The sky was shifting from gray to black as night fell. It had been snowing most of the day and had remained cold most of the week... meaning the lagoon was still frozen from the icy depths of winter. Spring had yet to properly arrive it seemed, though the weather was promising to warm up. It had even rained a few weeks ago. Imagine that! Rain! But that was then; right now it was still snowing, though the flurries seemed to be promising to let up soon.

Keen ears would observe the sound of treading water on what was otherwise a quiet night. If the lagoon was frozen however, why would one hear the subtle splashing of water? Well, an even closer listen would reveal a little more... a string of curses that were better not repeated by others. "By my bones! This water is free-eezing!"

Wolves have excellent night vision. Moving around in the dark? Not a problem for them. Unless they're blind. And even then, they have super senses, allowing them to move more easily than a human might. So how did Kyadi - a keen, intelligent wolf - come to find herself in such a predicament? Well, it started with a hare...

Kyadi had been intent on the snowshoe hare just yards ahead of her. She'd been stalking it carefully for that past few minutes. She was hungry; when the opportunity to hunt presented itself she took it. The chase had been simple enough - straightforward as far as the older wolf was concerned. Her foreleg didn't even give her any fits! She had been gaining on it steadily when the terrain shifted just slightly. She'd been so focused on the hunt she scarcely noticed the lagoon stretching before her, buried under a dusting of snow. It could've been a frozen tundra if not for the occasional dark spot warning of thinner ice. Kyadi had hesitated, pausing where ice met the shore. The hare was small and light - it had moved several wolf-lengths out onto the ice and seemed to be taunting the wolf behind it, begging Kyadi to try.

And Kyadi had. It had been stupid of her. At first, the ice seemed thick enough. It had been so cold lately... surely it would hold her. This land was further north than the land Kyadi hailed from - the ice probably stayed thicker longer, right? Wrong. The ominous creaking alerted the older wolf she should turn back. The hare - always a step ahead, seemed keen to watch as the wolf began to turn - slowly and carefully - away...

It wouldn't be too hard to imagine what happened next. The ice split. Kyadi wasn't far from the shore, but her paws didn't quite hit bottom and nothing could quite describe the feeling of thousands of tiny fangs slicing through your fur. It could really damage a wolf's focus. It was bitter cold. And to top it all of... there was that no-good-filthy-rotten-wolf-fodder. Hell, the thing was still there, watching her with those big, black eyes, acting innocent. Like it didn't know what it had been doing... "Outsmarted by a damn rabbit!" growled the wolf to herself as she splashed pathetically in the water. What made it worse was the shore being so close - no more than three or four bounds away. And she couldn't get out! Not that Kyadi was panicking - she looked more frustrated and ticked off than anything - but her paws couldn't quite get purchase on the slick ice, or it broke away when she did. Apparently, there was a thin spot here. The ice had opened up under her, and formed a sad, Kyadi-shaped hole around the poor wolf.

"This's just- this is-" the wolf babbled on with gravelly growls and curses that were barely coherent as she tried to scrabble out of the water, all the while her teeth chattered.

Kyadi paused in her struggles, briefly allowing her white chin to rest on the edge of the frozen water. She prided herself in ratiocination - her logic. How had she done something so stupid? No point in lingering on it though. What was done was done. She could rectify her own feelings by getting out! Huffing softly and trying to ignore the stabbing of icy water and the click of her own chattering teeth, Kyadi reminded herself to keep moving her paws. The cold would stiffen her joints faster than she could say "ice" if she didn't. Flopping her left forepaw onto the ice again (it was less inclined to give out) she dug her claws in to the best of her ability.

