Enki and Bast had produced kittens. The father had expressed wanting his children to see snow.  True snow.  And so mother,  father,  children and Iolaire packed up the wagon and made their way north. The small wagon had been altered into a sleigh which was pulled by Ila, the mini caribou. The crafty little woman had put long wooden blades on the bottom of the wagon and had smoothed the blades down with sand until they shone brightly. The smooth blades slid easily over snow and made their travel much easier than a wagon might.

The massive trees of the woods soon stretched upwards above them. Enki knew of a set of hills at the edge of the woods. The smallest would be suitable for the children to play on. They made their way there,  the kittens playing in the wagon atop a pile of warm furs. Bast and Enki rolled through the snow like kittens themselves, the little vacation making them rather playful. Iolaire was glad to get them out of the southern lands for a time. Snow leopards were meant to be in the snow, after all.

Once they'd arrived at the little hill,  the quartet of cats began to play,  rolling down said hill. Ila meandered off to graze and roll around in the snow herself. Caribou were also meant to be in the snow. Why Ila was content to be anywhere that Iolaire was was beyond the small wolf. The reindeer had just attached herself to Io one day and had never left, not that she was complaining. Io adored the tiny deer. There wasn't a mean bone in her dwarfed body.

Iolaire settled down upon the furs,  content to watch for a time.  Eventually she would get bored and would need to do something, but for now she was enjoying the warmth of the sun sinking into her glossy onyx coat. She'd brought some tools with her just in case.You never knew when something would break one the wagon. Other than that, she just liked to keep busy. While the cats played, she would probably find some sort of project to delve into.

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Borias had been hanging around the north for a bit. Leaving Katir where she was he felt confident enough that things would continue on as they had. Mostly because for Seven's training before he tried to make a deal with a pack for him. Borias had to be cautious, he had no band and no pack to currently back himself up. Making him a target to even become a slave himself should he decide to confront a kingdom with such audacity. Though stretching his legs felt nice after all he grew up in Auster and there was a lot in Boreas to explore. Opportunities for his business and this was an idea he very much enjoyed.

It wasn't long though before the mile high woods ridden with snow gave way to another figure. A pack scent fell upon him and he was immidiately cautious, but upon closer inspection it seemed she had a litter of kittens with her. He blinked.... a wolf taking care of kittens? Wouldn't they make a better meal rather than companions? Borias never understood the idea of companions unless they were tools for combat and in turn it meant that he himself had not gained one even if it would aid him. Especially to keep certain slaves in check. Regardless he yearned for more smarter interactions.

"Seems like bad weather to be playing with kittens." he said as he stood a few feet from the stranger. Small talk was something he was good at least. Charismatic, he smiled gently at the other.

As she watched the kits roll down the hill, she noted that they weren't going very far. And why would they? They were puffballs, not slick, smooth coated felines. Maybe she could do something about that. Sliding down from the cart, Iolaire pulled on a wolverine skin coat, latching it about her neck before turning to move away from the cart. She was surprised to see a man standing there. Gold eyes rimmed in poisonous green widened momentarily in surprise. She hadn't been expecting that and it just went to show just how distracted she'd been with her own thoughts.

The man's words were friendly enough though and they brought a chuckle from the small, dark woman. "Oh, kittens are enjoyable in all types of weather." Having heard Iolaire speak, Enki, the father of said kittens, peeled himself away, approaching with a growl on his lips. He didn't like strangers and he especially didn't like them around Iolaire. Bast, the mother of the kittens, followed behind, but kept herself between the babies and the stranger. Iolaire scoffed in a good natured manner and waved the leopards back to their children. "It's okay. If anything goes awry, I'll call for you. Go, enjoy the snow with your children." Though Enki was loathe to leave, he did so, though he never stopped shooting glances her way.

Turning fully to the man, the minuscule fae grinned. "Bad weather for snow leopards means worse weather for wolves. What brings you out this way, uh..." She opened up the floor asking for his name.

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Borias was a little surprised he hadn't even noticed the leopards - he'd been so distracted by the kittens. He couldn't deny that they were cute though, the man was not heartless. "They're probably built for this kind of weather aren't they?" he asked with a soft chuckle he sat down trying to make himself seem a little less threatening especially to that father and mother snow leopards there. "Cute, I've never actually seen a Snow leopard kitten before." it was after that she mentioned why he was here. Borias smiled towards her.

