Bramble Falls your crown of thorns

For @Castel only.
Random Event: Spinning ice discs are forming within bodies of water throughout the Lore.

Sven hated the Winter. His feelings on it all, the snow and the ice and wet and the cold, had not changed from his first a year ago. Neither had the amount of things on his mind. The problems had shifted and morphed, some new had arised, but all of it still burned the same just behind his ribs. Perhaps the season was doing well, though. At least he could attempt to funnel all of the upset onto hating the wind and the powder and the gray skies.

Instead of thinking about how much Attica was talking about Torbine and how she'd like to go there.

Of how long it had been since he had visited the East, because Sahalie was no longer there, gone without so much as a whisper.

Of how his mother, alive and well and within the Lore, still made the choice to be a faint ghost.

None of it existed, if he fought with himself hard enough, if he squinted his eyes just so and glared down the white banks of the partially frozen waters. He'd come to visit his sanctuary, but had stopped here instead. Discs of ice, perfectly rounded, spun lazily at the water's edge. An annoyed huff of breath put a cloud into the air, before the young man stepped forward, testing with one foot and then the other the buoyancy of the discs.

Distraction, distraction, distraction. He was so burnt out on trying to fix, on fighting the world and the hands that kept being dealt to him. He was as off-white as the snow. Maybe he could disappear in it. Just for a little bit.

I'm sorry I haven't posted for Lucia yet - I will certainly do that tomorrow. My muse was running low.

The Falls were absolutely gorgeous; Cas had never seen a waterfall before. It was nothing like the spray of the waterhose the man used on herself and her father when they misbehaved - no, this was so much more beautiful. Though she was tired - exhausted, even - the young wolf couldn't help the spring in her step as she bounced over to the water, to the place where the pond below the falls merged into a stream. She had yet to realize that there was another wolf in the area, right over on the opposite bank; the water masked the scent, and his white fur blended him well into the snow, unlike Cas' red, brown, black, and white fur. She approached the water and was shocked to see the perfect circles spinning around, and she reached down curiously to tap one with a paw. A smile broke out across her lips as a possibly-terrible idea popped into her mind. Taking a few steps back, Cas prepared herself with a deep breath. It didn't matter that she was hurting; it didn't matter that she probably shouldn't do anything at all like this. But, dammit, she was going to do it anyway. With a yip of excitement, the little wolf bolted toward the river and leaped, landing with all four paws on one of the spinning circles of ice and gliding across the water. Her hind legs went into the water before she reached the opposite bank, but it did nothing to reduce how much fun she was having. Laughter bubbled from her maw as she pulled herself out of the water and shook her fur, sending droplets scattering everywhere. She felt so triumphant, so proud of herself. Still unaware that she might have had a witness to her stunt.

(This post was last modified: Jan 16, 2017, 06:47 AM by Castel.)

Shallow water has trapped several fish in a small pond. Hunt Opportunity

not a problem <3

Sven too was oblivious to the company he had, at least until the girl's staccato bark ricocheted across the water and into his relaxed ears. They jumped to attention along with his ghostly gaze, and all he saw was the vivid, thin yearling careening across the cistern's surface toward him. Frozen her entire ride, he couldn't decide between getting the hell out of the way and leaping in to help when she inevitably wiped out. Neither occurred, and the little solar flare's giggling set his ears back against his skull as he watched her bask in the accomplishment.

She certainly wasn't from around here. Where was her family, why wasn't she with a pack?

Why was she so happy alone?

He regarded her mirth for a few moments more, before deciding... there were worst ways to spend the afternoon. His treasure horde could wait even longer.

His pale eyes dropped down to the discs still beneath his outstretched paws. The smaller of the two was pushed away, and the entirety of his focus was placed on the one remaining. Once certain grace and luck were on his side, he lunged forward. Quickly he placed his paws spread and centered his gravity, the disc bobbing dangerously as he sought balance.

And he did it.

Without tipping it accepted his weight, and the rocking stopped as it slowly spun out toward the center of the pool with him perched atop it. Looking up, his gaze found the igneous girl again and he barked once, attempting to get her attention.

The girl blinked in surprise, hearing the splash of ice against water as another wolf's body plunged onto one of the ice circles in the water. Blue eyes shifted from her position on the bank to finally spot the white wolf who had been there from the moment that she'd arrived at the Falls, but was now only just seeing. A smile broke out on her lips as she watched him gain his balance, and her wet tail whipped back and forth as she watched the ice tip and bob, but ultimately keep him afloat. That was good - he was a much bigger wolf than she, and she would've hated to see him fall in. She didn't know if he could swim, and she doubted that she was capable of pulling him out. The boy barked, and Cas found him looking in her direction. She waved her tail in an attempt to be friendly, though if he'd seen her leap on the ice, he'd probably have guessed that she wasn't a super aggressive wolf. Happily, she hopped back onto her ice chunk, planting her paws apart so that she could balance as well as possible. "Hello!" she called, pleased to find that she wasn't the only one crazy enough to leap out into the middle of a half-frozen river in the middle of winter. Maybe they could be friends. She wasn't able to scent him at all, so she didn't know if he was a loner or a pack wolf. She decided it really didn't matter, at the moment. For now, all that was important was not taking a nosedive into the frigid waters below. It wouldn't kill them if they did fall in, but it would take a while to thaw back out. "My name's Cas. Who are you?" she called, her tone light and lilting as she watched him, waiting for a reaction. He was already listed as a cool wolf in her book.

idk if i'm bending the laws of physics here but my brain says its all kosher

The further out he floated, the more Sven began to realize that maybe this wasn't the best of ideas. That's what happened when he tried to get impulsive. Yet it wasn't too long before the current created by the waterfall began to overpower his float's momentum, and by the time she had joined him on her own disc, he was sent her way just as she was his. Unhurriedly they twirled toward one another as her voice covered the distance still between them to greet him.