A sudden crunching, cracking sound alerted Kyadi to another's presence before she could go any further. Her russet eyes opened wide as she saw a most peculiar - but not unwelcome - sight along the edges of the lagoon. A female, quite a bit smaller than Kyadi but by no means a small wolf, was pulling firmly on a branch that had likely been broken at some point during the winter snows. It came free in the stranger's jaws, and with some effort, she pulled it toward Kyadi. The healer could scarcely believe it. Her complaints were forgotten for now - indeed, she felt surprisingly heartened at the sight of this young woman simply offering help. Wordlessly, kindly. For once the smile that painted Kyadi's muzzle wasn't laced with mockery or sarcasm. It was almost grateful, even. When was the last time she'd seen such an act of altruism from another? Her smile disappeared. Now was the time to move again.

Getting as much purchase as she could with that one paw, Kyadi stretched one limb, then the other, as far as she could onto the ice until she could pull no further (her chest met the edge of the ice). She reached as far as she could and struggled for a moment to grasp the branch. When her teeth did finally clamp down, she had to readjust her grip once or twice. It tasted disgusting. But taste was far from important right now. With jaws clamped kill-prey tight, Kyadi's eyes narrowed at the other woman as her ears twitched: ready when you are. When the other wolf pulled, Kyadi would be ready to pull as well, using her forelegs to pull and, beneath the surface, kicking her hindlegs with all her might until she could scramble out of the hole.

There were moments when Kyadi wondered if this would really work; the ice was slick and even a wolf's rough pads could only grip so much. But in the end, it hardly mattered - the girl pulled and Kyadi used all of the strength she could muster to kick her legs and pull - even with her weakened right forelimb - until she found herself on ice that no longer broke away under her paws or slid when she tried to pull.

The girl released the branch first. Kyadi clutched the thing tightly for a few seconds longer before spitting it out with a crinkled nose. She hadn't been scared for her life or anything. No, she was just annoyed. She told herself that, anyway. Truthfully though, she knew she may not have gotten out of that hole without a little help from her new, tawny friend (who had made it to the shoreline by this point). Kyadi's annoyance was masked by her wonder at the kind wolf. First one Kyadi had met in a while, and certainly the first since she entered this land. Kyadi didn't stand right away, preferring instead to bellycrawl a few paces until she felt she should stand - closer to where Minka had been while helping the older wolf. The ice groaned. Kyadi leapt - a little too quickly maybe - but she made it to shore, even if her descent was less than graceful. She stumbled, regained her footing, and groaned at how little of her paws she could actually feel.

"Must look pathetic, I suppose," grumbled the she-wolf. It was true: she was shivering from head to toe; her fur was clinging to her body and she was sure she'd never felt so cold in her life. It was like a hundred thousand needles were all pricking into her at once. Unable to wait any longer - or until she was further from the lass - Kyadi gave herself a firm shake-down that ended with her paws each being shaken in their turn to remove as much water as possible. The spikes of fur that remained were inclined to freeze. "Pardon me. I'm much obliged to you lass," spoke the healer, her words punctuated by the occasional teeth-clacking shiver. Her usual droll demeanor was rather subdued for the moment as she continued, her russet eyes doing their best not to betray the weariness and achiness she felt.

It was a moment before she properly answered the girl's question, and then some of her typical snarkiness slinked back into her voice: "Just took a swim in a frozen lagoon. I'm just dandy..." Her expression wasn't quite a smile. A snarl, maybe. But not at the helpful stranger - at the lagoon behind her. When she turned her eyes back to the girl, the older wolf sighed. It was so cold - she'd never noticed how cold the winter could be before. "Come lass, away from this water. I'm Kyadi, by the way." She didn't wait for the girl before she started a little further past the shore, into the treeline. Another pathetic shiver wracked her body; her steps were awkward and slow - almost uncertain like a pup's. Note to self: avoid thin ice.

What had she been doing on that ice? Oh yes. That hare. The Hare from Hell. Kyadi's neck twisted to look over her shoulder, but not to look at Minka: instead she glared toward the lagoon again. The thing had finally hopped off. I hope it gets snatched by an owl, Kyadi thought bitterly before turning her eyes sharply to Minka. She didn't answer - perhaps a little embarrassed by the whole affair - and decided instead to merely incline her head.

