Mind of the frozen

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A loud dull ringing sang out as the blade came down on the frozen shield of ice. "Bloody hell!" The layer of ice over the river was so thick it was like trying to pick through brick. She switched the dagger to her other hand and struck the water again. This time a bit of water slipped from the dent of the ice-wall, and formed a slight puddle atop the ice. A grin spread across the lips of the red-haired woman.
The tall brindled dog at her side, shaking ever so slightly from chill, none too cold by the fact of it being a dry cold, stepped forward, lapping at the puddle of icey water. She licked her lips, looking to her human, seeming to grin as well.
The girl raised a hand to pat the dog on the shoulder and wacked at the ice once more, cracking it further as she put her canteen to the leak, trying her best to gather some of the fresh water. The only thing keeping the water in the bottle from freezing was the leather surrounding it's edge.
After having filled her canteen to the best of her abilities she rose up from her place by the lake and shifted in the long trench-coat like jacket around her form. It kept her warm enough. The cold didn't quite affect her as much as other people though she never understood why. She never complained though. In the thick of winter like this it was a welcome gift.
She touched her hip, and the tall dog sat beside her leg, practically leaning on her, if not so exactly. The girl's eyes cast out over the frozen vast of water. It was a clear day and somehow the brown grass looked pretty in a way. She was surprised it still hadn't snowed, it usually did. It was like a frozen drought almost but then again snowless ground was easier to trudge about.
She pulled the coat around her, pulling it together by the strings of the waist and capped her bottle, putting it in one of the jacket's large pockets, rubbing her hands together after. She needed to find some place for them to sleep... She was just a bit too far from any place to make it before dark overtook them.

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[atrb=border,0,true][cs=7][bg=617186] I have thrown away my vice, Done away with paradise, See what's going on inside my mind... _____________________ The weather had been rather unpredictable, as its usually appeared to be every winter. The snow wasn't something to be hated though. Granted prey wasn't always easy to find and many wouldn't be as nurished, but it was no more perrilous then when it was warm out. As long as he kept his wits about him, and as long as he stayed free of illness, Yorick was content to let the season pass as any other had in his past. It was just one more winter he would spend alone. Granted he was now part of a well established pack, but nothing seemed to fill the void that the loss of his family brought on. Letting out a long breath that ended in a sigh he didn't know he was holding back, he gazed around the area. His duty of the day hadn't been given, so he took to wandering the territory. It wasn't long before something caught his attention, and he cautiously approached. It wasn't that he was scared of whatever the scent was, on the contrary he was trying to make sure he didn't lower his guard. Yorick could scent two individuals, though still in his human form he hadn't rushed in for a closer look. Quickly he elongated his bones and felt them snap and crack into place, and in seconds a large grey blue wolf, with a dark grey blotch on his snout stood in his place. The change was more bothersome then it usually was, because of a recently healed injury. During a hunting trip he had been trying to distract a bear and save another member of the pack. Well unlucky for him, the bear was eager to strike him, and Yorick suffered a few broken bones centered in his left leg. Now in a more fit and ready form he trecked out into the open towards the lake. The figures were easy to distinguish, one a human girl in a long trench coat, and the other was a dog. Grey knew the dog might be a problem, even if he had no intention of striking at the owner. Unless he was attacked first that is. Still he had no intention of attacking, so he was going to try and be optimistic on his little interuption into her life. Afterall he was supposed to ask questions since technically she was on pack territory. Not that humans should know better, but he needed to know how threatening she was, eventhough he doubted her ferocity could scare him. Kneeling on the ice she was hacking at its crystalized surface with a dagger. That imediatly made Yorick halt and look at the lake's surface. He knew its covering was thick, but when she was able to pierce it he made a mental note to tell the rest of the pack to be on alert while being on or near its edge. Being larger then normal wolves they had a better chance of cracking the ices, espeacially if their were more then ones of them at once on its surface. Currently then had there backs to him, and he decided that a wolf was probably not the best form to meet and greet them in. Particularily because the dog would have been the only one capable of understanding him. Since he was still a considerable distance away, several yards at least, he made the change again. Once he was back to human essence, he waltzed up to her , and spoke gently in a melodic ,medium, and slightly irish accented voice. " What bring a lone soul and her companion out in the middle of nowhere in the middle of winter?" _____________________

