Gentle, her paws fell upon the snow, leaving print after print in succession. Gentle, she commanded herself in mother's voice, the word echoing in her brain. Gentle was not the avalanche that lost her from her family, nor was it the snowstorm that preceded it, nor was it the small pack she had attempted to join in an effort to stay alive. Gentle was not the world, not at all, and yet she could not get those two syllables to quit ringing in her ears.

Her teeth ground one against another, pressing her dark lips into a thin line as she carried on against the wind. Ever since she left that odd group of wolves Quick had been traveling north, though the north seemed to resist her arrival. The snow fall was light, but persistent, and with every relentless minute she felt her inner flame flickering out of existence. She was cold, and tired, and hardly resembled the princess she'd so long been. Each step turned her heart more and more to stone and she did almost humor herself into falling beneath the weight, allowing her body to be covered by the endless winter - but only for a second, until her mother's voice crept from the darkness within and whispered, gentle, once more.

As irritated as she was even with the memory of her mother (who truly, she missed beyond compare) the pale wolf couldn't help but obey. And so she lifted one leg, then the other, repeated the pattern and somehow, ended up here - wherever that was. All she knew was she was far, far from where she'd woken up post-avalanche and her legs were burning, from cold or from use, and begging for a rest. Relishing a pause she lifted her dark nose to test the air for the water she had been following, picking out the scent of ice from the snow's interference. Much to her muscles' dismay she continued on, for she was close, and the sooner she found that water the easier it would be to find shelter.

Moments later she found the source: a lagoon coated in ice and hidden by the flurries. A faint glow cast off its delicate surface, drawing the Arctic-blooded female closer and closer until her black-padded toes pressed against the frosted surface. There was nothing beyond the vast pool of water, just whiteness for as far as she could see. This was no place for a lost girl, royal or not, but here she was anyway... and there was nothing she could do about it. The wind howled in her white ears, drowning out the chorus of her past. Perhaps it was her mother's voice that roused her, but it was she who carried her body, and mother wasn't around any more. Brows lowering in a frown she sat at the ice's edge, curiously meeting her pale-eyed reflection, and contemplated if she wanted to continue on this way: lost, aimless, and gentle.

How different it was to look at herself now. There was a hollow quality to her face which gave her anxiety to see the rest of her body, wondering if there were bones jutting from her sides like some sort of mutated monster rather than the graceful beauty she had needed to be. With a grimace she continued her inspection, silver eyes roving her distorted reflection on the ice's surface. Angry. Why did she look so angry? Perhaps it was because she was squinting against the snow fall. Or perhaps she just was - though anger is an undesirable quality in a lady, the voice reminded her.

The blustering winds had disguised the stranger's approach, so when the word cut through the snow storm to reach her white ears it felt not unlike a sneak attack. Bristling with shock the Arctic female rose from her seat and spun on her heels to face an adversary. Her ears flattened against her skull, jaws parting to flash her teeth for only a reckless moment before she managed to remind herself to behave. There was no fight she could win here, and so she had to deny her pounding heart the defenses it wanted to take. No point baring teeth that hadn't seen meat in weeks.

She swallowed the feelings of helplessness in her chest, though the icy pinch of fear continued to course through her veins, and picked out the earthen-hued wolf between snowflakes. From the distance she could not see the scars marring the older wolf's face - probably for the better. Quick was scared enough as it was, though she would much deny the fact. Her tail waved uncertainly by her heels, her fur in a jagged disarray along her spine as she tempted the follicles to relax out of an earlier aggression. She had learned to dominate those beneath her, but she had learned to submit to those above as well, and the snowy female did what she could to remember her training.

She humored the idea of running. Since the sudden arrival of another she couldn't help but imagine the worst of conflicts on its way, and that was something she was not equipped to deal with. Her hind claws gripped the icy edge of the lagoon where she stood and she realized there was no where to go. It was an act of defiance, then, that she pushed open her fear-cemented jaws and called out somewhat limply, "Who's there?"

