It was a suicide mission. That's all. No more and no less. Feeding herself to the sea, as if she'd truly lost it. As if she'd well and truly lost her grasp. Chain coming loose, coming undone. Undone, unglued. Like she can reach out and touch it, but then, can she? Was Iscariot okay, or had the sea taken her away entirely? Had she missed? Surely not. Too good a tracker for that. She wouldn't have missed, and she wouldn't have lost them. Suicide mission. Right. Iscariot makes it or she dies. She dies and she dies-- it's only through the sea that she's born again.

And there she is. Born again. Last dregs of sunlight fading on the horizon, but it doesn't matter. Iscariot makes landfall, and she's born anew. Hunger in her stomach. Hungry? Too hungry. Too fucking hungry. A rumbling that starts in her core, and resonates through her chest. It doesn't feel good. None of it. Content to never look at another fish again as long as she lives, a bit of disgust crossing her delicate features. Lip raising. Coughing and shivering against the autumn chill as she is, Iscariot's head spins. Too many thoughts, all of them buffeting her-- so much fucking noise.

Unwilling to rally against it, the girl gives to it instead. Bends to it. Allows it to soak through, permeate her skull. Her system. Steadying herself, clearing her head. Coughing saltwater, dragging herself to the beach, shaking her coat as dry as she can. Iscariot casts off the seawater, sends it in all directions. Does what she can to push it away, though she shivers. Right. Stepping up the rocky shore, it was the best Iscariot was going to get for now. The closest she'd get to warm, but fuck it, it's more than she's had in... since she entered the sea. Good enough.

Sparse, low trees are enough to take some of the teeth from the biting wind. Ears flattened against her skull, Iscariot would huddle beneath one to get her bearings. Eyes adjusting to the low light in her further-shadowed hideaway, lifting her muzzle to scent the breeze. Her main quarry could wait. Wouldn't make it if she starved to death. No, there's another scent. The harsh environment wasn't great for prey, but she could make it work. The queen of making it work, Riot hunched her shoulders against the bitterness of the autumn evening. Fuck off. She could make it happen.

Can't rely on your eyes in the dark. Riot knows as much. Close them, filter out the distractions. Eyes shut, what can she smell? Nose to the ground. Gamey, small. Sweet, a little warm. Furry. Rabbit. Riot can smell the rabbits, but where were they? Tongue flickering across her nose. Focus, what direction? Picking up a breeze, she hones in. Leaving the cover of the trees while dampness and saltwater still clung to her coat wasn't her idea of a good time, but she needed to eat. Just a meal, and she could rest easy until first light.

Lavender eyes flickering open, Iscariot's vision is better adjusted. Did it have to be so fucking cold? Breath harsh against the sky, hackles lifting in a ridge up her back. Trying to fluff herself up against it, but still, the chill rattles raw against her bones. Head down. Keep going. Nose to the scent, Iscariot isn't going to lose it now. She won't lose it, she won't let it go. There is food, out here. There's food beneath the snow drifts, there's a burrow nearby. Hungrily, the slip of a girl moves along the ground with her head low.

Head low. Gaze brilliant, harsh, gleaming in the moonlight. Fuck, she's cold. Adrenaline too high to give it heed, Riot wouldn't stop now. Couldn't stop now. Lowering her head against it, the girl carried on. Scent trail growing more and more fresh. As she grows nearer, the girl can see the outline of footprints, though it's not until she's nearly upon them. They act as confirmation only, not clues, in the darkness. Ah, she's on the right track. She's on the right track for now. Fuck. Sides aching, the pads of her paws stinging, Iscariot continues on.

As the scent is the freshest, the girl grinds to a halt. Holding her breath, head low. Eyes closed. Listening, as best she can. Intent-- if she can pull this off in one strike, there's no energy wasted on a chase. If there's no energy wasted on a chase, she can eat and nap and get her shit sorted out sooner. Right. One shot, one kill. Breath held, listening for the sound of life beneath the shallow snow drifts. Though the sparse pines were alive with creatures of the night, it doesn't take Iscariot long to sort out the sounds. Untangling them, one from another. An owl landing on a snowy branch. The rustle of the wind. And then-- ah.

Taking off gracefully, Iscariot knows she has one shot at this hare's den. One shot, and it comes into focus as she's upon it. A dark outline in the snow, vicious jaws making their way into the tight hole. Quick and deadly, fishing in. Before the hare has a chance to make an escape somewhere deeper into the network, Iscariot pulls away with the creature screaming and squirming in her jaws. Finally, a source of heat. Of warmth.

With a sickening crunch, blood splashes across the snow in the darkness. Screaming no more, Iscariot has her meal. Furtive glance over her shoulder, she's not in the clear yet. Other predators, bigger predators, would be out here. The would have heard the rabbit, and she needed to find somewhere she could hole up and chow down. Keen gaze in the low light, the girl makes her way for the tightest copse of trees. They're sad, but they'll have to do. At least she's small enough that it shouldn't matter. Quick to find and stuff herself in an abandoned foxhole, grateful for the wind kicking up to obscure her scent trail, the creature retreats to enjoy her meal.

Warm enough. Dry enough. Fed enough. Suicide mission complete, Iscariot could allow herself to be reborn.

