Larkcall Lowlands some earthly comfort

RE: Piety, blowing snow has disoriented you. || Pi has received @Craw's permission (OoC) to scout around for prey || On the edge of the woodlands of Kingsfall and the tundra of Larkcall Lowlands || For @Aleksei

READY, BUT AT PEACE
MY PHILOSOPHY IS THAT
I KNOW HOW THE STORY GOES
JUST TO SEE SOME STEADY FLOW, BACKWARDS

She needed a little break, away from the pack, and had been granted some permission to discover if there was truly an issue with the prey. So off into the direction of the east she had gone. It was cold like usual. Truly the breeze on top of the monadnock might have been worse down here on the flatlands. It was also intensely easier to travel on. While she had gotten used to scaling the rocks that never made it truly easy. One wrong step and you might fall to your death. Or serious injury.

The pale woman had, of course, told @Lorcan she was going on a quick trip and would love to stargaze once she got back if he wanted. She could only hope that he would take up her offer once she was back home. Two or three days tops if things went smoothly. Piety had to say she was positive about this, though. As long as she didn't run into any aggressive wolves or other wildlife she should be good.  Right?

It appeared she was wrong. She just had to be wrong. The snow had practically come out of nowhere. She squinted her eyes and her ears pinned back. Maybe it was time to turn back. If she couldn't just find out where she was.

With the snow in a flurry all around her, Piety came to the conclusion she had on option. Help was needed. She softly howled a call that begged for assistance. As if that wasn't enough she barked out into the small blizzard that had disoriented her. "Hello? Someone there?" The pale Santoro stood still, not wanting to get anymore lost.

"speech"

# C W T

Blizzards. Why'd it have to be a bloody blizzard?

Though this particular one was relatively small in size compared to others Aleksei had experienced, this one was no less destructive and disruptive. He couldn't help but mutter curses under his breath. Pushing through blistering winds and the white flakes that rode them was never easy—they stuck to his lashes and he knew that, if you he wasn't careful, his eyelids could freeze shut in an instant. Thankfully, Maksim hadn't just told his son how evil snowstorms were. He'd given him the necessary information he would need to ease the difficulties, if even just a tad. Aleksei had been taught that tucking your ears against your skull and lowering yourself to the ground made it somewhat easier to navigate through the howling wind.

And, god, did the wind howl.

It shrieked against him, clawing at his fur as if attempting to skin him alive, as if it wanted respite from it's own chill. But, against that sharp hissing, something caught his attention, and Aleksei couldn't help but lift his head (much to the protest of the gusts) to try and figure out exactly what he had heard—it had sounded like a howl of some sort, a cry for help, but it was so god damn hard to tell in all this white noise that he hesitated replying. He couldn't see anyone against all the snow and crap flying through the air (not literal crap though, god forbid).

But what harm could it do to check, just to make sure someone wasn't flailing around, stumbling further into a death trap? There were a few things Aleksei was sure of:

One: blizzards sucked.
Two: the forest was behind him.
Three: he wasn't the kind of wolf to just leave someone, even if said someone might not actually be real.

“Hello?” His voice barely sounded out through all the whooshing and yowling. “Is everything all right?”

Let the roots & soil drink of me
Whispering leaves & pointing branches will tell them where I'm lying

@Aleksei

READY, BUT AT PEACE
MY PHILOSOPHY IS THAT
I KNOW HOW THE STORY GOES
JUST TO SEE SOME STEADY FLOW, BACKWARDS

If she ever lost faith in her God he seemed to prove himself. There was a voice! And maybe a shadow? It was a little hard to tell. The snow storm strong around her. Thankfully it wasn't building up. This perhaps was its strongest point. But who knew, the weather didn't play by the rules. It didn't have a reason to.

"Here! I'm here. I can't find my way!" She pushed through, her body ducked down slightly to avoid some of the winds. The shadow grew stronger and bolder against the snowy backdrop. "I think I see you!" Her light and airy voice tried to make way through the winds.

Her eyes still squinted partially. The shadow-like figure had grown large and dark the closer she got. His figures that of a wolf, from what she could tell. It was a relief. Maybe after this experience she'd be more than happy to stay tucked inside and around the borders of Whitestone Monadnock. "Are you okay?" It was only polite to ask back. Especially now that she was closer and might be able to offer some help.

Any kind of tracking she had wanted to do was torn away by this snow. The pale woman also knew that any smart creature should be tucked away in this kind of weather. Granted her she was out in the open with a stranger.

"speech"

# C W T

Here, came the reply, I'm here. Aleksei desperately wanted to respond with well I can't see you, but it seemed she spied him first. He couldn't do much other than let her make her way towards him, and it was only when she was close to him that he realised the reason he couldn't see her. She was stark white. Not exactly a great thing to be when you're seeking assistance in the middle of a snow storm.


Even at this proximity, it was hard to tell where wolf ended and snow began. He squinted, and the outline was barely visible. It was during this scrutinising stare that he noted her mostly missing ear, frowning. Even if the injury was old, it would still lack fur and risk frostbite in particularly difficult weather. Like a snowstorm.

And hey, look at that. The two wolves were standing in one!

He would have continued to check over her, make sure she wasn't missing any other limbs, but the next thing he knew was that she was asking if he was okay. Aleksei couldn't help but snort ever so slightly—without the intention of being rude, of course. Wasn't she the one who had gotten lost in a winter blizzard, albeit a small one? Wasn't she the one missing three quarters of an ear? “I'm fine, miss. But we need to get you out of this wind.” Glancing over his shoulder, he knew that, despite the heavy snow fall, he would be able to find trees. The great, towering sequoia trees were not hard to spot, like infinite silhouettes against a white backdrop. “Can you stay close to me? I can find us some shelter 'til the storm passes.”

 

Let the roots & soil drink of me
Whispering leaves & pointing branches will tell them where I'm lying

He was so large, everything seemed large out here though. Not once did she have a dream about winding up like this. If someone had told her she would end up in a blizzard with her life partially in the hands of a stranger, well, she would have wrote it off as an absurd idea.

She noted his snort and she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. What was so funny? The pale women was simply being polite. There wasn't anything funny about that was there? Before she could fuss the earthy male offered her the chance to survive this freak blizzard. Her head nodded quickly at his question. "Yes, yes I can. I'll stay right next to your flank." Her face held a small and polite smile, if he could see it.

The Santoro was still trying to figure out why he was out here. She wouldn't verbally question it, though. Had he not been out here she may have gotten lost or even worse died. Who would tell Morganna and Craw? Who would tell her son? The thought cause the hairs down her spine to raise with an unsettling feeling. She couldn't think about those things right now. Survival was at the top of her list.

# C W T