The place was so flat and huge! Ashmedai felt like he could run for days in this place. He did, actually, run for a long while before he skidded to a stop, just panting and looking at the flatness in every direction. Where could he mark up with paw prints next? The snow was so fresh and flat. It needed to be marked up with paw prints.

Where should he go? North? West? No no, east. Wait, he came from the east already. Glancing behind him- yup- he saw footprints. Definitely came from the east. Okay, then, maybe he should go...

"WEST!"

He decided finally on a direction and- surprise- it was already the direction he was headed. Good! Stretching his back legs a few times to ready himself, and with a small little butt wiggle, he kicked off, ready to place some more footprints in this never-ending flat space of snow.

even if it's just
in your wildest dreams

Well, it seemed Alarik had found a place where the snow hadn't started melting yet. He stood at the edge of the flat stretch of land, squinting a little at the brightness of all the white around him. Just a little while ago he was thinking how glad he was that winter had turned to spring. He thought he had grown tired of the cold and the snow, but now that he was surrounded by it again, it was like going back in time to experience something he really enjoyed.

Alarik jumped into the snow, shivering a bit and letting his tongue tumble from the side of his mouth as he ran along, letting the coldness wake him up. He just loped along for a while, relishing the feeling of winter while he still could. But then he saw a stranger sprinting through the sparkling white fluff, sending a spray in his wake. Alarik laughed and ran after the other male, barking to get his attention. "Hey!" he yelled. "Where are you going in such a rush?"

Someone called after him. Wait, did they really? Ash planted his paws, sliding as he turned his head. Surely enough there was someone behind him and- wait was that blood on his fur? Ash tried to turn to see more of the stranger, his weight shifted and next thing he knew, his rump was tumbling over his head and he was sliding upside down through the snow.

As he slowed, he flailed out and stood, now able to fully face the other male.

Oh- those were markings, not blood.

A lopsided smile curled onto the man's face, wrinkling his freckles. "Well, I was trying to leave the world's longest trail of paw prints in the last Enterprise stretch of snow I could find but- uh-" Ashmedai looked at the trail of messy snow before him, "- I kinda fucked that up, huh?"

Ashmedai shook himself off, "I saw you and thought all of that-" he motioned to the red in Alark's fur, "- and thought, 'Oh shit this dude needs help,' but you didn't so now we're here. It's actually kind of pretty now that I see it."

Ash flicked his ear, "Got a name, blood bath?"

even if it's just
in your wildest dreams

The male tried to plant his paws and screech to a stop to look at Alarik, but then things went wrong. He turned further and threw his balance off, causing him to fall and slide upside down through the snow. Alarik tried not to laugh and failed, first snorting and then actually laughing. But it was only for a few seconds, and then he composed himself again. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to make you wipe out like that," he said. "and I didn't mean to laugh. Sorry."

The male explained that he'd been trying to leave the longest trail of paw prints and Alarik shrugged a bit when he said he'd messed it up. "Nah, you could always..." he loped over to where the skidding mess had started, "Pick up where you left off here and keep going!" Alarik laughed again. Maybe not. But the whole longest trail of paw prints thing sounded like a fun idea.

The comment about his markings made sense. After all, they were sort of like the color of dried blood. But then the male said they were pretty and Alarik smiled, oddly touched. "Well, thanks!" he said. "I'm Alarik Xanilov. It's nice to meet you."

The stranger laughed at him, but Ashmedai was laughing at himself. When the male apologized, Ash shrugged it off. The male suggested picking the pack up back where he wiped out. Ash shrugged again "I actually don't know what the longest path of paw prints is, so maybe I already broke it. Maybe not."

Ashmedai looked back to where his paw prints began. He traced them back with his eyes until they disappeared on the horizon. His eyes dashed back to Alarik, an eyebrow quirking, "Yeah, I totally already broke it."

Ashmedai shook some of the loose snow from his fur after the male introduced himself.

"So, Alarik, what brings you to this snowy expanse? I'm guessing you weren't trying to break any records."

even if it's just
in your wildest dreams

Something about this male and his attitude had Alarik chuckling again. He seemed pretty cocky about breaking that record that totally didn't exist. But he was proud of himself, so Alarik just smiled and nodded.
He couldn't deny that it was an impressively long trail of paw prints. He stared off at the horizon as well,
and then looked back at the male when he asked what had brought him here.

"Well, originally, I was just exploring the area." He shrugged a bit. He hadn't really had any purpose, he just wanted to keep looking around. "But in most places, the snow is halfway melted by now. So I was just excited to see a place with so much snow still lying around."

Alarik smirked a bit. "When I saw all this snow, I just wanted to play around in it. Seems like you had a similar idea," he said, laughing. "So stranger, what might I call you?"

So this dude was just exploring? Well, he didn't smell like a pack, so that made sense. Alarik said he was just excited to see a place with snow and Ashmedai nodded. He said that when he saw all this snow and just wanted to play in it- a sentiment that Ashmedai also subscribed to.

