Tuktu Hinterlands Pretty Lollipop

@Skylaris 

The fact that going to the Glacier, instead of returning to Lake Rodney had been a very foolish idea occurred only, when the storm had hit Birk with full force. He had been out in the open somewhere at the ocean shores, when it had begun to snow heavily. The visibility had been pretty bad, therefore it was no wonder that he had steered off his initial course and ended up going South... except the wrong one for him.

He did not know that he was lost at that point - only that the weather had gone from being sh*t to being even sh*ttier. End of story. The next few hours, while the young wolf still had been fighting his way to a shelter among trees, had been very difficult and, when he finally got deep enough in the forest, he collapsed in a heap of snow and had to crawl the remaining steps to the hiding spot under the branches of a large fir tree.

"Pheww..." he sighed, rolling to his side and beginning to tend his paws, where the snow had melted and stuck between his toes. Though he would still claim that he had seen and endured worst storms than this, he would have to admit that this was a pretty bad one. Even for a tough ice giant like him.

In the shelter of the forest, the storm had been less bad and Skylaris took that as a good thing. As much as she enjoyed snow, a blizzard was never good. She had come this way while exploring the area - since she had just joined Silver Creek and it was vital for her to get to know the area. It might have been useful to have her friend, Mawk, around to show her the different areas of the Hinterlands but he had other matters to attend to and he was busy enough with his lovelife, that was clearly causing him issues.

That was another thing on her mind. She had never considered love as to her it seemed like the other was dragging you down, but Mawk didn't seem to think that. Him and Illecebra, as she believed she was called, seemed to go together so well, according to what the wolfdog had said and it confused Skylaris. Sure, she was no way near ready to settle down, not just yet, but it was a thought that returned to her. With a sigh, the she-wolf continued through the woods, pondering her friends options. If he wished to be with his lover, then there was no way he could stay in Silver Creek. He had told Sky that Spring didn't want any more pups in the pack and that they already had too many mouths to feed, but he had also mentioned that Illecebra might be joining a troupe of wolves wishing to start a new pack. If that was the case, it seemed logical that Mawk went with them. Besides, she would see him again, right?

The silver wolfess was so captured by her thoughts that she walked straight into a lump on the ground and stumbled. She turned her head with shock and surprise, only to find that the lump was not just a lump, but another wolf.

With paws nice, tidy and clean, Birk tucked them underneath his belly and curled himself in a tight ball. There had been many cold winter nights in the Ice fields, when he and his family had done just that and for a brief moment just before he fell asleep, he wondered, where were they and what were they doing now. He did not miss them, he was simply curious. 

He must have slept for a while, because neither did he hear the other wolf coming, nor did he catch any other notice of her until she almost tripped over him. "Jeezus effing Cross!" he woke with a start and in those first seconds of sleepy panic danced clumsily away from the offending party. "What's wrong with you?" he asked, once having assembled himself in a more respectable position and regarding the stranger with a very confused look.

Skylaris only blinked at the wolf for a few moments. She studied him carefully then shook her pelt and gave a brief appology. "Eeep, sorry. I didn't mean to step on you." She giggled then shook her head. "I was lost in thought, and I didn't see you. Do you realise how well you blend in with the snow?" she pointed out with a grin on her muzzle. It was true, the wolf blended in very well, especially with snow as thick as this.

"Errr, name's Skylaris, you can call me Sky if you want." she chuckled, with a tilt of her head. "Who might you be, snow-lump?"

"She did not mean to... But you did - and that counts," Birk grumbled and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He could be quite a grumpy man, if he was awoken suddenly from a very pleasant slumber. And, though he would forgive any girl, who looked good (and this was pretty decent in his biased opinion), then at this point he was not yet ready to move her on the good side. 

"And it is Birk to you! Snow lump... just think... my ancestors in the grave..." he continued to growl and finally regarded the girl with a very skeptical eye. "Did you fall from sky or something?"

Skylaris rolled her eyes at Birk, still inwardly smirking to herself. "Alright, alright, I'll call you Birk." she chuckled and flicked her tail. "And sure, I totally fell from the sky," she grinned, raising her head to look at the clouds. It was still gloomy outside, and nothing had improved since the blizzard first hit.

The wolfess didn't really appreciate the grudginess from the male, but it didn't really matter. This man was still, pretty much, a stranger and there was no reason for them to be talking anways. But, unfortunately for Birk, Skylaris thought he was amusing.

"Did you..." Birk bit his tongue not to finish with "...hit your head hard", because that was really nasty and the girl's good humor was contagious. His initial grumpiness faded away bit by bit and to help it remove itself from his system faster, he let out a big-enormous yawn. With that - angry feelings were gone. 

"I forgive you, but don't do that next time," he said, as if making a huge favor to Skylaris. "Or there will be no next time - you will be turned into an ice block and will melt in the spring. Got it?"

