you do not know who is your friend or who is your enemy until the ICE breaks. He was nearly whole again; only a single piece missed, a piece which bore no name but was clad in midnight dark and had crackling eyes, like brilliant flames, capable of outshining the sun should they wish, yet glowing like embers even in the dark. That single piece of the puzzle lay up in the mountains, but he could not yet bear to go there - and whyever not? He wasn't quite sure, only that the time wasn't right, that there were pups here to be defended, and pups there, so if he so much stuck a whisker too close... Swift River did not need to piss off Poison Path, it was enough that they kept pissing them off. Only the presence of pups kept a sort of truce, held them back from all-out war... So that was a piece he could not yet go and find, a piece that would have to remain scattered somewhere until he could find it again - or, until he could bear it no longer. The last thing he wanted was for her to keep suffering because he had been an idiot. I'm sorry. His eyes closed for a moment, reliving the moments of their meetings. She was his precious friend. And he'd managed to act like an utter ass, and still couldn't work up the guts to go near her! But, in truth, it was more than just that - he didn't want her to suffer because of whom she met with. He didn't want Poison Path to know, and punish her for fraternizing with the enemy, or whatever you'd label their crime as.
Ice was surprised to find himself at the foothills anyway, but slightly north of both the Grove and where he knew the Lake to be. He hadn't been up to the waterfall since he'd met Indru there half a year ago or so, yet here he was, nosing along. The River wolf still didn't enjoy running water, but somehow he'd managed to brave the falls and jumped through one of them, not just once, but twice. Indru had freaked him out but it had been worth it - it had definitely been worth it. He thought of Marsh, and the world felt right.
He hadn't expected to find someone else there, but there she was, looking like any other wolf. Naturally she was smaller than him, but Ice was a beast, and he was used to it. She seemed preoccupied with thoughts, watching the elegant flow of water down the cliff face, but if Ice was one thing, it wasn't sensitive. He was just preparing to bounce up to her and see who she was, when something very, very strange occurred. Out of the bushes came a white wolf, careening headfirst into the stationary female, and Ice stopped in his tracks, baffled. Did this place attract wolves with a flair for running into one another, or what? The surprise of the moment passed and he laughed, not unkindly, and trotted up to where they both were perched, awkward. He was just about to say something when the second surprise hit him.
The first female, she smelled of Cali, and that was the first thing he said: "You smell of Cali." A moment later, he wished he could take the words back - it wasn't exactly polite, and while he'd not spoken in an accusatory voice, it was a bit, well, weird (and since when wasn't Ice weird, so it did sort of fit). He grinned sheepishly, hoping they'd forget their collision and his rather odd way of introducing himself. It would be so messy if they started attacking each other! .ice aesir |