It was still cold in the mountains-- not as frigid as the frozen sea, true, but the cold here was wet and insidious, not the sharp bite of driving wind and dry powder. Shiva was unaccustomed to it, but she was adapting readily enough, though her serious frown had turned into a grimace of sheer loathing for the half-assed wintry weather. In truth, she wouldn't have minded so much if it snowed or rained - either/or - but the weather's inability to make up its bloody mind frustrated the she-wolf beyond belief.

At least she was nearing the pack lands she sought; the climb had been fraught with peril and the shale that made up much of the trail was slippery underfoot from the freezing rain. Shiva might have given up - if not for her bullheadedness and the fact night was swiftly encroaching - but she was so close to her goal now that she couldn't justify stopping even for a few minutes. Reaching the vale was another problem, as she crested the top of the shale slope only to realize that the saddle had a steep not-quite-cliff on the other side of it. There was a trail, of course, but in the dark and the rain, it was going to be a bitch and a half to get herself down the hill. Shiva growled low in her throat, incensed, and carefully began to wind her way down the hill.

By the time she had inched her way down the mountain, her fur was slick with water, the edges partially frozen by the temperature, and Shiva was giving off little irritated growls every few minutes as she shook off what ice and water had accumulated. Her inner coat was (mostly) dry, but her guard hairs were not and it was quickly going to develop into a more serious problem if she could not locate shelter or gain entry into the pack. As Shiva picked her pace up to a trot, a howl broke loose from her throat, calling to whomever ruled this valley and hoping they weren't some big bag of dicks who would make her sleep in the rain to prove her loyalty.

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With Shiva's luck, there were a few trees along the valley's border that - despite a lack of actual leaves - were sort of sheltering as she paced back and forth, awaiting a leader who would hopefully come. She hadn't begun to shiver, but her breath came in short, shuddering bursts by the time that a white ghost flowed from some undisclosed location and sidled up so neatly next to her own golden, soaked figure. Was this the alpha? she wondered. Beyond the fact that he was similarly coated in a thin sheen of rain and frozen sleet, his demeanor was at the utter opposite end of the personality spectrum Shiva had come to expect from alphas. Her posture was almost more dominant than his; her tail stuck out straight behind rump, and her ears and head were only lowered due to the bloody damn sleet.

"Well," she began, giving herself a shake in an effort to get rid of the cold trickle of rain she felt crawling down her nape, "I had heard a pack of monks lived in the Vale. Am I correct in assuming you are their alpha?" She dipped her head respectfully and, voice a quiet, rough murmur, "Shiva, if it please you. The climb was.. interesting, to be sure." Although she cast a wistful glance towards the shelter the wolf had offered her, instinct and training made Shiva wary. Was he merely a trickster, sent to guide her to her doom where monks would capture her and force her into training, brainwash her and force Shiva to submit to their designs? Unlikely and extreme, perhaps, but none the less, she was disinclined to trust strangers.

Carefully, she said, "If it does not trouble you or your pack, I would be grateful for the shelter." Lifting her head some, she made to follow to wherever this white ghost might lead her, though she was not without reservations. (Feel free to PP her following Tenzin, Jaye!)

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