self-satisfied grin played across his sanguine marked features as he slid a fresh new canvas closer. Instead of working away with the stone, he braced the chunk between his paws and slowly scraped his fangs and incisors over the edge. The mouthfuls of frigid debris weren't the most pleasant, and his tongue started to go numb almost immediately, but he was far too invested in his creation to truly care. It took a while, and he ended up swallowing most of the frost that landed on his tongue, but he finally had a haphazard blade clutched between his paws. The hilt was nothing impressive, a blocky chunk of ice meant to be gripped between his teeth. The blade, however, he was quite proud of. By lightly biting into the edges, he'd formed small serrations along each edge. It would be perfect for slicing through flesh, he mused. In a foolish bid to test the fruits of his labour, he ran the edge of the blade over the skin of his front right leg. Sure enough, it stung. However, only a few droplets of blood managed to well up from the resulting wound. Barely marking the pale grey fur of his leg. Another low growl rumbled in his chest, frustration blooming yet again. What a bunch of bullshit. Ice was obviously just something meant to trip you up in front of everyone and embarrass you at every opportunity. ~~~(WORD COUNT 999) ~~~ Tossing the makeshift weapon aside, he sighed. Just like that, his anger had flared and then snuffed itself out. Now he was just cold and tired. Ready to head back south in search of his cousin, and maybe some roughhousing with her little ones to redeem the day. The scarlet breasted goliath heaved himself to his paws, shaking the debris and frost from his pelt. Well, this had been a waste. Heavy paws carried his burly form across the lake at a steady, lumbering pace. Another, smaller sigh escaped his nostrils with a plume of mist. At least he'd gotten to see something new and exciting. Perhaps he ought to spend more time exploring the north, see what lay beyond the frozen tundras. There had to be something to see around here. SPEECH || actions || OTHERS

Ara was rather disgruntled with the longer walk across the frigid cold that she had to take.Even though Poe hadn’t known of her arrival, a part of her had still expected to see his familiar reddish form sitting, waiting, patiently at the shore for her. Instead, she had found Manea, and after a good long catch up her cousin had given her some pointers on where to look.

It was a long trek, and her paws were frozen solid. She had found rather a lot of exciting expletives to call him under her breath by the time she finally stumbled upon Poe, near the icy and very frozen lake. He was just tossing something aside that glinted like ice under the midday sun. shaking ice from his giant form and lumbering to his big oofy paws. “What, no greeting for your favourite sister?” she teased him, her tail still behind her, and her brows raised expectantly at him. She was all but tapping her paw with impatience. “I travel all the way to this Boreas place or whatever, and then I still have to climb half a frozen mountain to find you? You really are trying to escape me, aren’t you. Stinky.”

"Speech"

x

TIME IS A BUTTERFLY, I'M RIPPING OFF WINGS As soon as his eyes lifted, they landed upon a strikingly familiar face. Before he had time to process his sister's arrival and subsequent presence in these strange new lands, she was off on a tirade. Oh boy, here we go. “What, no greeting for your favourite sister?” she asked, her tone distinctly accusatory and expression expectant. Much as he would have liked to respond, his little sister was not finished berating him. “I travel all the way to this Boreas place or whatever, and then I still have to climb half a frozen mountain to find you? You really are trying to escape me, aren’t you. Stinky.” she grunted, coal dark features painted with a seething scowl. To onlookers, they would have seen an angry female who should be listened to for fear of death or maiming. Poe? He saw a pouting child that clearly needed some attention. A lopsided grin spread across the broad places of his face, adorned crown rising to gaze down his thick snout at her with exaggerated scrutiny. "Last time I checked, my favourite sister was barely a lanky, gawky yearling. You must be mistaken, pipsqueak." he rumbled dubiously, quirking his own brow to match her theatrics. Scarlet accented facade schooled itself into a blank expression, feigning ignorance for the sake of the game. Taking a few steps closer, the distance between them vanished and he stared her in the eyes. Still playing up his assessment of his sister, that massive head lowered so they were nose to nose, amber eyes narrowed to inspect the delicate features of the girl he'd doted on for most of her young life. He'd been gone for nearly a year, and she'd grown into a beautiful young woman. He half expected to find a freshly minted husband trailing along behind her, long since browbeaten into submission by her sharp tongue and high standards. Breaching her personal space, the beast shoved his chilly nose into the plush for of her ruff, just below the sharp jut of her mandible, and took a few harried sniffs. "Hmm..." he mused as he pulled away, unable to keep that goofy grin form returning to his dark lips. "You know, I think you may be right. I do believe this is my favourite sister after all!" he announced, lifting a huge paw to wrap about her slender neck and pull her to his chest. She was small and slight, could easily slip out of his grasp if she wanted, but he was taking a great deal of joy in returning to their old games of harassing one another. Should she fall victim to the strong grip of his thick forelimb, he would seek to smooth his tongue over the top of her head, and possibly drool all over her while he was at it. What were big brothers for, if not making your day just slightly horrible? SPEECH || actions || OTHERS

