Finally.. it only took me forever to get this up. <3
you do not know who is your friend
and who is your enemy
He felt simultaneously light and heavy; he was paper-thin, but too weak to easily move even that slight weight around. Still, angrily, he paced around, stubborn and brooding, helpless to fix anything. Drestig, who wasn't much better than Ice had been, was missing. The pack was down in numbers, and he was freeloading without a chance to pay them back, aside from getting off their property once he was strong enough to (though, the rebellious voice in his heart whispers, can I leave Jessie without knowing the fate of Drestig..?); he struggled, slowly, one paw at the time, moving his husk of a body around. Just skin and bones and a fire within.
He shouldn't be out and about, honestly, and he knew that, but he was capitalizing on the fact that most of the pack was else-wise occupied with worrying about Drestig. So, he wandered around, collapsing here and there and just breathing for many long minutes at a time, before getting up and continuing his stupid, pointless rounds. He'd be better served by staying put and letting all his precious food—and energy—go towards defeating the last vestiges of his illness, and rebuilding strength, not.. burning it on hapless wandering.. but he just couldn't stay put anymore.
Another howl, unfamiliar, rang out at the borders—it was relatively close to where Ice was, and it sounded very non-threatening. Besides, he was sure Adelayde was back and marking the borders, so likely he wasn't putting himself in any danger by limping over to them. Said and done, slowly and surely the gaunt, tall white wolf came upon Adelayde and the stranger. It was an almost-yearling, promising to be a tall but lanky male when done growing; his fur was fluffy and tawny and red, his eyes a bright green so painfully familiar Ice wondered if he was simply imagining it.
His tail gave a few bushy wags in greeting of Adelayde before dropping down, his head low because his neck simply couldn't hold it up properly; he watched them both in silence, flanks heaving, tongue lolling out, trying to catch his breath.until the ice breaks.
let the stars above shine in your soul