Riot wasn't the only tracker in the pines. Kaino did her fair bit of hunting and tracking as well. It seemed as though it ran in their blood. There were a million Saxe's in the world, but Kai and Riot were a little different. A little... unhinged. One never could tell where their minds were or how the gears turned. The ladies liked it that way. Keep 'em guessing, right?

As the breeze shifted, it brought a sweet, familiar scent drifting right up Kaino's soft pink nares. A trill of intrigue rumbled in the bob-tailed woman's throat and she slid out from beneath one of the pines. Following the scent was easy. It was like going home. Everyone knew the way home. Pawprints in the snow were another indicator, but Kaino didn't need them. Up ahead she could see the dark entrance of an old fox hole and she knew that's where Iscariot lay.

Padding up to the entrance, Kaino lay beside it, stretching out on her belly in the snow. "I wondered how long it would take you," she purred in sultry tones. She wanted nothing more than for her sister to get the hell out of the hole so that she could tackle her. Kaino would be patient though. But maybe not for long.

"Kaino Saxe"

Curled tightly around herself, trying to shut the cold out. No more. No more cold in her bones. Too much of it. Raw and biting, rattling her bones. Rattling all of her. Can't rattle. Needs to stop rattling. Trying to regain control of herself so she can sleep, but the shivering is making things difficult. Sleep. Sleep is the only thing that will stop the spinning in her head, but sleep evades Iscariot. Too far. Too far out of reach. Fuck.

Footsteps. Iscariot picks them up over the other night-sounds. Hyperaware. Too many things out here could eat her, though most of them couldn't fit in the foxhole with her. It's why she'd picked it. A gait, a rhythm she knows. Hypervigilance pays off. Head coming up, gaze adjusting against the pale, blustery evening.

She'd recognize Kaino anywhere, though she doesn't unfold from the foxhole either. Head picking up, squinting as she peers against the harsh, pale landscape. Ears folding back for a moment, a rush of emotions. "Exactly as long as it was supposed to. 's not even winter yet." Iscariot's head comes up, gaze focusing on Kaino. Glimmering just a little, though only her snout emerges from the foxhole.

Riot's words drift out of the hole and Kai chuckles, rolling onto her side and out of view. "Don't make me come in there. We both know I won't fit." Wouldn't fit, but she could destroy that hole in a heartbeat and drag her sister out kicking and screaming if need be. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that. Being sisters, Iscariot was well aware how touchy and affectionate Kaino was. The bob-tailed fae needed that physical touch, that reconnection.

"Not winter yet but cold enough to freeze your bones."It was taking too damned long for Riot to get out of the fucking foxhole. Still laying on her side, Kai's silver gloved paws began to dig at the edge of the den, claws slicing through freezing earth to litter the holes occupant with dirt. Served her right for making Kai wait so long.

"Kaino Saxe"

Wouldn't fit, but also, maybe Riot would like to see her try. Gleaming eyes in the low light, narrowing slightly but... maybe she'd relent. Iscariot is tired, though she was too proud to admit it. Too proud to admit that the cold has rattled her bones, has zapped the energy from her. Too proud to admit that she's wilting, the journey long and tumultuous.

As the dirt kicks up, Iscariot growls... voice breaking to a whimper. She's still damp, and the dirt will only cling to her coat. Wiggling a bit further from the foxhole, head and shoulders exposed, belly down on the ground. "I noticed, fucking wasteland up here." Iscariot is all grumbles and teeth, shivering violently as she's unraveled herself and moved into the snow.

"Covering me in dirt is more punishment for you than for me," okay that's only half true. Indignant, Iscariot tries to shake it from her damp fur once more. Scowling rather dramatically, though she's not wholly free of her hiding place.

Still Iscariot stayed within the fox hole, eliciting a growl from her sister. Kaino rolled to her paws and began digging in full force, pale claws raking away frozen earth in clumps. The woman dug and dug, slowly chipping away at the den's entrance. Almost... almost... "Get. Out. Of. That. Fucking. HOLE!" And just like that, Iscariot was within reach.

Kaino went in paws first, but her head followed suit. The larger fae bit into her sister's scruff, though she was careful not to puncture flesh. With Riot being so small, it was easy to jerk her free from her earthen hidey-hole. In an instant, Iscariots waterlogged form was subject to the freezing, blowing winds, but only for a brief second. A moment later, the smaller Saxe was wrapped within her sisters warm embrace. Kaino had the foresight to wear a thick, bison hide cloak and she tucked it around both of them.

"There now. Isn't that better, you brat?" A warm, pink tongue protruded, licking away droplets of dirt and water from Riot's face. The water from Iscariot seeped into Kai but she didn't care. She had been waiting for her sister all this time. With a sigh, Kaino placed her cheek between Riot's ears and held her close. "I missed you."

"Kaino Saxe"

Iscariot is quite dramatic, particularly in the way she presses her forehead into the ground, paws covering it. Frozen dirt and a show of force, though at this point, perhaps she's being a brat for the sake of it. A loud, slow-suffering grumbled echoes from her throat, though Iscariot is hard pressed to keep it up for all that much longer. As Kaino takes her by the scruff, drags her free, she's already giggling.

More eagerly than she'd admit to, Riot tucks her chin against her sister's neck. "Okay, okay, fine... yeah..." nuzzling up against the larger girl's ears, allowing the water from her coat to seep into Kaino's in turn. Carefully tucking under the cloak with a grumble, ears flattening back as she makes a quiet concession. "I missed you too."