The noonday sun hangs high in a cloudless sky, almost teasing the snow-covered landscape below. Keahi makes her way through the snow toward the large willows that make up this land with a thick, plush fur wrapped around her shoulders to help keep the tropical wolf warm. Being so new to the land, the red wolf has wanted to explore everything but the frigid air of the northern lands has kept her close to the roaring fires and heated caves of the pack lands.

Keahi stops to admire a beautiful willow whose thick, knotted truck twists up toward the sky. It sprouts long, finger-like branches that bow down toward the ground. They are barren, the leaves have been shed in during the cold snap of autumn but a dusting of snow coats each one and caps the willow with a white powder hat. As the branches get lower to the ground, ice starts to appear, creeping down until each one is coated in a thick layer of ice. The way the light catches the ice and snow on the willow is beautiful and the red wolf decides to sit and enjoy the scenery for a moment.

A chilly breeze kicks up and rustles the ice-covered branches, tabbing them together to make a soft, almost bell like sounds. Taking a deep breath, Keahi allows her mind to empty of worries and instead focus on the joy of being here in this moment.


"Keahi Mogotsi"

"I'm not lost. I'm just exploring." Nefari said those words for what seemed to be the hundredth time as she passed a suspiciously familiar looking snow-covered rock. Bright eyes flit across the entire snow-covered landscape, a deep groan loosening from her throat as she spied the tell-tale signs of her own footprints just a few feet away in the snow. "See, not lost. I know where I am because I've been here before. I'm merely exploring." Whether she was trying to convince herself or her companion that she had left sleeping in a tree somewhere was out for debate. With the sun still high in the sky, though, it was highly unlikely the little nocturnal glider would miss her for a few hours yet. Having walked for hours, though, she wasn't consoled by this, her anxiety weighing on her like a thick bog as she searched the horizon for something familiar. As she spoke to herself, her eyes caught on an interesting copse of trees in the distance, their long swaying branches looking like icy fingers reaching for the glistening snow. Underneath was a sight even more welcome, causing Nefari's lithe body to rocket through the snow. Her fur glinted like fire in the sun, her tail like a trail of flames in contrast to the snow, her paws pumping so hard she kicked up a storm of flurries behind her. She yipped a "Hello!" of warning to the wolf enjoying its alone time, and with a few hundred feet, she was standing before them. Her tongue, lolling out the side as she panted, held up a large lupine smile that lit up her features. "Hi! Sorry to interrupt your walk, but do you happen to know where we are?" Tail swaying back and forth, she did her best to look nonthreatening, though she was sure her stature did that for her. Now that she thought about it, she turned a calculating eye to the wolf that she had run up on and, suddenly, worried about them not being friendly. "Speech!"

Keahi enjoys the stillness that the snow offers, the way it muffles sounds and drives animals to find warm shelters. It feels as if she is the only wolf in the world and the red wolf allows a content sigh to slip past her lips. Suddenly, a sound reaches her sensitive ears and the tropical wolf turns her attention in the direction of the sudden flurry of activity and a yipped greeting.

Blue eyes widen slightly as she watches a fiery pelted form fly across the stark white snow toward her. Keahi does not tense, from what she can gather, this wolf is not attacking her, it seems to be excited to see someone else. When the unknown female comes to a stop, the lolled tongue and huge smile confirm the red wolf’s suspicions.

Eyebrows lift at the female’s question and since the stranger seems to not be a threat, Keahi allows a warm smile to pull her lips up as she says, “Hello there. It is alright, you are not interrupting me, I am just exploring this area. We are in the Whistling Willows on the continent known as Boreas and my name is Keahi.” She gives a small bow to the shorter wolf, her own tail wagging loosely at her hips.

As she straightens up, her blue eyes slide off the new wolf to look at the frozen pond nearby, wondering what this place will look like when the willows are in full bloom and the lily pads a vibrant green against the cool blue of the water. Looking back to the stranger, Keahi says, “Are you looking for a particular place? I may be able to help.”

Offering her limited knowledge, the red wolf signals that the other wolf may come closer so they can converse. Keahi’s stance is loose and relaxed, the friendly smile on her lips hopefully conveying that she really does want to help the wolf.


"Keahi Mogotsi"

As the taller woman smiled at her, Nefari felt some of the tension she'd been holding leave her body. Her smile still wide, she intently listened as Keahi introduced herself and the names of the lands, cataloging both to memory. She bowed her head back to the woman, allowing the moment of silence to linger as she digested the little information she had just gotten. Whistling Willows. It seemed aptly named as the large trees that bowed over the nearby frozen lake was the only large shrubs in sight. Their hungry branches reached for everything in the cold breeze, some long enough to be buried by snow and ice, others short enough to brush across the top of her head. The overall size made it easy to see that these trees had been here a very long time, and it made Nefari wonder just how long. Just what have these trees seen in their lifetime? She also wondered if this wolf being here meant that there were packs nearby, their presence could be a problem in a worst-case scenario. But the best case was that she had the potential to make an ally in one of the packs, and that seemed worth working for especially with someone so seemingly friendly.   Keahi broke the silence, and her train of thought, as she asked if Nefari had anywhere, in particular, she was trying to go. She felt nervous laughter bubble up in her throat with the question but swallowed it as the dark red woman gestured to her. Nefari approached and took the opportunity to have a seat with a better view of the trees and pond. Her legs greatly appreciating the rest after the morning she'd had, even if it was in the snow. "My name is Nefari," she introduced herself, and then with a deep sigh, continued "and I'm going to be really honest here, and tell you I have no idea where I'm trying to go." She said the words with a chuckle like it was a little joke, but her anxiety was secretly through the roof. She had no idea what the area was called, and she didn't remember seeing much on the way to get here. "I remember that there were a lot of trees that were spaced out a little weird and that I passed over a frozen part of a river..." "Speech!"

Keahi watches the russet wolf with interest while the tropical wolf rattles off names, looking for any hint of recognition in the female’s blue-green eyes. As her voice fades away to leave the pair in silence, the deep red wolf allows her gaze to slip to frozen pond nearby. She spares a moment to consider what this place would look like in summer before turning back to the fiery form to break the silence once more. The russet female approaches and the two wolves made up of different shades of reds sit together and watch as the breeze tickles the ice coated branches. When Nefari offers her name, Keahi inclines her head in greeting while an easy smile tugs at her lips.

As Nefari admits to having no idea where to go, Keahi gives the russet wolf a slow, sympathetic nod. When the wolf goes on to state where she remembers coming from, the tropical wolf’s deep red brows knit together in concentration as her gaze slides to the ground. Finally, she lifts her eyes to look to fiery female, apologoy written on every line of her face as she says, “Sorry but that doesn’t sound familiar to me. But, I am new to these lands as well. Only been here about a month. Maybe someone back in my pack would know the place you speak of.” Pointing to paw northward, Keahi turns her head out toward where the pack lays and says, “We live not too far north of here. If you would like, I can take you there.”

Red paw settles back in the white snow as a shiver races up her spine. She really is not built for these cold conditions and, even with her bear coat wrapped tightly around her shoulders, Keahi feels a deep chill settling into her bones. She should be heading back to the pack soon anyway and she looks to Nefari with a friendly smile as she offers, “You can get a warm meal and a safe place to rest and warm up.” The smile takes on a happy quality as she adds, “We have heated caves to sleep in.” Keahi does not want to leave the lost wolf here and so she tries to entice the russet female to follow her across the frozen pond and through the maze of willows where, just a little further on, the Armada pack lands are.


"Keahi Mogotsi"