Right. For some reason Askan found that single word so much more annoying than any curse or witty insult Reyes could have possibly pulled from his ass. It was so condescending, so haughty that Askan was tempted to nip him on the snout. But he didn't, somehow he managed to rein himself in and resist the urge. In such a tight spot like this, it was a bad idea to start squabbling, or at least physically. And really, with the way he was, he wasn't exactly in best form. After some rest he was certain that he would be fine, that he'd be right as rain, but as of then the ball was in Reyes' court. And oh how he hated that.

Reyes' sharp, probing question made Askan sneer in contempt. Did it look like he had a death wish? If he had he would have jumped in the river a lot sooner. In fact, no he wouldn't have. If he had been so desperate to die, he would gone north and bitten Craw's ass. At least then he could get his own back before he left this world for the next. Or so the saying went, Askan wasn't convinced there was any other world besides from this one. At the very least, the loner's next question was a little more reasonable. Honestly, he was surprised he hadn't asked it sooner.

"I was fishing, obviously." He huffed, then hesitated for a moment, seeing as he hadn't actually even caught a fish. "Or at least I was trying to. And before you get all smart, no one ever taught me how to fish so I figured I might as well practice. I get it now, standing out on the ice was dumb, stupid as fuck, so there you don't need to bitch at me about that either. I've learned my lesson, won't see me fishing any time soon." He grumbled, pressing his chin down on his paws again.

Reyes had resumed grooming him, despite Askan's earlier protests, and despite the mini-fit he'd thrown, he didn't see the point in keeping it up. Sure, he wasn't exactly being gentle but after years and years of being pushed around and gnawed on by his sister's Askan found that he had a pretty high pain threshold. It took something pretty damn painful to make him blink an eye. So this, the occasional pull on his coat, was like water off a ducks back.

Again, Reyes' response was less than appreciated. Askan had gone out of his way to explain and respond to any and all questions he might have, but no! The loner had to paint him as the bad guy. It was always the same. When Askan didn't try, people hated him, when he did try they still hated him. He was damned if he did and damned if he didn't. He felt as though no matter what he did, he'd always end annoying, or worse yet being a burden to someone. And knowing that, recognising how much of a shit he was, well it didn't do his fragile self esteem any good. That was why he couldn't think like that, why he had to shove all of those nasty, painful thoughts to the side. They would make him weak, he couldn't allow them to fester and take over, no matter what. Because if he did, surely he would be lost.

Askan sighed, just as Reyes happened to pull away. Was he done? Well, if he had to be honest he did feel warmer and he belatedly realised his teeth were no longer chattering. For sure, his body still hurt but it was more of a dull ache than an ice cold burn all over. The Yukon wolf watched as Reyes climbed to his feet and stood at the mouth of their shelter, before venturing out into the snow.For a moment or so, Askan simply stared after him, his bright eyes unblinking, then without really thinking about it he scrambled out of their little shelter and stepped out into the cold. It was cold, he was still cold, but it was tolerable, he wasn't going to just drop dead from standing for a little. Besides, he needed to stretch and roll his shoulders before he got too stiff. And there wasn't enough room in there to do it, so getting out made sense.

Siding eyeing his grumpy companion, Askan took in the awe-inspiring scenery around them. Even he had to admit that it was pretty, that the slanted steps covered in snow were a sight to behold. But as usual, he didn't let his thoughts show on his face, his expression remained grim and steely.

"I've never seen a formation like this before." Askan stated, breaking the lengthy silence. "How about you?"

Askan huffed and cast a shady look in Reyes' direction. He wasn't going to die any time soon and he certainly wasn't fat either. Sure, he was pretty well fed considering the season and all, but that was down to Askan's and his fellow packmate's hard work. He knew for a fact that if he was a loner, he would be all skin and bone just as he had been when he'd first entered Relic Lore. But here he was months later and he was in great form, hefty and built like a tank. Considering that Reyes was a loner, Askan had to give him a little bit of credit. His form wasn't to bad either, he was clearly built for strength and stamina, the sort that could take hits but dish them out twice as hard.

"You're such a child. Grow up." He grumbled. Was that the best Reyes could do, the whole 'I know you are but what am I' stick. How immature. And yet he had the nerve to look all smug and pleased with himself. Once again, Askan thought he deserved a nip on the snout, or the ass, but instead Askan took the high road-for once- and simply let it go. For now anyway.

It seemed as though Reyes had the same, or similar line of thought as a few moments or so later, Askan felt the warmth of Reyes' side push against his own. Once again, he was tempted to flinch, to pull away from his touch. But he was rather warm and Askan was quite cold... Maybe this wasn't so bad, maybe it was tolerable. Besides, if he did make a scene again he was sure that Reyes would just throw another pissy fit, that he'd get all snappy like before. So the fact that Askan didn't move away didn't mean anything, not really, he was simply doing what he had to to keep the peace, to stay warm. That's all there was to it, it didn't mean anything. Nothing at all.

