There was a creeping fear that coursed her spine each time it happened – she had awoken cold this day, not just from the bitter winter winds and snow that crept higher and higher upon the ground, but the fact that she had woke up alone once again, and not surrounded by the warmth of family she had grew up with. Time had begun to pass, but it did not heal the ache, and despite the fact the sisters had not truly spoken with one another since it had happened, Cinder still clung to her sister now as if her very life depended on it. She had looked away only for a bit when the flood had taken her home and family from her – what if something took Quil too? All it had taken was mere moments for her life to turn upside down, and the fear encased her heart constantly now and in turn, her breath to weaken.

So after waking up alone, she had quickly followed after her swarthy littermate, lest something happen to either of them when they were alone and vulnerable. It was hard to track her, especially given Cinder’s inexperience, yet her pawprints were still visible in the snow, despite the accumulation, and she was quick to follow them.

Her limbs ached as she bounded through the snow – her ebony pelt speckled in frost and snow, while her gleaming honey eyes scoured the unfamiliar lands for her sister. As soon as Quil was spotted, her heart lifted –relief that her sibling was okay, and yet then she saw the others. Three to be exact, and one was shouting rather unpleasantly.

Stiffening, Cinder prowled towards the others, emotionless; spare for the sneer she spared to the tawny girl who might have been mouthier than herself (was that possible?) Without a word, she moved up to her sister’s side, eyeing the other wolves and only then realizing they were all of the same age. She didn’t want to be here. She wanted to be in Darkwater Rapids, with her family. Yet this was all she had, and casting a nip to her sister’s cheek, she looked at her quizzically.

It irked the prince that the pretty female chose to invite Yuka to join them. He showed no sign of contempt or spite toward her, and merely slid his casual gaze to her features, only to notice with a certain amount of delight that there was a twinkle in her eye. Yes- entertain the little beggar, show some mercy for the lad. They were perfectly able to do so, so why not show some mercy? Not that doing such a thing would have ever been Asriel's choice...But the sharp-mouthed female who'd joined them and had established herself as Yuka's stuck-up sister and conceited guardian made things considerably more difficult. He didn't like either of them- but he could tolerate the boy more than he could tolerate Malia's sass.

<b style="color:#101115;">"Of course," He answered to Quil smoothely. Why don't we just invite the whole of Relic Lore to dine? He thought cruelly. He didn't want to share, but he wouldn't disgrace the lady whose company he shared or his family. He looked at the frozen infant pronghorn; four wolves? It was hardly anything. <b style="color:#101115;">"Ladies first," He said, though his gaze was set upon Quil rather than Malia. And rather than meeting her eyes, he moved away so that Quil could eat- and if Malia chose to storm forward and proclaim herself a lady by eating, then she was free to do so. As he turned away from the kill, he noticed a dark shape just below the snow's surface not far away. He moved forward to investigate, and his interest was piqued when he caught the scent of it- a deer carcass. Likely frozen solid, but they had the teeth for working through frozen hides. This satisfied him- let Quil and the sasspot eat their fill of the young pronghorn, he'd found something else.

But since Quil had insisted that they be charitable, he decided to pull Malia's strings and invite Yuka over. He turned to address the boy but before he could, he spoke. Asriel's eyes sharpened and his ears cupped forward. Skoll. He regretted that Skoll had met this young man first. Had he represented the family well? Yuka didn't look as though he was being sarcastic. And if he had been, Asriel- though he appreciated his brother only so much- would have made him regret any unkind words had they been spoken. He paused and a thin smile came to his features. He was surprised by how calm and level Yuka was being. As though he hadn't noticed Asriel's spite. It was refreshing- it made him wonder if the boy was simple or very naive, but at the same time, it was nice. He couldn't say the same for the boy's sister. <b style="color:#101115;">"You've met my brother. Well then; a friend of my brother is a friend to me," He said, and gestured for Yuka to join him. The honesty was false, but convincing. He really didn't care if Yuka was Skoll's friend or not- if anything, being Skoll's friend made Yuka even less desirable as a companion. But he had to mind his manners in front of Quil.

It was then that a sylphlike and quiet creature joined them- she seemed shy of the more verbose female, and quickly attached herself to Quil's side. A sibling, Asriel guessed, and every bit as lovely as her sister, though the two did not share the same sort of presence. He looked her over with a quiet, almost fond gaze before he looked to Quil to see how she reacted to her sister's presence, which would determine, largely, how Asriel would judge her. Quil was at the top of his priority list at the moment; and how she perceived others would decide how he perceived them as well.

Malia watched Quil critically, noticing the attention she was getting from the arrogant, black male and Yuka. Seeing the affection that her brother seemed to hold for the other female caused any haughty words to catch in her throat. The looks Yuka had given to Inali never went unnoticed and caused an uncomfortable air for Malia. A girl his own age would be much better. Her protective, amber eyes studied the darker female for a moment, watching her movements and the way she interacted with others. Yuka then pulled away from her side with words that caused Malia to grumble to herself. "Maybe if you had some self respect then I wouldn't need to get involved..."

Another wolf her age approached, attaching herself like a magnet to the side of the wolf she now knew as Quil. The look she had been given by this newcomer did not go unnoticed and Malia rolled her eyes in return. Any patience she had for Quil did not extend to her sister, that much was certain. The girl was just about to ask this wolf to keep her eyes to herself when Asriel's voice raised above the others. Malia's amber eyes turned to look, anger flashing at his demeanor. She stood up and walked over, yet sat a few paces away from him and the meat. She would not be the one to give him any sort of sick satisfaction of inviting her to do anything.

