He'd been to the forest a few times before, on his expeditions across the mountains. It was denser than the one he used to call home, not as dominated by oak, but still mainly deciduous despite the northern location. The underbrush was the biggest difference, a tangle of shrub and bramble, almost impossible for a wolf to pass through. In fact, the ebony man wondered what had possessed him to wander into these woods again. The branches were naked, yet still somehow managed to block  out the sun, and a number of them hung low, scraping through his heavy winter coat, making him wince. The worst by far though, was the bluish fog that permeated the dim forest, way to akin to that which had spiraled throughout Spectral Woods. But he had longed for the shadows, his dark fur starting to itch under the sun; He had yet to start shedding, even if it was spring, and even though the air was still chilly, the sun made him pant.

So he struggled his way through the shelter of the woods, hoping constantly that the next step would be the one to bring him free of the clinging vines. Finally he reached a clearing, open enough to let a few strips of sunlight down through the canopy. It was still permeated by the fog though and, in one of the shimmering cones of light, he noticed something that made his blood freeze. The figure was ghostly white, sitting half in shadow against a large tree trunk, its body large and skeletal, as if a white hide had simply been pulled over meatless bones. Drestig recoiled, swallowing hard as he stared at the creature, looking for eyes in a face that appeared to have none; You mind is running away with you! He insisted silently, trying to calm himself; It's a trick, a phantom formed by the light on the fog! He was a sensible man, never having been much for superstition, and yet he couldn't quite convince himself that this specter wasn't more than that. With a slightly trembling voice he called out, loudly, as if the sound could somehow scare away this ghost; "Hey, who's there?!"

It moved, uncurling into a towering, bony figure, looking blurry as it blended with the fog and sun. It was all the elder wolf could do, not to take a step back, hackles rising as he stared at the apparition. Then a pair of eyes suddenly blinked open in the pale face, drastically changing the ghostly appearance; Though Drestig wasn't sure it was for the better. On the one paw, the newly added character to the former blank head made it look more friendly, more real. On the other, the unusual color did its own to add to the supernatural appearance. As it was, Drestig remained silent, staring back into that face, that seemed to lack all color, except that of blood.

Then the stranger spoke, and a shudder ran down the dark man's spine. The voice was young, but otherwise held little tone, a ghostly drone in the spooky woods. Rather than answer, Drestig attempted to use his remaining senses to investigate the specter, sniffing deeply at the air to catch his scent. At least he smells like wolf… Though there was something not quite right, how young was he? He smelled more like a pup than a grown male, though his size spoke differently. Now the smaller male was more curious than scared though; Ghost's don't smell! He had decided, and so, this had to be an actual wolf, if a peculiar one. "Damn kid you scared me half to death!" He barked, a light tension in his voice, though it was not unfriendly. Tilting his head, he tried to inspect the boy more closely in the dimness, squinting his ember eyes. White wolves were not uncommon, he had met a good deal in his lifetime, but none of them had pink noses, or eyes. The eyes were the most unnerving, could he even see? It looked like they weren't fully developed, again like something you might find on a pup, born to early. Drestig blinked, sniffing again; "What's the deal with you?" He wasn't much for niceties, and he figure, if it was really an actual wolf, he would not be unused to that question.

The ghostly being moved stiffly, the slow care with which he sat back down stripping away another layer of the supernatural air. Mostly he seemed, weak? Despite his tallness and dense bones, the elder man couldn't shake the impression that he was faced with a pup, a vulnerable child that needed protection. When he spoke though, he gave more of a notion of maturity, his words causing a breathy chuckle to raise from the dark male's throat; "Yeah, I kind'a figured as much!" He shook his head lightly, lowering his own hindquarters to the shrubby ground. That served him right, for being so rude. A silvered brow cocked appreciatively, mouth twisting in a crooked smile. "My apologies, these woods have been playing tricks on me all day, I shouldn't be taking my nerves out on you." His voice was smooth, eyes clear and bright as they studied the stranger. He still had yet to figure out this strange character, but at least he was feeling pretty certain by now, that it was not some wraith haunting him.

He was deeply curious about the strange coloration, or lag thereof, as well as the peculiar scent and odd, in between body. The answer to his first, rude, inquiry had been very clear though; And really isn't it understandable? The boy was surely met with that same question everywhere he went, Drestig himself would have been twice as sassy in that same position. He sighed lightly, tilting his head and pursing his lips. "Why don't we start with a name?" He tried, more friendly now in both manner and voice; "I'm Drestig Avalon" Hopefully that would elicit a more gracious reply, and the stranger would excuse his initial reaction; I do wonder what it is though… He really had never encountered such a peculiar wolf, and he had met many in his life time. Only time would tell, if he was lucky.

A dark ear flicked at the pale wolf's self-deprecatory remark, ember eyes widening slightly; 'This'? Poor kid… There had been little humor in his statement, making it pretty clear that he was more than used to this kind of treatment and might even believe it was warranted. The elder male mentally shook his head, looking over the strange boy yet again. True, his appearance was strange, but had he come across him out in the open, rather than hidden in the ghostly fog and shadows, he would never have felt threatened at all. More and more, he felt assured that the white wolf was young, though he still couldn't decide how young, leaving him puzzled.

He seemed to relax as Drestig did, introducing himself as Icicle, making the dark man smile; Fitting. He let his eyes stray, lazily bending to scratch at an insect bite with his teeth, trying to further diffuse the situation. For every moment he felt worse at his initial reaction, wondering if the youth had ever experienced someone not shying away from his unusual appearance. What about his family? Though, his being out here in the first place seemed to speak against that, or perhaps he had lost them? Lifting his head, the ebony chap gazed into the fog beyond them, ears turned attentively towards the other. "So, what are you doing in here, Icicle? Not exactly the coziest place to hang out…" A crooked smile was shot back at the lad, though his eyes were serious, head tilted in genuine curiosity. Sure, the boy looked strange, and Drestig was interested in that, but even more so, he was beginning to wonder just what he might have gone through to end up here; Most wolves tend to react badly to the unusual…