"Most people would be more concerned with getting warm with all this late snow laying around. Guess we're the odd ones out." Ashmedai thought he might eventually like to warm up. His paws were a little cold. He knew a way to warm up, but he decided not to suggest it to the other male.

Alarik asked what he could call Ash and Ash perked his ears in response, "My name? Oh! I forgot to give you my name! It's Ashmedai!"

The large man stood, "So now that we're acquainted... Wanna race?"

even if it's just
in your wildest dreams

The two males seemed to be in agreement when it came to their feelings about snow. Alarik had been delighted when he'd seen the snowy expanse, and even now, looking around and seeing it relatively untouched... it spoke to his inner pup. He wanted to do what this male had done, running around and making a mess of the place. He nodded, smiling when the male said others would be concerned with getting warm and that made them the odd ones out. "Well, my coat is thick all year round," he said. "Which is why I'm not a fan of summer."

It seemed the other male had totally forgotten to introduce himself, which made Alarik laugh. "Good to know, Ashmedai," he said with a pleasant wag of his tail. And that wagging only intensified when he offered for the two of them to race.

"Uh, yeah!" Alarik replied, like it should be obvious. Of course he wanted to race! He turned to face the same direction as Ashmedai, standing beside him and crouching low to coil up the muscles in his legs. "Ready... set..."

The two seemed to agree on a lot. Ashmedai briefly wondered where this male resided. They could be friends or something, right? At least until they found enough that they disagreed about.

The male said his coat was thick all year round- a feeling Ashmedai could relate to.

"Bein' dark doesn't really help, does it?"

The male- Alarik- seemed completely down to race, something Ashmedai wasn't quite used to. Normally he was brushed off for his childlike antics, but apparently not today. The large brute's smile widened and he readied himself, crouching like a cat.

"Ready... Set..."

"GO!"

Ashmedai barked and kicked off into the snow. It was go time.

even if it's just
in your wildest dreams

Alarik was thinking something very similar to Ashmedai. He was surprised how quickly and easily the two of them clicked. Already they seemed to have plenty in common. Maybe they would end up being friends? He smirked in an almost rueful way at the comment, after all he was much lighter in coloring than Ashmedai was. It must be a pain in the tail to be dark grey or black and have the blasted sun scorching you like that. He nearly winced at the thought. Oh, he was not looking forward to summer. He'd probably just end up spending it in the northern region like last year.

Presently, the two males were lining up to race once another. Alarik began the countdown, and Ashmedai finished it. He barked go and the two of them were off like bullets from a gun. Both were strong, but Alarik was considerably more agile. After all, Ash was a good six inches taller than him, and more bulky too. Alarik lowered his head, as if that would make him more streamlined, and pushed his legs as fast as they could go to carry him through the snow. He almost wanted to laugh, because this was just so fun. But he concentrated on winning the race, and soon he felt himself pulling ahead of the other male. After all, smaller usually meant faster. And boy, was it strange to be the small one for once!

While Alarik had the small, streamlined body, Ashmedai had the long legs. Nonetheless, Alarik pulled a little ahead. Ashmedai struggled to keep at the other man's shoulder. He kept himself low, letting his legs reach all the way out and grasp at the ground before him. He was pretty sure there were a few strides where he pulled ahead, but he found himself at Alarik's shoulder once more.

"You know," Ash yelled between breaths, "We never set an end mark."

He was able to run longer than he was able to run fast. His mouth quirked into a smile, "Is this a stamina race?"

Ashmedai scanned the horizon. Nope, nothing. His eyes dashed to his side. Was he ahead or behind now?

even if it's just
in your wildest dreams

They continued to race, two large grey forms plowing their way through the snow. The cold made it even more thrilling, adding to the adrenaline pumping through their veins. Alarik had his jaws parted and his tongue partially hanging out as he panted, laughing as Ashmedai pointed out something that should have been obvious. They'd never said where the race was supposed to end. And as Alarik looked around, he didn't see anything that could be an end mark. What should they do?

Ashmedai was smiling when he asked if this would turn out to be a stamina race, and Alarik laughed a bit breathlessly. "Yeah, right," he said. "You mean so you can win?"

With all the running, Ashmedai thought about how strange it was that his body was so hot while his paws were so cold. The air he drew in through his open maw stung the back of his throat. This was great. His paw steps were rampant, his large paws helping him stay atop the snow.

Alarik joked at him, saying that he just wanted a stamina race so he could win. Ashmedai laughed, taking a moment to steady his breathing again before attempting to speak.

"And you just want a short-distance race so you can win!"

Ashmedai was silent for a bit, focusing on his running pattern and breathing pattern.

"So," Ashmedai began, "What do we do now? I'm not gonna give up, you know."

even if it's just
in your wildest dreams

At his so you can win? comment, Ashmedai laughed. And then he responded, saying that Alarik just wanted a short-distance race so he could win. "You're not," he panted, taking another breath before finishing his sentence: "wrong about that!"

He didn't want to admit it, but he was getting a little bit tired. Alarik was used to running some long distances while hunting. He was fairly conditioned for it, but it seemed that this man was even more conditioned for it. It was quiet for a while as the two of them concentrated on maintaining speed and not letting fatigue get the best of them. But then Ashmedai said he wasn't going to give up, and Alarik looked at the man out of the corner of his eye. He had gained a bit of ground on Alarik already. No doubt he was going to win. But that's when the smaller brute got an idea.