There were many details about this male that were just... off. Malia felt her fuse beginning to light. His thinly veiled malice and outright arrogance caused her to see red. She took a deep breath, trying to hold her temper for Yuka's sake at least.

"Speech"

Near @Asriel and with @Yuka and his sister now on their way to join in, Quil shifted her attention to the frozen carcass that, upon closer inspection, wasn't so enticing. It was due mostly to her nerves, but the growing girl's appetite was transient at best, and a meal as frozen at the one at her feet wasn't exactly mouthwatering. Nonetheless, she nosed at the snow atop the carcass until she found a spot that was soft enough to nibble at and proceeded to do just that. Her eyes drifted to Asriel as he spoke with Yuka. As arrogant as he plainly was, she didn't mind personally, and she couldn't help but to like the way he'd seemed to favor her. In fact, she liked the air of royalty with which he spoke and the proud way about him.

Only a few mouthfuls later and as the others chatted─as silver-tongued as they were─the sound of paws pitter-patterning across the snow caught her attention.

Cinder. She couldn't have been more happy or proud to have her own flesh and blood join her and the small gang of new friends that had turned such a lonesome morning into a good time, though it was apparent by the sneer cast in Malia's direction and by the way she slipped to her side that @Cinder didn't share her sentiment. The thick, dark plume of her tail swayed steadily above her hocks as her sister approached quietly, questioningly, and she issued the sable girl an affectionate nip just in time to catch the roll of Malia's eyes─and she did not like it. Yes, it had been she who had made a point to include the tawny girl in whatever festivities were to commence, but nobody was going to look at her sister like that. In an instant her swaying tail was statue-still as her posture lifted, her honey eyes fixed intently on @Malia.

The sour taste of regret lingered in her mouth. Had it not been for her own prestigious heritage and exceptional upbringing, the Attaya might have made child's play of putting the girl in her place, which, consequently, would have been on her back in the snow. Cooly maintaining her composure, a tender edge was plain in the velvety tone of Quil's voice as she addressed them all with an introduction, looking reassuringly to her sister before pointing the others out individually. "Cinder, meet Asriel, Yuka, and─" Her eyes, like fire, pointedly fell upon the tawny girl. "─I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name..." Though her words were simmeringly sweet, there was a venomous undercurrent lingering beneath every syllable. They could have been friends easily; for now they simply wouldn't be. In her eyes, respect was given where it was earned, and unless Yuka's sister came off her high horse, Quil simply wasn't as willing to be so friendly anymore.

Cinder missed the fond gaze the swarthy male gave to her sister. If she had, she might have felt a pang of jealousy as her littermate gained the attention of the handsome male. Instead, she was far more focused on the little golden rat not far from them. She could feel Quil tense as well, indicating she too was displeased with the look the other girl had given her, and while her sister went to full protective mode, Cinder’s shoulder brushed hers softly – she didn’t need her sister to hold her hand.. she had just wanted to make sure Quil was okay.

There was a handsome boy beside the girl – the assumption could have been given that they were siblings, yet for a girl so brash, he was very much the opposite. Her scornful words could barely be heard, but it did not take a genius to realize whatever she had mumbled to the boy, it had been nasty. In turn, he gave a quick farewell and retreated, causing a snort of disgust to escape from Cinder. At one point she had argued quite often with her brothers and attempted to outshine her sister in front of her parents – it had taken her almost losing them all to realize how precious they were to her. The other girl was an idiot.

Quil shot out a question, and as ever, her swarthy littermate remained prim and proper. It was a respectable trait of her sister that Cinder admired.. but that did not mean she could quell her own burning fires within in attempt to be more like her.

There was an air of elegant arrogance about Cinder. The gentle way she stood, the tip of her muzzle as she scrutinized the other girl.. right down to the quiet sneer that could almost be traced upon her lips. “It doesn’t matter, Quil,” she spoke, raising her voice so the other girl could hear her. Her own tail lifted dominantly in the presence of the stranger, her eyes flashing as a scornful smile now worked its way to her muzzle. “Even her friend couldn’t stand to be around her.”

Though he'd been hoping to share the meal with Yuka in order to gain a bit more confidence from him, rather than that miser of a sister he had, the boy decided that there were already enough wolves present and excused himself, somewhat nervously. He found himself much more comfortable with these numbers now- since Yuka was gone, he had no reason to behave politely toward Malia, and he was pleasantly surprised when Cinder, Quil's lovely sister who sported the same sort of edge, spoke up and taunted Malia. Drawn away from the small meal he'd eaten, he moved back toward the girls, taking his place at Quil's side, opposite Cinder to whom he gave a dark smile. He liked these girls. He would have to mention them to his mother. No doubt she would take to them as well.

He could sympathize with Yuka- he couldn't imagine what it would've been like to have a sister like Malia. He had enough trouble getting along with Skoll, but he was a boy- he could always be put back in his place. A girl was different- he objected to using physical force toward a woman, and instead liked the idea of preying on her confidence. All three of them stood looking at her with a sharp and scrutiny-filled gaze. The stuck-up little princess didn't seem so tough and desirable now, did she? He didn't want to hang around long, though. <b style="color:#101115;">"Why don't you come with me, ladies," He said, turning his head to the two dark sisters beside him. <b style="color:#101115;">"Let's get out of here; find something more interesting," He said, as an indirect jab at Malia. She wasn't included in the invitation and he made this clear by turning away from her, hoping for Cinder and Quil to follow him away from Malia, so that they could talk amongst themselves and gossip, perchance, about the surly princess.

Eventually, without anyone losing their mind and attacking any of the others present, the gathered pups would disperse, each taking with them a newly founded liking or hatred of the others they now knew lived in the Relic Lore.