ooc: Thor and Baldur's entrance into Ala, weeks before either run's into the rest of the family.
ic:

Dam? still frozen. Baldur stared down at the ice before sitting in the slushy snow melt, panting lightly as a slight shiver ran down his spine. He was thirsty and tired of snarfing down snow and it seemed like they'd been traveling forever! It truth though it had only been a few weeks since he and Thor had left their home. Three weeks since his violent battle with Vili and Ve, his uncles. Vili the new king ohh joy... Baldur spat. If he dared allow himself to think on it too long he'd only end up shaking with anger. It made him sick. After Hr??vitnir had been slain by Hati his mother was a sobbing awful mess. As if she really cared about that devil and then bam? next thing anyone knew she was letting Vili screw her brains out. The snowfallen brute sat there stewing, anger coiling around inside of him. "Dammit?" he muttered as he realized his right front leg was bleeding again, badly, right above his elbow. He'd probably accidentally scratched it open again, but dam it itched. The wound marked the spot where Ve's fangs and ripped into flesh as he thrashed his head, trying to hold Baldur down for Vili. The psychotic little creep. It was Baldur's fault of course. Every pent up emotion he'd ever felt, every piece of hate and anger, every bruise and bleeding wound he'd ever received had slipped from his maw in a string of insults. Apparently Vili didn't care to be called parasite-ridden whore among other less savory names at the start of a pack meeting to officially announce his grand plans for the future... Oops? Of course an alpha had to maintain dominance and control. With a word Vili sprang into action. Ve joined in and had gotten hold and didn't let go, trying to hold him down while Vili 'taught him a lesson', ripping into his scruff and the top of his hips, trying to flip him on his back to either castrate him or gut him he wasn't quite sure. All he knew was that he'd fought back against them both for all that he was worth when Vili had pronounced that he was to be put to death for his insolence and dove for his throat. There were gashes on either side of Baldur's neck, right below the corners of his jaw where his uncle had attempted to slay him. Vili probably would've succeeded if Thor hadn't dove in and saved Baldur's sorry hide. Anglea had stood and watched just as she always did. Making no move to join in and no move to save him. Not even flinching as Vili dove for the kill... he probably shouldn't have been watching his mother in a fight. Stupid. Useless. Baldur licked at the wound hoping Thor hadn't seen. He was greatful for his older brother's concern and help but he just wasn't sure how to respond to it. He wasn't really sure about anything anymore but he felt profound guilt at being the reason Thor was forced to leave home. Not that it had ever been much of a home to begin with. More like a battlefield. Anglea had insisted on turning a blind eye to any suffering of her children as she obsessed over Hr??vitnir. Her worshipping adoration of the brute filled Baldur with disgust and pity. Hr??vitnir was not some great being. He was a violent bastard, sick depraved and his brother's Vili and Ve were no better in Baldur's opinion. In fact he often thought they were worse. Sighing he shoved the thoughts from his mind, knowing all to well they'd rise again. He forced a smile on his face. He was alive, though! There was that. He was alive, and free and he had Thor with him. How could it possibly get better? "Hey Thor! It's frozen here to. I know maybe we can cross it? I think Alacritis is a hop, jump and a skip away!" He tenuously reached out his left paw, poking at the ice before taking a few tender steps out, wincing a bit from his wounds but intent on not letting the injuries slow him down or hold him back. "THOR look! Look! I'm balancing, hahaha. C'mere and try- OW!" he tripped and face-planted right on the ice. A sigh slipped from the brutes maw?. the story of his life.

Hobbling along behind his brother, Thor tried his best to keep up without appearing like he was struggling. A bite around his right elbow was healing slowly--far too slowly for his liking--but so far it was on the right track. His only complaint was that it limited the use of the leg. Straightening it all the way pulled on the scabs which would begin to weep which would, in turn, annoy him. His only other option was to baby it; walking either with that paw tucked up or overcompensating each step by leaning to the injured side every time he placed weigh on it so the leg wouldn't have to be fully extended. Thor didn't walk with his paw tucked while Baldur was watching. Ever.

Thor didn't regret leaving The Pack one bit. It had been something he'd been thinking about for quite some time and the incident with Baldur had finally pushed him into action. The union between his mother and uncle had been sickening, but not all that surprising. Vili practically worshiped Hroovitnir and upon his death every move he'd made seemed to be an attempt to become the dead wolf. Baldur's outburst, however, had taken him by surprise. Everything he'd said had resonated with the older brother, but unlike Thor, Baldur had chosen to act on his feelings. It was only right that Thor applaud him by taking his side.

"I saw that." His voice was softer than usual, and teasing. It was only because he was being followed that Baldur didn't see Thor worrying his own injuries. The brute ached, every last inch of him. He couldn't even count the number of marks on his body this time, though thankfully none of them were serious. If not for the skills that had been given to them by their own attackers, the two brothers would probably have been a lot worse off.