"Borias, I'm here training. Which reminds me this snow seems perfect for a sled race does it not?" he didn't mention he was here to train one of his slaves. Most wolves didn't like that to be sprung on a conversation right away. "First one to the bottom after we build our sleds.... what do you say the winner should get?" he didn't intend to make her uncomfortable. A pack wolf was a dangerous thing to be played with especially assuming their rank and how precious they were to the group. Plus he wanted good relationships with the nearby packs he was more of a neutral man who simply wanted to make a living.

The man seemed to be taken aback by the approach of the grown leopards and Iolaire found it terribly amusing. The brown brute mentioned a few times that the kittens were cute. She agreed. Hopefully he hadn't planned on stealing them. Whether or not that had been his plan, it was thwarted now. Mom and dad wouldn't stand for that. "Snow leopards are indeed built for this weather. There isn't much snow in the south where we live." Snow tipped tail flicking gently back and forth beneath the fur coat, she continued, introducing herself once he'd given his name. "Iolaire Akeldama of the Ashen Armada."

Borias proposed a sled race and the small woman's eyes glittered mischievously. "Funny that you should mention such a thing. I was just about to craft something for the kittens to slide upon. I suppose I could build something for a race as well." Tilting her head to the side, she thought about a prize. "Well, I suppose it all depends on what you have to offer." He seemed to be quite empty handed. "If anything, the winner gets the losers sled and a healthy dose of respect." Again, that grin flashed. It was never far from her maw.

"Shall we then?" Reaching into the sleigh, Iolaire slid her pack around her neck and shoulder. Within it were the supplies that would help her craft a sled. Without further ado, the ash, onyx and snow lady padded off into the trees. She found several items that might make worthy sleds, but nothing that really called out to her. That was until she found a big chunk of fallen tree. It was fairly flat, but needed a bit of work. Easily done.

Shrugging out of her pack, she placed the fur upon the snow so that she might sit upon it and not freeze her tail off. Pulling the chunk of wood onto the edge of the fur, Iolaire extracted some tools from her pack, one of which was a thick but sharp knife. She began peeling the bark away from the wood. Once it was successfully removed, she began sliding the blade of the knife along the bottom of the wood, smoothing away lumps and bumps. It was a time consuming task, but they hadn't set a time limit, and so she wasn't terribly worried about it.

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Borias was intrigued by the fact she was so crafty. In his head he was processing the information given to him, finally a name and a scent to place with a pack. To the south? Well after this race there would be a very interested question for him to ask. So he finally knew what he wanted should he win - or maybe he shouldn't worry about that. No he wouldn't, a question wouldn't hurt and he'd just ask it after the fact. After all she was correct, there was not much he could offer. His slave stock was low and he had no way of knowing if she was interested in such things. For a moment he glanced to the snow leopards and their cubs. What a life that would be.

"Iolaire, that's a nice name. I do suppose I don't have much to offer as a loner so you'd be right." he chuckled then, watching her become somewhat of a crafter. Where could he get such things? He never thought of using tools and this thought well interested him. He would find himself moving over to a hollow trunk, the shape would do nicely for a makeshift sled. It may not have been as crafty as Iolaire's but it would be fun to use none to the less. Tearing it free from the rest of the broken trunk, he would have to make sure that he could hold on.

"One of these days maybe you'll have to teach me how to make a proper sled." he laughed as he set it on top of the hill. His paw sitting on the strange piece of wood as he looked at her Borias knew that Iolaire was probably going to win this one. He didn't care - he already was enjoying her company and in his selfish ways if he got the information he wanted than he would be happy.

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Once the bark was off, she began digging out the center of the wood bit by bit so that she'd have somewhere to sit. It was a good thing that the wood carved well or she'd have a split, splintered mess. Ears perked as he complimented her name and Io laughed softly. "Thank you. I can't say that I've ever met a Borias either, so you also have a nice name. Unique." She eyed him as she worked, watching as he chose a chunk of wood and left it at that. Suddenly she felt bad for working so hard on her sled. Not everyone had fancy, dexterous toes like she did.