Her breath fogged the air in front of her, and her toes curled inwards to preserve some measure of warmth. Perhaps that was why there was just a little extra spice in her glare as she looked at her favourite wolf in the world. “Your right, I’m a totally different coal-sparks coloured wolf. I just thought I'd prank you and pretend you were my brother…” she began, turning up the sarcasm.

The much larger wolf pushed his way into her personal space. Far from being annoyed, she breathed in deeply of the scent of him. He was childhood and safety and fond memories. Warmth, on the freezing lake of a glacier. Then he was digging his teeth into her scruff, and yanking her closer. She yelped in surprise, through it was half laughter as she let the larger wolf pull her into his chest. That was fine, he was warm, and she was freezing. She even dug her toes into his paws for good measure - and then felt cool wetness on the back of her head. “No, no!” she cried, ducking her head out of his tongues reach, and rapidly smoothing her hair down with a paw. “Eeeew, you gianslobering doberman” she said, shoving her shoulder into his.


"Speech"

x

TIME IS A BUTTERFLY, I'M RIPPING OFF WINGS Oh, was Naráca ever mad about this little game. Perhaps that was part of the reason that he was having such a great time, and would gladly continue the charade. The vitriol in that crimson glare was almost too good not to provoke further. “Your right, I’m a totally different coal-sparks coloured wolf. I just thought I'd prank you and pretend you were my brother…” she began what would have likely been a delightful tongue lashing, ready to unload months of indignation that he'd missed with his absence, and he would have gladly stood there to meet it all with a painfully empty stare.. Provided he hadn't been gripped by the urge to abandon the game in favour of crushing her against his broad chest. She was still small enough that it wasn't too difficult to yank her close with one meaty paw, and she folded up neatly between his forelimbs like she was still a pup. He could hear the laughter that she was trying to stifle, and it only provoked him further. He really leaned into his affectionate slobbering, ebony tongue dripping with frigid drool as he licked the top of her head. Right between the ears, maybe getting a little of her forehead? This was prime entertainment, with the added bonus of feeding into his long dormant impulses to be tending to someone- anyone. "No, no!" his sister shrieked, and he loosened his grip just enough for her to wriggle free of his hold. Watching her smooth the sodden fur with her paw in a desperate attempt to right the wrongdoings of his affection, well, it was enough to send him into a fit. A booming laugh escaped his jaws, amber eyes squeezed shut as his flanks shuddered. “Eeeew, you gianslobering doberman” she snapped, and though her tone was accusatory it was still light and affectionate. Even her sharp shoulder colliding with his wasn't malicious, though he felt himself staggered by the blow, unsteady as he was in the grips of his own mirth. "I missed you too, Ara," he laughed once he had gotten some semblance of control over himself. Returning her light jostling, he nodded his head Southeast, the direction he'd been headed before she cut him off. "Come on, we can catch up while we walk. I'm sure you've had plenty of adventure since I last saw you, hm?" he questioned, quirking a brow as his powerful limbs began to carry him from the frozen lake and off towards warmer climes. SPEECH || actions || OTHERS