He stopped walking once his paws were at the very edge of the lake. This was not a good idea. Everything about it screamed 'you're gonna hurt yourself here!' but no, Baldur didn't pick up on that warning and before Thor could stop him, he was on the ice. Within seconds the brute was down and Thor was laughing so hard he couldn't breathe, each sharp intake of air punctuated by an 'ow!' as his ribs complained.

Finally his mirth devolved into fitful wheezes. Alright, now it was his turn. The brute placed one giant paw out first. He was a bit heavier than Baldur, so further testing was required. Another paw followed, and then other, and finally he was on the ice. Thor paused, waiting for the same fate that Baldur had received, and when it didn't come he looked up to lock uncharacteristically wide eyes with his brother. Now what?

Baldur laid there for a second, pale pink tongue reaching out to lick his nose and he let out a soft sigh of relief that he hadn't bitten his tongue off. The pain was starting to rear it's head again. Baldur had gotten quite good at ignoring pain but the journey was wearing on him. He almost hated to stand up again. But, apart from the jarring fall nothing seemed to be dangerously out of line? the leg was still bleeding and Baldur had opened the bite wound that felt across his hips in deep arcs when he'd landed spread eagle. Dam Ve's tenacity. It was like being ripped apart by a giant rapid squirrel. Cautiously, the snowy brute got to his feet and gave himself a good shake, sending a small smattering of blood to decorate the ice. When they got to Alacritis then they could heal. If the wounds opened there wasn't much to do except keep moving. It was unlikely that Vili would send anyone to track them. He was probably just grateful that more of Hroovitnir's spawn were out of the way for him to make room for his own. Not to mention that Baldur had been an irritating and persistent thorn in Vili's side since pup hood. Not that Baldur had ever really meant to but when he was in the spirit of play and was tearing around with Weth, his uncle's wrath didn't register. That said, though, their family was one that was fraught with pride and wrath. He didn't know if Vili would get it in his head to send Ve or some equally nasty wolf to bring back their head as trophies. Thor's laugh brought Baldur out of his thoughts and he turned to his older brother grinning. Baldur enjoyed making his older brother laugh. Everyone in the family was always so serious and stern or angry and sarcastic that Baldur got a particular thrill out of provoking laughter out of his siblings. It was a rare treat though. His klutzy antics were often met with teasing or outright disapproval. Hroovitnir was found of pushing his sons in sparring, particularly the first litter until they could barely even stand. When he was younger Baldur hated seeing his brothers so close to breaking and would occasionally perform a stunning, and in his opinion, incredibly athletic face plant in the hopes of eliciting at least a hidden smile. Father did not approve. Thor's breath was coming in wheezes and Baldur's ears flicked back as he started toward's the earthen brute, slipping a bit on the ice as he tried to slide over, concern staining his features. Ok, maybe he over did it a bit. But as soon as he started moving toward's his brother Thor pulled himself together and stepped gingerly, almost fearfully, onto the ice. Baldur was silently cursing himself for not stopping to check their wounds first. He supposed that would've been responsible but he was anxious to get as far away as possible. He was sure Thor felt the same. Thor looked at him expectantly on what to do next and for a moment Baldur faltered. Wait, Thor was asking him? He was the younger sibling it was weird and unnerving for him to be in charge but he pretended not to be bothered. "Don't worry. Once we're across we can rest and heal and maybe find some food. Let's see?." Balduer widened his stance a bit, toes splayed and claws digging into the ice he began to slip across in a sort of half-step, half-slide motion. He stumbled a couple times but soon he got the hang of it. "So Thor! Once we're in Alacritis what should we do? I mean in the long run, obviously once we get on the other side we should find a den and get some sleep! I'm starving! I-" Baldur paused as he processed the thought. "Well food and sleep. I don't know about herbs though?. What was that flower that mom used to give dad after long sparring sessions?" Baldur was wracking his brain trying to remember but was coming up blank. He was soon in the middle of the lake where he paused for a break. The ice, he knew, was thinest on the edges of the lake rather than the middle but one side could easily be thicker than another. It was then his plan fell apart. The scent of a packland was wafting to the pair from the shore. Damn?.. Baldur's brow furrowed. They'd come to far to turn back and the pain was getting worse. He wasn't going to last much longer and he was sure of the same for Thor, not to mention it was getting quite late in the day. "I say we chance it, " he declared.

Alright, it was alright, he had this... The brute's paws didn't feel very sturdy under him, like they were slowly moving to the sides. He kept readjusting them, but the constant pressure on the insides of his legs was straining the scabs on his elbow. If he wasn't mistake, it may or may not have started bleeding. Speaking of blood...