Iolaire put her tools back in her bag, deciding to stop since Borias wasn't going to work on his own sled. He mentioned having her teach him how to craft some day and the small woman grinned. "I'd be glad to. Crafting is just something that comes naturally to me. I'm always messing with one thing or another." Padding to the edge of the hill, she placed her sled down beside Borias' chunk of wood. Shooting him a charming grin, she canted her head towards their sleds. "Shall we then?"


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Something about her offering to teach him genuinely made him happy. The last few months he had spent nothing than trying to take care of his slaves. After they had all gotten sick there was no way to describe the feeling he had when he had lost half of his stock. Now thought he was down to three slaves as of current. Polaroid, Katir and Seven. In which he was planning on selling Seven out once he found a decent buyer. He also laughed at her comment about his name. The name of the exact lands they stood on. Of course it was unique, he made it up himself.

Borias smiled, nodding his head as he then pressed his paws to the front of the sled. It was unsteady and he knew in his gut that this probably wasn't going to last. As his back paws kicked off, the sled began to push forward with his weight. Sliding down and down the flurry of snow thwarted his vision. It wasn't until he was nearly at the bottom that he noticed he was about to run into a snow leopard. He couldn't tell if it was a cub or an adult but he immidiately hit on the breaks. Pushing his front paws out as he tripped his sled falling off to the side and he slid down in the snow. Summersaulting forward he landed into the snow in front of him. He had embarassed himself in front of the nice lady - but at least he hadn't run into a Snow leopard.

Once situated at the top of the hill, Iolaire had the good sense to yell, "Look out below!" before she pushed off with one hind leg. Hunkered down in the little bowl that she'd chipped out of the wood, Iolaire's sled was more aerodynamic. She went flying down the hillside and the leopards were well out of her way by the time she hit the bottom. It seemed as though they'd gotten out of her way, but not out of Borias' way. Enki leaped upwards, barely missing being run over by the runaway wolf and sled. Iolaire toppled out of her own sled, laughter pouring from her silver and obsidian maw. The look on the leopards face had been priceless. Even now Enki was slinking off to grumble and growl to himself. None of the cubs had been remotely close to being run over.

Pushing her sled to the side, the cubs instantly began playing upon it, sliding around and trying to drag it back to the top of the hill. Coming over to where Borias lay in the snow, Io grinned, flashing perfect white teeth. "Looks like I won. I'll take that respect now, thank you." She joked before reaching out with her odd paws to help the man right himself.

It was quiet funny how it went down as he shook his head of snow and looked up at Iolaire on his back. She offered him a paw and he got a better look at it. Interesting.... Boreas was filled with much more stranger wolves than he thought. As he grabbed hold with his regular paw he pushed himself upwards and freed himself free of the rest of the snow. Giving her a bow as he chuckled, "You are a master crafter my lady. Are the rest of your pack as exceedingly unique as you?" he would ask as he raised his head with a soft smile. He enjoyed her company and speaking with her, the fun game had made him interested in where she came from.

"And those Snow leopards. Where might I find my own of those... or a companion in general I've seen a few wolves around here have them." his head tilted with curiosity. How did one go taming a beast like that. A snow leopard was a predator just like any other wolf. It didn't matter really he didn't want to be on the other end of those claws.

Io laughed anew as Boreas asked if the rest of her pack was as crafty. "I must admit I'm a clever thing, but we all have our own unique skill set in the Armada." Each wolf pulled their weight. If they came into the fold without proper skills, then they learned them from someone else who was more knowledgeable.

Boreas questioned the leopards and Io cast her green-gold gaze towards the cats that were now rolling around on the sled that she'd crafted. "My brother had a snow leopard companion that he was given as a child. Enki, the big male there, I saved from certain death and nursed back to health. The pair became mated and now we have kits." A light shrug was given. "If you'd like a companion, they can be taken as children. You could earn the trust of an adult. You could nurse an injured creature back to health." She shot him another grin. "You know a lot of species even have a bit of a grasp of the wolfen tongue?" Enki had understood her when she first encountered him and he had spoken to her in her own tongue. Creatures were fascinating things and Io had always had an affinity for them.