Skylaris raised her brow as if jokingly daring him to say his next words, but he luckily decided against it. This man was curious, she decided, but he obviously shared a smiliar level of humour - That or he was being infected by Sky's own humour. "At least ice is pretty," she chuckled. "I'd rather be an ice block than a snow-lump."

Her tail flicked and she smirked with amusement. So far, she had enjoyed the company of this strange male, and she didn't plan on leaving any time soon. This was too fun.

"You won't let that go, right?" Birk asked in a good-natured manner and tilted his head a little to the side. Frankly speaking, he did not mind. He had had worst epithets in life than "snow lump". Some had definitely included "trolls" and their "backsides", as well as other body parts, which would not be polite to mention and which are left for the reader's imagination alone. Birk's lips on that matter were sealed. 

"Very well, Ice. Block," he emphasized the last words. Two could play this game and, what was a better way to pass the time than having a bit of entertainment that included word fights. "Or would you like to be called Eye-Bee for short?"

Skylaris' smirk faded for a few moments after hearing Birk's comback, but it soon returned. "Eh, Eye-Bee sounds pretty cool. And besides, at least I can make someone fall over if they step on me." she laughed again. Knowing Sky, the two wolves could sit here all day having this word fight.

The silver wolfess wouldn't stop until she won, that much was obviously clear, though she was happy to continue it for as long as it took.

Unbeknownst to Skylaris, she had met another person, who did not like to lose. Though Birk's primary motivation to play any game was the process rather than the result. Therefore in some cases he was willing to lose on his own terms, if the other party was attractive and smart enough. At this point she had yet to impress him. By a lot in order to have him admit his defeat. 

"Well, you fell over a snow lump too - if I remember correctly," he countered. "Therefore it does not count. You have to think of something better, if you want to prove that Eye-Bees are in any way better than Ess-Lees. For example, I can rearrange myself at will, while your kind tends to be... I don't know - kind of stationary?"

"Fair point," she admitted, then added, "But it hurts to fall over me. I think you'll find that snow lumps are a fair bit softer than ice blocks." 

This was proving to be more of a challenge than she had first anticipated, but she could do more in this battle. "I can be a deadly weapon, and in warmer weather I melt slower than you do." she countered, flicking her tail. "Snowballs are a lot less effective than Ice spears."

"Oooh... a good one, let me think," Birk had fallen on ice few times to know that, if you hit the wrong body parts, then it could hurt like hell. But... "Yet snow lumps can conceal more dangerous things and by looking sweet and innocent they can get you in trouble," he recalled the ancient rule of never trusting the soft snow.

"You think melting slower is fun? It's the same as dying and excruciatingly long and painful death. Nah... I think that I beat you at that," regardless of what she thought about the matter, he wrote a checkmark under his name on the score-board. "Good point, but you can hide in snow, while good luck with hiding inside an ice block," the man felt pretty proud that he had come up with this and you could hear this in his voice.

Skylaris grinned, finding enjoyement in the arguement. She had no idea where this debate would lead."Well, ice is much tougher, and you won't have much luck trying to break it. I can stay together for a lot longer than you can." She had to give it to the man, he was good. Point to him for that.

"Plus, snow lumps can be mushy." she chuckled, flickering her eyes to the snow around them.

"Playing dirty, eh?" Birk snorted at Sky's declaration that snow was inferior to ice just because it was less solid and - what was that word - mushy? "Well, at least I don't have to stay at one place all winter. I - for instance - can change shape and form and travel with wind or storm," as he said this a particularly strong gust of wind blew through the forest, making some of the trees crack and creak and wail sorrofully. This, however, did not refrain Birk from being a proud snow lump. "Like this one - and be a snow lump, wherever I want to," he finished, regarding his opponent with a look that told - beat that!

"But anyway - what are you doing out here in the storm alone? Shouldn't you be with a pack or something, cuddled up in a big den, telling each other stories from ancient times," he asked.

"I'm so strong that I don't need to travel, and in a way I can move, I can slide. Or, if I'm in the shape of an icicle, I can drop on someone's head." she finished, though she guessed that the battle was over. With a small chuckle, she eyed Birk with curiousity. "I was exploring the area, and the weather was... well, decent, but then that darn storm had to come and ruin it." She added, rolling her eyes. 

The storm really had hit at an irritating time, considering Skylaris had only just joined Silver Creek and she wanted to explore the area around the territory so she could leave without getting lost.

"Yeah, storms kind of never ask you about the proper time and venue for a rendezvous, do they?" Birk had to agree about the storm had hit at the worst time possible. Though he had sensed the warning signs prior and there had been enough time for him to find a proper shelter. Better at least than this tree. As if to prove the point, some snow from the top branches fell off and landed right on his head. 

"You said you were exploring, does it mean that you come from a pack nearby?" he asked, while shaking his head and clearing snow away from his eyes and muzzle.