Thor's nose twitched, slowly drawing his head in the direction of the smell. It was Baldur, then. He could see fresh blood on him, the red standing out against the stark white of his coat. The brute frowned. Weren't they a sorry pair, both just standing there bleeding away. If this abuse continued they'd never heal and instead just bleed out very, very slowly.

"Eating sounds like a good plan." He could sleep too. He followed Baldur's lead and began to shuffle across the ice. After a couple of steps he got the hang of it, even going so far as to speed up briefly so that he was shuffling shoulder to shoulder with his brother. Baldur chattered away, talking about plans and sleep and food- he paused mid thought and Thor glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. "Well food and sleep." He needed to stop saying that. The more he said it, the more Thor thought about it, and the more he thought about it the hungrier he got. "What was that flower that mom used to give dad after long sparring sessions?" The brute racked his brain, trying to come up with an answer that didn't involve eating or sleeping. Really, Baldur had messed him up with his talk of eating. He hadn't realized just how hungry he was until now. Let's see, what did those flowers look like? "The little white ones?"

About halfway across the pair stopped to rest and Thor sat down hard. The effort of holding his legs under him was wearing him down; he needed the respite. A breeze wafted across the lake and he breathed it in, taking in the heavily scented air. Pack land. Pack wolves always made him uneasy. Coming from a pack that enjoyed conquest, the scent of united wolves almost always meant trouble. These he was unfamiliar with and they'd done nothing to him, and yet some habits were hard to kick. He remained on edge.

The brute glanced behind him. He didn't really feel like going back. "Alright, let's go then. And uh, boneset."

ooc: sorry it's short, I was going to post more but thought I should wait and see how Thor held up xD haha I figure one of them can start on the den and the other can bring back questionable plants.
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Baldur bit back a giggle, watching his older brother nervously navigate the ice. It was a strange sight indeed to see the confident Thor suddenly unsure. But then that could be said of nature and any wolf. She was the ultimate controller of fate. Toppling great leaders with a single storm, shaking the footing of the most confident with a breath of ice or slick of mud. Boneset. Hmm? that sounded right. Hadn't that plant given Hodr the runs though? Baldur continued sliding across but just as he was about ten feet from the short the ice under him started to crack. "SHITTTTT!" Baldur stumbled as he bounded the last bit of distance to the shore, his back legs and tail getting soaked but the rest of him made it to the shore alright. "Whooo? cold, cold, dam cold." Shaking out his coat he turned to see how Thor was doing.

Oh, shit! The ice began to move under his paws. Cracks formed and his weight caused sections to sag threateningly. If he jumped he'd fall through. If he stayed still the ice was bound to give and pitch him in. Slowly Thor redistributed his weight, for once making his injured limb bear its fair share of the load. He ignored the slight ripping sensation that cut across the mark on his shoulder, the already weepy scab finally giving in and breaking completely. It would heal; he had something more pressing to deal with. "Damn it, Baldur!" he hissed, fuming at the mess his brother had created for him. More than anything else, Thor was alarmed at his predicament. He did not like being suspended above water to begin with. When you weighed as much as he did you had to be selective about the things you placed your poundage on. There's a reason fat squirrels rarely venture out onto thin limbs. The brute was still just long enough for the ice to groan and then he quickly danced, skipped and hopped his way to within jumping distance before flinging himself onto solid ground. Once safe, Thor laid still, his limbs splayed out around him. He blinked, still largely unmoving, and silently assessed his physical well being. Nothing felt too terribly wrong. He was undrowned and fairly dry. There didn't appear to be anything broken and he was on dry land. Yes, he decided, he was okay and after he'd he had a moment to recover, the brute busted out laughing, this time his mirth overpowering the urge to say 'ow'. He sighed, finally sobering. Thor turned amused eyes on his brother. Well, now they were on the other side. Time to check things off their to-do list. "How about you fix us up a place to sleep while I look for that boneset stuff?" Who knew, maybe he'd even find a kill they could pilfer. Speech

Baldur stifled a childish giggle at his brother's escapade on the ice but it quickly silences as his vision blurred, the pain had grown worse, stabbing into his body like dozens of fangs. Taking deep and shuddering breaths he got himself under control and turned to Thor with a grin though it was decidedly weaker. They had to rest soon but there were chores to do first. Baldur nodded. "Yea, sounds good." He watched Thor leave then set about finding a good place to dig a den. He started looking for a den, something stable that wouldn't require much digging. Nose to the ground he sniffed around searching for something suitable. The grasses hear were lush. He hoped to find a den previously dug by another animal that he could expand or some softer soil near tree roots. Dam? it would have to be winter. Soft ground was unlikely but still the white wolf would try. He started coming the ridge that looked out over the lake, looking for something that would provide a clear view of approaching danger. There was a fallen log that had potential. The roots were half way turned up providing some overhang while the others remained firmly rooted in the ground. The tree had fallen someone recently and the already disturbed soil made for excellent digging. Grinning at their turning luck Baldur sent to digging. He ignored the pain and bleeding in his wounds as best he could. This was the final stretch. They were almost to the point where they could rest in moderate safety. --------------- Satistifed and filthy from his work Baldur slipped into the dark of the den, shuffling the dirt around as he flopped in amongst the roots, panting and exhausted. He couldn't keep his eyes open as much as he tried and soon gave in to sleep.

