all my time is frozen motion

For @Vayko or Rhaegara.

Leviticus clearly had yet to learn his lesson when it came to snow, ice, and the dangers they both created and concealed. He wandered North, toward the marsh that he and @Sawyer had skirted round when it's fringes proved too hazardous. Levi honestly didn't think about all that slippery crackly stuff extending this far East, especially when the trees never stopped like they usually did when the land stopped and water began.

So when he started to hear those weird, echoing sounds below his paws, Levi only half understood what was happening. Confused and unmoving, his head twisted back and forth as the ice beneath him cracked and buckled.

what i really need now is a double shot of crown

Vayko had settled for travelling south from where he and his cousins had taken up residence. Plans were falling into place, and it was easier for the young Valle to view these lands as home. It would never beat the tang of the sea and the taste of saltwater fish, but it was something, and soon it would be his. That fierce desire gnawed at his gut in an almost feral way. He longed for his crown. He could be… chaotic at times, and he recognized that, but he wanted something more. He wanted the crown because of the legacy it would leave.

The marsh was… interesting. It reminded him much of the Estuary in the winter, with random bouts of water appearing. He was minding his own business perfectly well when he heard cracks in the ice, looking at his own paws only to find that he was on something solid. He glanced around, spotting the man as his head twisted. “Move, you idiot. That ice isn’t going to hold much longer.” He would have used his manners, but he was afraid he had left them at home.

Levi certainly didn't notice the other wolf hitting the scene, not until he spoke, anyways. Move echoed, but he admittedly got a little stuck on the idiot bit. He wasn't- crack.

With a whisper of a yipe he did what he was told to do; Leviticus moved. All he could know in that moment was that where the stranger stood was apparently safe. Clearly, he couldn't trust his own judgment on what was and wasn't solid ground. Therefor, he beelined straight for the tawny youth as fast he could make himself go, and then faster still as the ice began to give and he could feel the icy water chasing and nipping after his paws.

Tail and ass tucked as far forward as they could be without sacrificing speed, he bolted over the frozen marshland and hit the equally-icy shore at such high velocity that he was unable to stop his momentum at all when his paws lost purchase on the slick ground and shot out from under him. Like a cannonball, Levi would either slam into his audience or whatever was behind the other wolf; hopefully something soft.

(This post was last modified: Feb 28, 2021, 08:20 PM by Leviticus.)

what i really need now is a double shot of crown

The man on the late started to move, and Vayko simply watched. He always enjoyed watching other people struggle… it was the humanitarian in him… or… lack of humanitarian in him. He started to run, and then he was flying and Vayko quickly sidestepped out of the way so the man wouldn’t crash into him, a soft snort of amusement as he landed in the fluffy pile of snow behind him. It’s like a floozy… but if a floozy were a guy. The comment went through his head but, probably fortunately, did not leave his tongue.

“Are you okay?” He asked, because it seemed rude to not check in on the man’s wellbeing. “Hasn’t anyone ever told you not to go walking on water? It’s generally hazardous for wolves… especially if you can’t breathe underwater.” He was just a little bit of an asshole.

Levi was thankful to hit powdery snow and not the other wolf or something as hard as a tree, or stone. Still, the drifted mound only gave so much before compaction made it virtually a solid surface. A bit stunned, struggling to comprehend all that happened and what exactly he should do next, Levi simply sat just as he'd landed, shoulder-and-face-first in the snow.

The stranger asking if he was alright helped, and Leviticus shifted, pushing himself up into a seated position. Then his tone seemed to shift, and the paler wolf all but pouted.

"I didn't know it was water, there were trees," he spoke with clear exasperation, though not at his company; he was just so tired of this Winter bullshit and all of it's booby traps. Why did anyone live this far North?

what i really need now is a double shot of crown

Vayko watched, masking his amusement with a look of mild contempt as he listened to the man try and defend himself. He supposed that was fair, but he wasn’t going to actually say that out loud. He hardly ever conceded to another’s point once he had already established his own varying opinion. “Trees don’t mean that water can’t be around.” He argued. “Didn’t you think it was weird that the trees just suddenly stopped?” He had to ask, because to Vayko it had seemed obvious, though he was willing to bet he knew the area far better than the man across from him.

Still, Vayko was trying not to be a dick. The keyword there was trying because it happened to be a staple personality trait of his. “At least now you know?” He offered, trying to return to a more diplomatic state.

His peer was quick to fire back, causing Levi's ears to clasp firmly against his skull once more. An rare bubbling of frustration gurgled to life within his chest, and his eyes narrowed at the other. The trees hadn't stopped, that'd been the problem, but what was the use of arguing with this wolf? Maybe because it felt a little like the guy thought he was stupid, and Levi really didn't like others thinking that about him.

"I know I'm movin' back South," he grumbled, the ire in his voice once more directed at the frigid weather, as he rose to his paws.

"Thanks. I um, I dunno if I woulda moved in time if you hadn't shouted."

what i really need now is a double shot of crown

He could see and feel the frustration and there was a part of him that certainly enjoyed invoking that reaction from others, particularly when he did find them either pretentious or idiotic, which he certainly felt the latter was. He started to grumble and Vayko just rolled his eyes with an indignant snort. “You won’t escape the cold down south either, you know.” He offered up in turn because he felt the need to not only pick on the wolf in front of him but poke holes in his plan.

He never claimed to be a saint… he didn’t see himself as a bully, more of… strengthening the mental fortitude of the other. “Yeah, whatever… any wolf would have done it.” He certainly wasn’t a hero or anything either… just trying to ‘be nicer’ like his family was always chiding him about.

In short order, this other young wolf managed to strike a nerve with Levi. A brow shot up involuntarily as the abrasive yearling declared the South was cold too, a defensive urge gurgling into existence within his abdomen. He was starting to feel that this other guy was asserting some kind of superiority over him or something, and he was reminded of the few other kids Levi hadn't gotten along with back home.

The bullies.

"What do you know about it?" he challenged before his brain could catch up with his mouth.

"You ever even been far South?"

what i really need now is a double shot of crown

Vayko’s attitude was his natural defense mechanism. He would argue it was his defense against stupid when really it was his defense mechanism against being tricked. No one could trick him into thinking he was their friend if he was just an ass all the time, right? “I would know a lot about it, actually.” He challenged back with narrowed eyes. “I’m from the south.” He argued back. In all reality, he wasn’t, but bluffs were a careful game he had been playing his whole life to get out of trouble, and this time would be no different.

Contrary to popular belief, he did prefer lying to fighting, though he was proficient at both. “I’m telling you it’s just as cold down there during the winter because it’s the truth.” He found himself quickly growing irritated with the boy.