"I know right," She flicked an ear, turning her muzzle to look back up at the sky. It was darn cold out in the frosty air, and Skylaris was glad she had a fairly thick coat. Else she'd be an ice block already. The silver wolfess chuckled when the snow landed on Birk, and she was about to make a comment on how he really did look like a snow lump now, but she didn't. It was hard, though.

"Yes, I recently joined one - Silver Creek. Do you know it?" she asked, curious. It was a decent pack, so far. Spring had offered to teach her more about herbs and how to become a medic - Skylaris had gladly accepted.

"Silver creek? Hmm..." Birk pretended to be deep in thoughts - furrowed brow and pursed lips and all - and then shook his head. "Nah, never heard of it. But I have heard about great deal of packs - keeps, antlers, raven-calderas - oh-ohohoh! That was her name. Raven!" he got sidetracked, finally remembering the poppy-girl's full name. And he was super certain that this was the real one. It felt right. 

"Sorry about that. Someone I met, could not remember her name for a long time. The point is - a lot of packs here. So, what it is like at the Silver Creek? Cool leaders, handsome men?" he wanted to know more.

"Shame. It's a pretty decent pack, if you ask me." She said, then gave him a little smirk. She had no idea who this 'Raven' person was but she decided to make a little joke out of it. "Ooohla la! Has snow-lump got a little crush?" she gave a another little laugh, but shook her head. "Sorry."

"To be honest, I'm not really into the men. The chicks are more my thing, y'know? But it seems like everyone in that pack are taken." Skylaris replied, shrugging her shoulders. "But yeah, the leaders are pretty cool." She'd only met one, of course, Spring, but she liked Spring and hoped the other alpha would be on a similar level of cool-ness. About the other members, though, she liked Mawk. Not in that way, of course - no, he was set on Illecebra, and Sky wasn't interested anyways. It was disapointing though, that all the other women in the pack were taken. Apart from Sunspot, but she didn't plan on staying around.

"Crush? Please," Birk rolled his eyes. True - he had liked that Raven girl in a way. She had left an impression of a remarkable wolf-being the two times they had run into each other, but other than that - she was one of many, many pretty girls in the world he had already met or were to meet. 

"Oh, that is totally okay," he nodded. He did not even try to understand or reason the preferences for partners in other wolves, but he was pretty tolerant. Getting along and liking was all that mattered. "In that case... any pretty girls that have caught your eye? Or there is a string of melting or charmed girls in your list already?

"Erm.. I mean, there's a couple of really pretty ones, but I don't think I've found any meltingly beautiful ones. Yet." To be honest, at the moment, Sunspot was on the top of her list. "There's one that I kinda like more than the others, but she doesn't plan on staying around," The silver wolfess shook her head - she hadn't found that special one yet. Besides, Skylaris intended to earn a trade before settling down with a mate.

"What about you? Any favourites?" Mawk had told her about his soon-to-be new alpha Gwen. And Knew, perhaps one of them had met this man? Seeing as they had apparently been travelling for a little while. Or maybe Mawk himself had met this guy. She believed they might get along pretty well - that's if Birk wasn't intimidated by his size. 'Cause, no jokes, Mawk was huge.

"Well, what can I say - if you like a person a lot, you should try to do everything to keep them in your life," Birk advised, though he knew that he was a bit of a hypocrite, when he said this. When had he stuck around someone long enough to keep them in his life? The promise of meeting more beautiful girls had been the prime driving force and yet... why did that Raven chick came to his mind again?

"Or at least give a try - go out with her, maybe in the end she decides to stay there with you... for you?" now, was this storm enchanted or something? He was not a romantic at heart. Not at all, not the least - though, he knew he was fooling himself. Sure he was - somewhere deep under all the layers of ice and snow the ice giant had a very warm and loving and beating heart. 

"Still looking - though I quite like my life as it is at the moment. The stupid ice-storm aside, of course," he smiled. "Any life goals other than settling down? Things you want to learn, want to do in your life?"

"I suppose, but I think she's on somekind of personal mission. Besides, I don't think I'm ready to settle down just yet." She replied, though she didn't know. She did want to earn the caregive trade first. "I'll think about it," she added, shrugging her shoulders once again. She was in no way good with romance, and Skylaris would probably mess up big time if she tried anything just yet.

"I wish to be a Medic - and an Astronomer," she answered, proud of her passions. They seemed like useful ones, did they not? At least, the medic one did. The Astronomer was more of a hobby-type trade.

"Who said anything about settling down?" Birk asked in an amused tone. "That's all nice and good, of course, but why should you jump right at proposals and marriage and family life, when you could just as easily have just fun? Nothing too serious - people hanging out." He did not yet know that this "having fun" part could go in all kinds of different ways, not all of them being great and wonderful. 

"That's... eons apart," he laughed. Physics and medical stuff was not that far off from each other, but still... "But I think that my great-great aunt or something dealt with both. She was a seer or oracle or something. Could read future in animal guts and tell, what ailments would haunt you, from the position of stars at planets at the time of one's birth."

After this they talked a little more and then Birk setteld for the night to wait for the storm to end.