It wasn't until he was completely out of Baldur's line of vision that the brute dropped the 'all is well' act. Everything about him sagged at once, giving Thor an appearance similar to an old swaybacked horse. His limp returned and was much more pronounced, and his ears and tail hung low. He was more than ready to lay down. Every inch of him hurt and with good reason; he hadn't exactly been treating his wounds kindly. Mostly he was bruised. His uncles had gotten more than their fair share of blows in, but quite a few had been attempts to overpower him and throw him down, so as far as open wounds went, Thor had fared better than Baldur. Honestly, he didn't really remember what boneset looked like. It maybe had white flowers and maybe little leaves...but it was also possible that it had yellow flowers and large leaves. Thor searched as far into the packland as he dared, and he wasn't feeling too daring at the moment, and when the brute didn't find any plant that jumped out at him he decided that he'd just have to wing it. Maybe believing that what he was eating was medicinal would be enough to make Baldur feel better. The mind was a powerful thing, right? Thor settled on a thick, bushy plant and yanked it out of the ground roots and all, and began to make his way back to where he'd left his brother. He took a different route, still holding out hope that one of the plants would jump out at him, and as luck would have it, the new path he took bore better fruit than the first. Sure, what he found wasn't what he'd been looking for, but a deer carcass was nothing to sniff at. He ate all that he could, chewed off a leg, threw it over his shoulder and then picked up his plant and continued on. He arrived to find Baldur asleep and, for once putting aside his desire for orneriness, gently nudged his brother to wake him. The brute himself loathed being forced awake, so it was only right that he'd extend the same courtesy that he'd wish to be shown. "Looky what I found." Thor dangled the plant in front of his brother's nose, trying to talk the unidentified weed up and make it more appealing. "Oh, and I found this too." He let the leg slide to the ground. To further solidify his projected "confidence" in the plant, Thor began to pull leaves off of it and eat them. Really, what was the worst that could happen? ~~~Some time later~~~ The brute lay on his back looking up at the stars, his eyes blinking slightly out of sync with one another. His legs were all splayed out, the back ones laying limply behind him and the front ones dangling on either side of his face. He felt really, really, really, really, really...reallyreallyreally good. Like, the best good he'd ever felt...ever. It was the most amazing good possible, he decided. "Hey...hey...hey...Baldur." Thor paused, forgetting for a moment what he was going to say. Oh! "My face is tingly." His eyes squinted in realization, a sudden thought hitting him hard. "Are there bugs on my face?" Speech

Baldur was lost in fitful dreams that traipsed over the line into nightmares and then back again. Swirling springs of time and eyes? beautiful, mournful eyes that threatened to piecer his soul and destroy his heart. They were trying to tell him something, a bird was trying to tell him something and he immediately took to running through a field of roses that were growing ever taller. Thorns caught at his fur and ripped into flesh but there was something right behind him. A monstrous shadow blacker than the night with a massive cackling maw of ivory teeth and glowing golden eyes. There was a voice calling him again, a femme. It was important, so important that he find her but the roses became so entwined he could only collapse. The voice was lost as he stirred to wakefulness? and pain. Wincing Baldur shifted to raise himself up sphynx-like as he stared at the plant his brother had brought back. Hmm? it didn't look quite right to him but as Thor started chewing it he shrugged and snarfed it down as well before starting on the leg. Once full he leaned over to gently lick his brothers neck. "Thanks, Thor." With a yawn he laid back down. -----------Some Time Later------------ Baldur wasn't sure how he ended up outside but he could care less. He was spread eagle on his belly, a contented grin across his face as he stared at the night sky with his brother. His nightmare's and the deep dark itch that would scratch at his brain were gone completely. He'd felt better than? than well he ever had. He was dimly aware of Thor's voice and he turned to his brother then froze. There on his brother's forehead, right between the eyes was a massive insect. It looked at Baldur and started cackling in a voice that sounded an awful lot like Loki. Baldur frowned. "Bro? bro hold still? I got it!" Baldur's paw descended swiftly to squish the Loki-Bug?. that actually wasn't really there at all.