He and Bowen had, quite unfortunately, finished making their way up to the northern territories to hold to their obligations of spending at least some time with the pack that resided here. He was still not fully convinced that this was what his little tigress needed, but he was happy to just spend time with her while she found herself in their journey together and was more than willing to let her figure things out on her own. He was mostly just happy to have someone to spend his time with after most of his life being spent in a solitary sort of manner with just short flings and moments in time. He knew most felines of his kind were not always the most social of creatures, which is how he had ended up on his own for the large majority of his life so far, but he was an oddity for the fact that he liked to have interaction and communication with others. He would not say that he really wanted to be around a large group all the time, but having Bowen with him to travel with and keep him company suited him just fine.

Now the only problem was that they had found themselves in the tundras of the north on their travels—in the winter none of the less. He walked with her through the wide expanse of open land, snow crunching under his large paws as he went. The land was dotted with pine trees and the air was filled with he scent of them. The sharp scent of the fragrant trees made his nose wrinkle at first, but eventually he adjusted to the strong scent and could mostly just ignore it. When the sun was shining it was not so bad because he could at least absorb the heat of the sun and not feel the chill quite so badly, but today the clouds had formed a thick and heavy blanket across the sky, casting everything in shadow around them. The clouds were gray and very clearly heavy with snow which wasn't an abnormal occurrence, especially this time of year. It seemed like every time he turned around there was more snow being added to the already white blanketed landscape.

Today they were doing as they always did and were simply wandering through the world around them to see what interesting thing they could find or get into. While they were walking and he was trying to think very warm thoughts, the snow laden clouds above them finally decided to let go of the precipitation they were holding on to and heavy snow flakes began to drift down around them. He sighed softly and glanced his emerald gaze up toward the clouds above them. "Ah, of course," he muttered with a chuckle and sarcasm in his tone. "Just what I wanted. More snow." There was nothing they would really do about it as long as she wanted to continue staying around this pack so he would put up with it, but that would not keep him from voicing his displeasure. The new found snow fall, which was growing heavier by the moment, was certainly going to put a damper on their exploration today, but he wasn't quite ready to head back either. Perhaps if there was something they could do to pass the time and keep their blood moving to help keep them warm...

"Do you fight, tigress?" he asked curiously, glancing toward Bowen with a raised, caramel marked brow. He did not think anything of her size on the subject. He had tussled with much smaller felines and creatures before that certainly gave him a run for his money when it came to fighting. Even still, it was not a subject that they had really discussed before and he had to admit that he was curious. Once she agreed that it was something she was capable in he tossed her a grin and turned to face her, pausing their walk through the pine tree forest. "Well, how about a spar to keep the heart pumping, hm? Surely a fight would help keep us warm." He hunkered down into a bit of a crouch like snow continued to fall down on top of them, dotting his striped form and causing him to blink and squint against the snow that kept trying to land on his face. It was an annoying hindrance that he did not care for, but once he got moving surely it wouldn't be so bad. "Think fast!" he said with a grin before he leapt forward, pouncing on top of her. He didn't try to really crush her though, instead landing with his large forelegs on either side of her and hooking a wide paw around her narrow frame, laughing has he scooped her up and went rolling with her through the snow, gently tossing her into a powdery snow drift.

WC: 819
Total: 819/1500

"Tej & Bo"

Saying that Bowen was sad would have been an understatement. Being apart from Artorias was difficult, but she knew that it was best for both of them. She needed to take a break, step back and breathe. The woman needed to either remember who she was or find out who she was. Either way, she was very glad to have Tej with her. Even though it was obvious that the feline didn't hide his displeasure about the cold climate, his presence comforted her. Bowen truly wasn't a woman that was meant to be alone. She was supposed to be wrapped up in the body of another, their arms wrapped tightly around her. Though they were together more out of obligation than anything, the caramel fae had faith that she and the big cat would soon be true friends. She'd confided in the tiger about her relationship with Artorias and the issues that she was battling with. He hadn't judged her for it and she greatly appreciated that.

The world was much, much colder up here. Bowen had sailed in the cold, but she'd never trekked through it like this. The woman was small and her legs were slender, paws dainty. She could easily walk upon the more thickly crusted snow, but the deeper, more powdery snow was difficult to traverse through. Thankfully her feline companion could carry her without any issue. With her riding atop him, they kept one another warm. That only went so far, however. The cold grey sky grew colder still and soon little flakes began to fall. Judging by the darker clouds further off, more snow was on the way. Green eyes lifted towards the sky, watching as one of the thicker flakes drifted down to land on Bowen's pink nose where it quickly melted.

As she looked upwards, Tej's voice met caramel dipped ears. Bowen looked down, giving the feline a good natured squeeze around his neck. "There's bound to be a lot of snow up this way," she informed him. "I think we'll have to get used to it unless we plan to travel south again." She wasn't entirely opposed to traveling south. She would simply have to stay far away from The Hallows. There were many other lands in the warm continent of Boreas, however. She had said that she would go to The Armada, but that didn't mean that she had to stay there. No one ruled her. Bowen was her own master and she needed to remember that. She was in control of herself, her emotions, her destiny.

The russet and cream fae slid down off of the tigers wide shoulders, small paws landing  in the somewhat shallow snow. More shallow than some of the deeper areas that they'd wadded through, anyway. The snow began coming down heavier, the sky turning more white than grey. Bowen made a little icky noise in her throat and glanced towards Tej, wondering how he would react to even more snow falling down around them. His reaction surprised her.

Tej questioned the tiny woman and she gave her head a delicate tilt. "I'm learning. I thought it would be wise to be able to protect myself so..." she almost said so that Artorias wouldn't have to worry, but stopped herself. "So that no one has to worry about me." Green eyes lifted at the corners as she smiled up at the cat, nodding as he suggested a spar. There was no way that she was going to win against such a big cat that could move much more easily in the snow, but she knew that he wouldn't hurt her, so she readily agreed.

The big cat pounced her, lifting Bowen with ease and rolling through the snow with her. The diminutive fae squealed with laughter, ending up with a mouth full of snow as they continued to roll. Somehow she managed to wriggle from his grasp, disappearing into the curtains of falling, blowing snow. She used her size and the blinding snow to hide her movements. Bowen was fast. Easily the fastest wolf in The Hallows. She zipped back and forth through the snow, landing little nips and strikes here and there as she passed the big tiger. It was so very difficult to keep herself from laughing as she caught him spinning to try and grab her out of the corner of her eye.

The snow fell and fell, growing thicker around them by the minute. In time, it quickly became too deep for Bowen to move so quickly through. Her pace slowed and her stamina was waning as well. The panting woman moved slowly past the cat and he finally snatched her up, pulling her against him and she gave a little push, forcing them both into the snow. Laughter pulled from her again as their green eyes met. Bowen, still smiling, leaned down and placed a sweet little lick on Tej's pink nose. She had needed a bit of fun and he had delivered. Surely they were both warm by now.

WC-840
Total-1659

"Bowen"