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Hand brought down to pat the Dane's head, fingers moving behind her left ear, the girl sighed. She moved her hair back over her shoulder and with someone interesting timing turned to a voice. Her eyes widened in surprise, she'd never heard anyone up behind her, apparently Sky had missed it as well. She took in the stranger's tone, it didn't seem threatening and so she stopped her twitching hand from reaching for the dagger back in it's place at her hip.
Sky looked the man over with a curious interest, her head tilting at the strange combination of scents on him, her intelligent eyes wondering. He smelled almost like a dog but wilder, stranger, and of course she knew he was not. Her young mind wondered back, they'd encountered the two-legged wolf kind once before but... Surely this two-legged being was too calm to be one, yes?
"For water..." the girl answered coolly, never fond of strangers, always quick to be on her guard. "It's fresher, not tainted by tap..." she replied in further explanation to prevent any questions as to her reasoning.
Her eyes passed over the stranger, watching his body language for a threat and she noticed a slight shift of pressure off one leg. He was injured, or recovering from one. Her mind of fighting quickly ran across ways she could use that against him should he try anything.
Commonly before it could be noticed, her eyes would lift back to the man's face, skeptical, "And I could just as easily ask you the same, couldn't I?" She countered, smirking slightly, "It's not safe to be out in the open alone and injured..." she remarked. "You could get into trouble that way." Her arms crossed over her chest. She still couldn't quite guess as to his reason for speaking to her. Why risk it? Sure she was a woman but that didn't make her any less of a threat. She couldn't help but grasp for some ulterior motive. Such a scared mind one must have to always look for the worst intentions...

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[atrb=border,0,true][cs=7][bg=617186] I have thrown away my vice, Done away with paradise, See what's going on inside my mind... _____________________ Grey noticed her stiffen, probably in alarm from his sudden appearance behind her. Of course the fact that the mutt next to her hadn't spotted him had most likely irritated her sense of pride and faith in the dane. It was funny how much people relied on others, he missed that part of living with humans. It always intrigued him how they interacted with one another. It was much diffrent compared to the pack. The pack had a structure, while to him a human's life was fluid and could change at any moment. Their world was ruled by instinct and thought processing on events that they come across in life. A wolf must follow the leaders law, ideal, and demands or leave and become hunted, or a loner. The human social circles were something that they could blend into, or detatch from within minutes if they wanted to. They were interesting creatures indeed. Now was not the time to brood on his past though, sonce she was now talking to him. The dane didn't seem to be thrilled, but he wasn't that concerned with the dog. It helped knowing that he could transform instantly and be able to take them, so long we his leg cooperated. It was a tad bit tender still, and very stiff. She was guarded against him, he was ok with it, since he expected it. Revealing that she was out for "water", an obvious observance that made him audibly snort in mock annoyance. The sarcasm wasn't expected and he wasn't really in the mood to deal with it. What he had expected was the threat, and observance that she made, which was that he was injured and that would give her an edge in a fight. He was smirking in his head at that comment. She has spunk I'll give her that, but if she knew what I was she might not be as quick to challenge my capabilities. Plastering a grin on his face, he crossed his arms and relaxed into a comfortable stance. " Oh I see your collecting water, how interesting." he said with mock enthusiasm. " I'm out here because I need to be, and this injury will not hinder my preformance at all I asure you. Definatly not with that dagger, or your pet there. I'm not here to be a danger, just curious." Grinning again he wondered how she would react to that. What a day off this was turning into, definatly better then getting badgered by the pack for his past affiliations with humans. He hoped she would be friendlier, perhaps even stick around the territory, he wouldn't harm her. The pack he wasn't sure about, but they wouldn't out right harm her, or at least he thought that wouldn't. Grey hadn't really been there a long enough time to really know all the ins and outs of their ways even now four years later. _____________________

