you do not know who is your friend

or who is your enemy

until the ICE breaks.

Well look at that. The wolf which wasn't Angier pressed himself against the one whose name Ice had called out, his muted growl ripping through the fog. It wasn't a particularly nice way to greet a stranger, but could he blame the gray male? The recent events had Ice on edge too, tension coiled tight around his body. The flagging of a tail had his own rising, something grumpy inside of him wondering why on earth he should submit to someone else out here in the middle of nowhere. There was no reason, and with a rather cross expression he took up a dominant pose of his own. Gone were the days when he skulked in caves and babbled gibberish at the first wolf who came across him. More demands came, and if Ice hadn't been curious as to what Angier was up to, he probably would've stopped walking when Borden asked him to 'show himself'. It wasn't like he could go and paint himself black just to not be masked in a foggy winter forest, was it? No. Muttering under his breath he made his way even closer, hearing the muted voice of Angier. "Borden, stop. This... He's... He's from Swift River." His former pack-mate had stepped in in front of the protective male, as if to shield Ice. Rather surprised, the near-white wolf slowly drifted to a halt, staring at them with wary curiosity. He didn't trust the temper of this other male.


A third wolf came out of the fog, and as if entirely forgetting about Ice in the first place, the one named Borden spun to snap at him, too. Unimpressed with these shows of rage, Ice's muzzle took on a wrinkled scowl of sorts. If it wasn't for the fact that Angier, who seemed as skittish as a rabbit around the male, had begun talking to him, he probably would've left them alone and gone on to find his answers. "..w-we're quite a way from home, you see..." So that's where you are now, Angier. With someone else's pack. Drawing in their scents, he matched them to the ones buried in his memory. A forest of cedars, a bear, damn it. He racked his brain for the memory, knowing that he'd been told a few times, but came up with nothing. Cedars. Well. Cedarpack would do for now. And, perhaps the discovery that Borden and Angier were looking for what he was should've gladdened him, but as it was, all it did was make his heart sink like a rock in a river. For a few moments Ice was silent, just looking at the tawny male with his darker protector, and the poor dark sod who had come up behind them. He didn't seem particularly wanted right now, and even though Borden's attitude made Ice want to eat his face, he tried to rein in his temper. For Rissa.


"Borden," he called, hoping that was actually his name he'd caught from Angier. If it wasn't, tough shit, and Ice would look like a fool. "Relax." And hopefully, that wouldn't blow up in his face, as he gave the Lyall a level, firm stare. If he didn't unwind, they'd get nothing done, but they didn't need more tension right now anyway. It was grating at his nerves and his resolve, and part of him just wanted to fly at the darker wolf and pin him until he stopped fussing around. They were safe, here, for now, and if the Cedarpack had pups... he narrowed his eyes slightly. "I'm looking for the same thing.. but I know more." It was always useful to have information, and in this case, the bargaining price was simple: for Borden to take a deep breath, and stop acting like he expected to be pounced on, because Ice wasn't about to do it, and Angier seemed incapable of anger around him. Taking a deep breath himself, he tried to smooth out the crinkles in his lips, but didn't lower his tail. "But this, is unpleasant. So calm down or I'll just leave you in the dark."


But he knew, deep down, that it was a bluff. He could not leave more children to suffer Rissa's fate.

.ice aesir