@Tokino @Inali @Raela @Cessair
No Posting order and I kept their position in the line vague besides Tokino following behind Minka
To say the weather was miserable would be an understatement. The days had began to warm up, reaching temperatures high enough that the snow began to melt into a wet slush and the earth softened to a gooey mud. The nights however were still frigid causing freezing overnight, coating the slush in a layer of sheer ice by the mornings. To top all of this off it had began to sleet in the late hours of the night which further soaked the already drenched land. The Downs search party was already soaked and they had only left their makeshift den a few hours ago. Their stomachs and legs were coated in the mud that splashed up from beneath the slushy snow and sucked at their paws in places.
This morning marked the second consecutive day the band had been travelling, first they had headed east until they reached the base of the mountain before turning north. Their paws had carried them farther north than Minka had been since entering the lore until they reached a deep ravine divided by a river. First she had led and then her mate, switching off as their legs got tired as to who would head the front and plow through the majority of the untouched snow.
They had been walking through the ravine for nearly an hour before Minka slowed, her golden eyes focusing in on a patch of snow ahead. Suddenly she barked and bounded the next few yards with renewed energy before stopping to investigate her find. Her heart sank as she realized it was not what had had hoped. Before her lay a set of paw prints but they were much too large to be either of her pups, obviously left behind by an adult. The scent that surrounded them was stale but even so was one the mother didn't recognize, but it still gave hope that this land was inhabitable. Perhaps her children were still alive despite the odds.