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The girl shifted slightly, annoyance obvious on her face as he seemed to mock her stance with a more relaxed copy. Her arms dropped from her chest and the left corner of her bottom lip protruded out slightly in her tell-tale sign of bluffing. She blinked slightly at his remark about being able to take her and fought back a huff of her own. Rather he had good reason, or just a high sense of pride, he was cocky. She sniffed, from the cold or at him though, it was impossible to tell.
She'd been around long enough to tell however that what he'd said about just being curious was in honesty, at least mostly from what she could tell so she too relaxed a bit, more for the sake of politeness and courtesy than because she was actually at ease.
Eyes still fixed on him, she lowered a hand to the Dane's ears, rubbing the top of her neck. Though it might've seemed like just a gesture of affections to Sky it was a subtle command. With it she shifted and lay down beside the girl but her haunches were tight. She was like a loaded gun ready to fire at any sign of displeasure from her person.
The girl rose up again and shifted some of her hair out of her face. "I suppose, My. Curious, if you aren't here to kill me. I should at least know your name, " she pressed, offering a hand outstretched to him. Despite her better judgement, she spoke first, "Name's Arria."
Her metacromian eyes suddenly flashed for the shortest time, laughing at some private joke silently. Should something cause them to quarrel and she did come out on top, she'd need a name to find out who to bury him next too.
Her lips kept pressed together to keep from laughing, she found herself to be very amusing sometimes.

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[atrb=border,0,true][cs=7][bg=1a1017] _____________________ Everything had been rather dead lately of any alerts or where abouts of the local villages having scares of finding out of them. There was always a risk of a wolf slipping and exposing the exsistance of the pack, which was beyond against the rules of the pack. It was risking their own lives, bad enough that lower ranks of the pack scattered themselves within the villages to make a living as to not create suspician. To act normal amongst the filth that littered this world, it must have been a mistake of the gods to allow such weak defenceless creatures live in the changed world. Sinew and muscles tensed shaking side to side, the thick double coat of the brute's neck and back tossled side to side as the canine shook and stretched out it's body. Hearing and feeling little cricks and cracks as the chassis arose from resting a few hours before going on a daily casual territory patrol. Paranoid at best, Geartan knew the importance of the staying unknown but how much he hated it. The urge to rid his path of being tainted by such unworthy creatures was strong, but he knew in time their pack would over take pack Rulin and show the world who truly deserved to live. Dark silver massive paws carried the lupin for miles, stoping here and there to ensure the territory was well announce to any on comer that crossed borders. It was when he was nearing the areas of the lake did he catch the scent of a male pack member. Geartan knew who it was, Yorick Grey, who didn't know who he was, a rogue that had come to the pack as a last resort. Though the beta did have to give it to the fellow wolf for killing humans, but the fact Yorick's former mate use to be a human did not get past Geartan in the least. The thought of it gave him the willies and rage at the same time. But none the less having to respect the fact the male was apart of the pack now, not having interacted with him much at all since his arrival perhaps it'd be good to check up on a wolf brother and see how he was doing. Not the most social was Geartan but he spoke enough to others to ensure none thought erie of him most of the time, he was mainly one to keep order and laws of the pack and nature. Ensuring the safety of the pack was a top priority of his. As the black backed gladiator paused as in the distance through several walls of trees, gold-blue hazel optics targetted in on Yorick and a woman. For a moment audits pinned flat against his skull as curtains rolled back in irritation, was this a human or a rogue female, and why hadn't Yorick let someone else know of her presence. Was the human-loving wolf even for the pack or just lounging in it's protection against the outside world. With a hotty huff of breath, in moments Geartan stood tall at six foot one man after his bones, muscles and flesh shifted and shedded his canine pelt to be clothed in loose dark jeans, a grey sleeveless shirted covered by a thick black cloaked. Dark brown shaggy locks covered his hazel eyes as he pressed on. In due time Geartan came into plausable sight of the pair leaving the shelter of the trees to step out into the open where the lake lain to ensure all enough water to survive on. His shoulders were a bit stiff as he approached, but gave off false relaxness to attempt not to look as if he were there to run the girl off. The smell of the mutt at her side was disgusting and revolting to his scent sensative nose, a wary glance flickered over the colored dog laying at ready, "Brother who do we have here? Is everything alright?" Geartan pulled up to Yorick's side giving a courtacious nod to the red haired woman, her stench gave it away she was human that was for sure. Perhaps got lost from the trails heading to the village who knew, but the beta would play it off nice till he found her motive for being out in the wild and not in the protection of human buildings. "Excuse my sudden approach I am Geartan, Arria right?" He reassured he'd heard right from his approach of hearing the two conversate. Not entirely caring if he was giving Yorick room to talk to the stranger. _____________________ 845:words.

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