"That's kind of you lass. Minka." Kyadi followed the girl in silence. Minka might not have known just how unusual that could be... not that Kyadi was always a chatterbox, mind you, but this was the silence of an absolutely miserable wolf. Kyadi was sure she couldn't feel her toes anymore and even her skin felt like ice. The pins-and-needles sensation she had was probably a good thing however: at least she could feel. She hadn't been in the water very long, but it was long enough. To top it off, it was a cold night and there was still a lot of darkness left. Getting warmed back up and drying off were both priorities. Hypothermia was a pup-killer: Kyadi was not a pup and refused to die like one. Not that she believed she would, thankyouverymuch!

The lass began to dig. Kyadi offered little help, choosing instead to poke at the snow a little then let Minka do the work. In the mean time, she began licking at her own toes and limbs, trying to bring some warmth and feeling back to them. By the time Minka had finished, Kyadi was sitting in the snow, combing through her fur with her teeth in an effort to help it. It was sticking out in shards; it'd literally be shards if Kyadi remained exposed for too long. Realizing the girl had stopped digging - Kyadi wasn't sure for how long - the healer focused on Minka. She wasn't even going to mention she usually was the one caring for other wolves. This was much too embarrassing.

"It was a hare," Kyadi said suddenly, calling back to Minka's question. "I chased it and didn't stop in time," she said smoothly, altering the truth effortlessly. She wasn't about to tell Minka she'd actually seen the ice and then gone after the little animal anyway. She didn't need to look stupid on top of pathetic. Kyadi pulled herself to her numbed paws (and shifted her weight off her right foreleg) before speaking again, switching the topic and tone of her voice in just a few words: "It was fortunate you came along when you did, lass. You live nearby?"

Kyadi caught Minka's glance at her forelimb then forced it to the ground: she was aware how weak it was making her look right now. "From the cold," she said simply, not bothering to explain herself further. As the lass explained and responded to the healer's questions, the older woman finally made her way into the shallow den. She bedded down carefully - turning in place once or twice - before settling as much as she could given the circumstances. The den was big enough, and being out of the more direct elements would spare her some discomfort from the cold she felt. She'd get warmed up again eventually.

If Kyadi was surprised by Minka's openness, it didn't show on her weathered face. She did offer the trace of a smile though. Kyadi wasn't always as grumpy as she seemed - really. Rough around the edges, but not always so... mean. And for once she did seem kinder in spite of her frustration. It might only have been because Minka had acted so selflessly, or because Kyadi was so exhausted, but it did make Kyadi's heart feel a little lighter. It was a change from the usual. A second? And dens... ah, her leader is expecting. Good for her. Kyadi bent to scratch herself behind the ear, then got to grooming again. She was massaging her right foreleg with her tongue when Minka made an offer that caught Kyadi off-guard. She had to pause to consider, her tongue flicking across her dark nose.

She could take the offer, be sheltered for the morning. But she'd owe a debt, one she might not be so keen to repay just yet. She supposed she could always tend to the odd, injured wolf in the future... but then, she hadn't mentioned to Minka she was actually a healer yet... and she still wasn't sure she'd survive the hit to her pride if she did. Her expression shifted, one that was a little grim, but her eyes lifted to the other woman. "That's a kind offer - and a large one. With your leaders expecting pups, however, I believe it best I remain here." She was assuming based on Minka's words. Minka obviously wasn't pregnant. And besides, it was a good excuse to stay out of trouble. If Minka insisted, though... Kyadi might actually consider it. She'd offer what she could before heading out. If she stayed warm through the night, she'd be okay in the morning. She'd just need to move her limbs; Kyadi suspected they'd be cramped and stiffer than usual once she got a move on.

"I know how expecting mothers can be," Kyadi said, her orange eyes betraying a softer emotion - but only for a moment. Poorer memories flooded her mind, so she replaced the gentle expression with something neutral - she was unwilling to reveal more right now if she could help it.