The Yukon's bright, intense gaze roamed over the treacherous, snow coated valley and his ears twitched at the roar of a waterfall, that was out of his line of sight but no doubt nearby. At first he didn't think that Reyes would even bother to respond to his question, but he did and was seemingly unable to resist the urge to add some of his babble on the end. What an ass. But Stairs to the sky, that was a bit...Flouncy wasn't it? A bit romantic? Askan wouldn't have pegged him as that kind of wolf, but he supposed that looks were deceiving. Not everything or everyone was as they seemed.

"Huh? Yeah I guess. It's not far from here, I'll be able to make it." Askan told him, his voice firm and sure. And then a sly smile tugged at his lips before he covered it with a scowl. Smiling wasn't a part of his image. "Why, you gonna get lonely?"He knocked Reyes with his shoulder, and made a show of looking forward, as though he did no such thing.

Oh no, contrary to Reyes' assumptions, Askan wished no such thing. It would be rather vindictive of him to wish loneliness upon someone, and as grumpy as Askan was he wasn't exactly malicious. Sure, he'd say a mean thing or two every now and then but he never intended to hurt someone's feelings. So wishing loneliness on someone was pretty uncharacteristic of him, especially seeing how it was such an unpleasant and upsetting emotion to deal with. Or so he thought. It didn't really occur to Askan that it was simply a witty quip, that Reyes' was just turning the situation on him and implying that he was the one who would upset once they split up.

He thought little of this yearling Reyes' mentioned, to him he was simply a nameless and faceless wolf he didn't know. If he had known that Reyes was speaking of Cottongrass, well he would have been surprised, at the very least. It would have been hard for him to imagine those two standing side by side. One coward and one trash-talking hardass. What a pair they made.

Reyes apparently couldn't leave things there though and when he continued to tease, Askan realised what he had been getting at earlier, what he had been implying. And of course, that made Askan scowl as though a bug had flown into his eye.

"Miss you? Pfft I think not." He scoffed, as though the idea was ludicrous, simply impossible.

His next words were all the more startling and Askan couldn't help but whip his head around and stare at him with wide, confused eyes. Cuddle? Were there not dozens of more suitable words that he could of used? Really? Cuddle ?How...How..Askan turned to stare out at the snow but promptly gave up and glanced his way again, and- oh he was grinning, and was clearly enjoying himself. What a comedian, wasn't he so damn funny and smart? And so frustrating! Askan huffed loudly as he watched Reyes with clear contempt. Smartass. What a dick. Askan should have snapped at him, put him in his damn place. But he didn't, he simply sulked and tried to structure his thoughts into a cohesive stream, rather than the dazed and befuddled jumble they were. Damn the things Reyes did to him, damn him.

"We can go back, but we're not gonna cuddle, or whatever. That's-that's, I don't want to do that, so lets not."

"Oh for fucks sake." Askan groaned, his voice ladened with frustration. He dropped his head and sighed, before slowly raising it so he could look Reyes in the eye.

How the hell was he supposed to explain this when he didn't even understand it himself? It'd never been a problem before, so why was it now? Sleeping in the communal den in the others had never been an issue for the Rye wolf, he just found his spot and got comfortable. And if someone happened to touch him, he'd scoot away-unless they were Percy. But this situation was completely different, Askan was at a loss, how was he supposed to react? What was he supposed to do? Nothing was coming to mind, nothing seemed natural to him. And it wasn't because he was repulsed by Reyes, because believe me ,if he was he would have rather crawled home, than huddle up with him. Nor did he dislike the guy. By no means was he on the top of his list, but he wasn't at the bottom either. Reyes was okay, all things considered.

Gender was irrelevant to Askan, he didn't care about the...parts. And neither did he particularly find one sex more attractive or alluring than the other. He simply, for some reason or another, didn't feel a pull towards others as everyone else seemed to. His sisters-particularly Everly- made a big song and dance out of fussing over the occasional attractive loner that passed the Selwyn borders. And whilst he could see that they were good looking, he didn't feel anything, he didn't want to do anything. For the most part, Askan didn't think about it as it didn't impact on his daily life. But at quite times when he had no one but his own thoughts for company, he couldn't help but worry that he was broken. That he wasn't a man, because of his possible 'condition.'

"I'm not deaf, I know what you said. I'm just..." His mouth was dry and for once Askan struggled for words. "I just-you-I don't.Ugh. Come on, forget it."

Giving up completely, Askan scurried beneath their shelter and curled himself up as tight as he could managed. When he felt Reyes plop himself beside him, he didn't flinch or try to move away. He simply held still and did his best to steady his breathing, there was no use in getting all worked up. It wouldn't help. The silence between them was pronounced and heavy, like a weight baring down on the Yukon's shoulders. For what could possibly be the first time in his life, Askan found the silence awkward and stifling. So much so, he longed to break it.

"I'm not a people person. I'm no good at the whole talking thing, I always say the wrong things."