Mid-morning
Light sleet
32 ° F, 0 ° C
Iopah glanced back once as the small group of wolves left the safety of the thicket. Pale legs did not slow in their steady lope, but her head craned over a gray-edged shoulder. They were there, already waiting for them to return. Hopefully, with good news. The fine sleet was quick to refocus her attention. It bounced harmlessly off her thick winter coat, but needled her upturned face. Iopah turned around, letting her gaze sweep over those travelling with her. Silentium was nearby and the woman watched him mutely, wondering at the wisdom of letting of letting the boy search for his long-lost brother. But he wanted to come and she lacked the heart to refuse him.
Koda lead the rag-tag group of wolves as they wound through the fields and then went north. Iopah could hear the sound of ice shattering. The days might have been warm enough for the snow to melt, but each night it froze into a solid sheet. Crack. They needed his strength and weight to break their trail, and she had to content herself with squinting against the sleet at him. She knew him well enough to picture the heavy muscle of his chest, imagine the feel of his breath on her side. Suddenly and despite the stinging sleet, her winter coat was much too heavy. It felt less like winter under the weight. Hackles rose unseen as she fought the feeling back.
She opened her mouth to the icy air, felt it bellow in her lungs, and hoped it would smother the rising warmth. It helped and the woman followed her packmates into the wide, snowy valley of a ravine. After having promised Nina to stay together and to be cautious of the Black Thorn wolves, this trip certainly deserved her attention. Silentium in the corner of one eye, the huntress dropped her muzzle to sniff a low-growing, sheltering shrub. Nothing, at least nothing she cared to find. Patiently, she turned to wait for her companions.