The gaze that sought her beneath that ruddy furrowed brow was hardened, matching the coldness within Quick's own. Surprisingly she gave over her identity without qualm, the move of either a proud or stupid wolf - and Quick had no reason to believe this Semananti girl to be stupid. Fearing her lack of manners might be her downfall, the pallid girl held her tongue. The restless air between them remained silent not much longer. As a scent rolled in not too far from them - two scents, even - the other wolf was quick to explain it and even quicker to propose a bargain.

She could smell the other girl's prey trail and had no reason to believe she was lying about tracking it. Her huntress' honor, on the other paw, was something the silver-eyed girl remained skeptical of. She could very well use her help and take all the spoils, and there would be nothing for Quick to do about it. The lone wolf paled in comparison to her would-be hunting partner. But the possibility of her telling the truth in such a trying winter was too risky to ignore. With the constant snowfall it was harder to track scents and trails disappeared in an instant. Quick eyed Semananti, her decision made.

"On your honor," she agreed, and turned her body toward the oncoming scent. However, since the trail was the Ridge wolf's to begin with, she made no move to take up the pursuit first. Whenever the tawny wolf made a move, she would follow. In the mean time, she reduced their chances of error with a miniature survey. "Would you chase, or lunge?" The arctic-blood had no problem with either, though her lanky build suggested she was a better runner than fighter. When push came to shove - as it certainly had - she would do any job that was needed, and gladly.

Quick took no offense to the wolf's authoritative tone. Hunts worked better with a strong command and she preferred harmony over dissonance. The reins were better handed to someone else than her, someone who could promise on a hunter's honor like Semananti. With a nod of approval from the snowy-coated female she moved away, swift but quietly-placed steps taking her down the trail to their prey.

The female froze once the warring goats were in sight, too wrapped up in their testosterone-fueled display to notice the wolves. The winter winds quieted for a moment, concealing the two she-wolves' positions. Silver eyes sought her hunting partner's position, locating it quickly, having little confidence that the wind would remain so kind to them for long. It hid their locations now, but in an instant it could sweep along the closeness of their scents and they would both be out a meal. The area surrounding the lagoon was incredibly open. The goats could run any way they pleased, and Quick feared that they wouldn't have the strength to give chase for forever with just the two of them. Her approach would have to be perfect to corral one, hopefully both, toward the tawny wolf if they wanted to eat today.

Adrenaline surged in her veins, muscles tightening with anticipation. That was enough hesitating. The time was now. In silence she ripped from her position, charging opposite of Semananti's position to try and force the goats that way. They noticed her at once, but it was her snarl that distinguished her from a snow storm and sent them into panic. The goats fled in the same direction, though the smaller of the two seemed uncertain of his course of action. Regardless of Semananti's action Quick kept up the pursuit. They would feel her hot breath on their heels. She'd soon taste their sweet blood on her tongue.

The sound of the outside world zeroed out into silence as she watched the hunt end in slow motion. Her paws pounded against the ground, spraying snow behind her. Semananti lunged, a tawny missile shooting from behind the snow. One goat leaped away, sprinted away, desperate to flee the scene. The other balked, and died. The wolf's teeth closed in around its neck. Quick had never been able to read the eyes of prey but she imagined the light of hope dying out like a candle in the wind, flickering to nothing as blood ran red down its white neck.

Time returned to normal. She skidded to a halt where Semananti released her hold. The smile upon the arctic wolf's face matched the pride of the hunter's eyes. Quick wasted no time following the female's invitation to eat. She hadn't been able to in some time, and now she certainly would. She struggled to hear Semananti's words over the taste of meat as her canines tore into the flesh of the downed goat. The heat of the kill was always so much more satisfying in the winter, if not for any other reason than she felt like they were defying death. The frost nipped at her toes and the wind made her eyes water - but the warmth of the dead brought back her morale, every time.

Swallowing what had ended up being more than she could chew (literally) she looked up from the feast, tongue snaking from her mouth to lick the blood of her nose. Her white fur was stained pink from the meal, looking a bit more funny than it did savage, but Quick could care less as long as her belly was full. "I'm Quicksilver. Quick, for short," she began, not hesitant to name herself after this wolf had helped her. The other question was harder to answer discretely. She replied, "I've been traveling. Hence, no pack."