"Well," he began. "It just so happens that I... came up with a brilliant way to... end this race," he managed to say between breaths. Man, this was tiring. Time to end it.

He jumped sideways, the way he would if he'd been running alongside prey for sometime and wanted to trip them up. He'd have to see if it would work. If it did, his momentum would likely bring him down along with Ashmedai. But hey, it would end the race, wouldn't it?

Alarik admitted that Ashmedai wasn't wrong. Of course he wasn't, the goal of the race was to win, right? The large brute had started to pull ahead. He was getting pretty tired, but he wasn't done just yet. His breathing was hard, but his heart beat harder. A part of him wished the race was over while another part wished he could go on running forever.

Alarik said he might know a way to end the race and Ashmedai shot him a glance just in time to see the smaller wolf ebbing over into his space. Oh so they were gonna play like that? Ashmedai threw his weight toward Alarik, "Best wipeout wins!"

even if it's just
in your wildest dreams

Fortunately Ashmedai seemed to approve of his plan, throwing his weight sideways toward Alarik while announcing that the best wipeout should win. Alarik laughed and held his ground, regaining his balance again before throwing his weight toward Ashmedai once more. The other man was much bulkier and more solid than Alarik was, so this was difficult. Alarik tried one more time to launch himself sideways, but by pouring all his concentration into tripping up his opponent, he completely missed the little divot in the snow, evidence of a sudden dip in the terrain.

So, whether he was successful in knocking Ashmedai over or not, it didn't really matter. Because the dip made his steps falter and he fell head over tail through the snow, rolling and rolling until he thought he was going to become an actual snowball.

Alarik and Ashmedai clashed a few times as they ran. On Alarik's last attempt, he got tripped up and ended up tumbling down beside Ashmedai. The slate male laughed, craning his neck back to watch his opponent fall. Much like in the beginning, however, Ashmedai tried too hard to look back, and ended up tripping himself shortly after Alarik had fallen.

There were limbs and snow everywhere as Ashmedai tumbled on the ground, his laughter resonating in the cold air. Luckily, the snow was still soft enough to not hurt. When he was eventually done rolling, the brute sat up sloppily, giving lopsided smile.

"You alright back there?" he called.

even if it's just
in your wildest dreams

Alas, he was the first to fall. But Ashmedai came shortly after, and the two of them tumbled in the snow, surrounded by cold air and the sounds of laughter. Alarik laughed until his stomach hurt a bit, and he looked up to see where his opponent had ended up. The smaller brute sat up as well, shaking his head all around to get the snow out of his ears. Brr!

"Yeah!" he called out, laughing brightly again. He was definitely alright. "That was fun!"

And as if to prove that he did indeed think it was fun, Alarik burrowed his face into some fresh, untouched snow nearby and rolled onto his back. His legs flailed gracelessly as he rolled himself around in the snow again, and then he stood up. His fur looked mostly white by now. "Watch this," he said to Ashmedai, and then all at once he shook himself, head and body and tail, and the snow flew off of him in a cloud of white. He laughed again.

He hadn't had this much fun in so long!

The two laughed for some time. Ashmedai's cheeks hurt. Could you get a headache from laughing too much? Alarik confirmed that he was okay. That was good. Ash was glad he hadn't sprained a paw during the wipe out.

As if to reiterate his point, Alarik buried himself in the snow then shook it all out, a cloud of white billowing out from him. Ashmedai squinted through the snow. He wanted to try too. He was bigger, so his cloud of snow would be bigger right?

Ashmedai did his best to jump in a plot of fresh snow and wiggle himself down into it before rolling over and wiggling himself down again. He popped out and gingerly walked right towards Alarik before shaking suddenly. It was an obvious move, but he hoped to coat Alarik in snow too.

"New game! Best snow cloud wins!"

even if it's just
in your wildest dreams

It was like the two of them were both trying to have as much fun as they possibly could in the snow before it disappeared with the warmer weather. And they were doing a pretty awesome job at it. Ashmedai watched the cloud of snow roll off of Alarik and decided to try it himself, covering himself in snow and then carefully walking over to the smaller male. It was clear what he was trying to do, preserving as much snow as possible so his cloud would do a better job of covering Alarik, but he didn't bother moving away. He let himself be sprinkled with snow, laughing as he swiped a paw through the snow to send some of the cold stuff right back at Ashmedai's face.

But then the other male wanted to make another game out of it. Best snow cloud wins. Which of course meant biggest snow cloud wins.

"Does everything have to be a competition with you?" the Xanilov boy asked with a carefree laugh. He didn't mind. Competitions made things more fun sometimes. Like in this situation.

He barreled into a fresh pile of snow, putting the front half of his body down while his rump remained in the air and he pushed himself forward, letting the snow pile up around his chest, and then he rolled around to get plenty of it on his back and head. He was going to break the record for biggest freakin' snow cloud.