Cas. That was rather simple, and fittingly so he decided.

"Sven Archer," he replied, speaking only when facing her. As the ice spun he waited patiently for it to come round again.

"I'm from the Willows. South of here. You don't seem. To be from around-?"

Their makeshift boats had closed the distance as he spoke, and now they were just about to pass each other. He'd go to the shore, and she'd make the relatively long journey to the center and then back. Cautiously, he reached out with a paw, touching it to her disc closer toward the center. His core tensed as it took more effort to keep his balance, but he was successful in tethering their separate crafts together.

"Here."

Logic does not apply.

The spinning of the ice discs elicited laughter from the bright, young female as she and the young man before her drifted closer together. She was glad that the pale wolf was not aggressive; in fact, he seemed to be along for the ride in her games, which was highly appreciated by Castel. She quieted herself down as he began to speak, her tail alternating between wagging and stiffening out to catch her balance when the ice shifted beneath her feet. The boy introduced himself after her, and with a dramatic flourish that involved a bit of floundering about to keep from taking a nosedive into the water, the blue-eyed female dipped her head and swept her tail to the side in a mock bow. Or, as close to one as she could get, considering the circumstances. "It's a pleasure to meet you, my fellow ice-rider," she chirped, and instead of waiting for the ice to spin back around to face him, she just raised her voice when her back was to the male. Her ears perked when their ice discs touched and he reached out to stabilize them together. Her tail raised like a banner and wagged. How smart that was. "I'm from really, really far west," she informed him, tipping her head back to look up at the boy now that they were so close. He was a lot bigger than her, she noted, but that didn't deter her at all. And, now that she was so close, she could make out from his scent that he was, indeed, a pack wolf. "Why are you here alone?" She wasn't the type to beat around the bush, so the question was out of her mouth without a second thought.

She was bright and mirthful, a stark contrast to his somber cool. The way her eyes squinted as she laughed, the heartiness in her tone, how he had to look down to meet her vivid eyes: it all reminded him of being with @Sahalie. That wasn't what he wanted, exactly what he had been avoiding coming out this way. She answered his question and his mind globbed onto whatever differences it could find. She was from the West, her pelt was full of rust, her eyes weren't the color of the sun but rather the sky that contained it, she was svelte where Halie was pudgy.

But he liked how his Eastern friend was colored soft dark (in opposition to women like Piety and Hecate), how her gilded sights held so much warmth, and he found her curves appealing.

Their little flotilla had slowed nearly to a stop as their momentums counteracted one another. Now, the force of the waterfall's current won out and they ebbed casually together toward the shore once more.

"Wanted some time to think," he answered her honestly, "I come here a lot, actually. Climb up along the falls. Winter makes it a bit dangerous but that just adds to the fun I guess."

It was about the only good thing the frigid season supplied: challenge.

"Why are you alone?"

Cas seems to be reminding more than one wolf of @Sahali

The little wolf waited in anticipation as the ice floated toward the shore, and she bounced from the buoyant surface onto the banks as soon as they touched. The landing hurt a bit more than she'd expected, and she stumbled a bit, her left leg nearly giving out from the strain. She had to overcompensate by using her right leg and staggered a bit, but ultimately gained her balance back. Dammit, she thought to herself, stretching her aching limb before spinning to face her new companion with a grin that was much more confident than she felt. "I'm such a klutz," she laughed, her tail wagging. She nodded as he explained why he was there, and she looked up the waterfall with interest. It would be awfully fun to climb, but she wasn't sure that she could manage that right then. So, she didn't offer. Instead, she decided that she would answer his question to her. "I'm on an adventure, and you can't always take the people you love with you," she said vaguely, thinking for just a moment about her father and his mate, and how they were doing in the cold. If they were getting enough to eat. If he missed her. She glanced up at the white male. He was pale-furred, like Alastor, but even more so than the silver male had been. Sven practically blended in with the snow, which was why it had been so difficult to spot him, unlike Al's moonlight-colored pelt.

She lunged for the bank and the motion sent his own ice boat rocking backward. All fours back on in action to stabilize himself, he was able to look up in time to watch her, witnessing the stumble. He couldn't know how weak she really was, and certainly not why. For all he could surmise, it was hunger that had worn her so thin. It was still concerning, and he decided that it wouldn't be the worst way to spend an afternoon if they went hunting together. Before he could voice the idea, however, she was speaking again, answering that question he'd lobbed back to her. What she imparted stopped him in his tracks.

Almost literally. He'd nearly floated too far out again before he realized it, and at nearly the last moment he lurched forward, dodging over the icy water to land in a far more agile manner than his company had.

Shaking out his coat to fluff it against the cold air, he spent a moment contemplating what he'd just learned from her. Of course, being alone had all of these implications already, but now it was confirmed. She'd left someone behind. His mind was swimming with possibilities, and of course he could not view them through any context other than his own life. Maybe this wasn't the kind of wolf he'd want to help after all.

Even Sahalie turned out to be no different than the other woman in his life, why should he expect more from this stranger? But there was still one important detail he did not have, something that would very much be a stark difference in stories.

"Did you say goodbye?"