caiaphas' sudden settlement has put everyone on edge, it seems, though for once blix finds herself relatively unbothered -- is it maturity or immaturity, arrogance or acceptance? hard to tell. she's frustrated, natch, and doesn't trust any of that lot as far as she can throw them, and there's the whole thing with the natrona that blix may or may not be aware of, i don't know, but: artaax is back, drageda is basically invincible as far as she's concerned, and she's still going to lead the new branch. she wants to stay close to nomi still... which means the tangle. ugh.

she'll talk to furi about it first.

so again she's setting out in search of her friend, only this time instead of running into her sort-of enemy, she spots ephraim up ahead. she's never spent much time with ephraim, doesn't know anything about him besides nomi's role in his life as mentor of sorts. curiously she picks up her pace to catch up with him, watching the way he seems to scurry over the icy ground with some amusement. "ephraim," blix calls out, "mind if i join you?"

the younger generations' insistence on trig amuses her a little -- though she frequently slips between the two, she finds common is often her first impulse, maybe because she'd grown up with furi. she'd been teaching furi a little bit before... everything. would mallaidh be interested in continuing those lessons? it'd be an excuse to hang out again... wait, no, focus on ephraim. 

blix isn't naturally thick furred like nomi or artaax (or furi, come to think of it), having inherited the lean genes of her maternal line. but she's grown up here and so the frosty ground doesn't phase her. "oh, just checking this place out," blix answers in trig, "since the sound is -- well, you know." a small scowl crosses her features, though she doesn't dwell on it. 

she watches his feet for a moment before taking pity on him and adding, "you'll get used to the ice eventually."

"it's a little obvious," blix says with a grin re: the ice, though she's distracted by his claim that he used to live in the sound. when? he's too young to have been there before the pack in the sound, she thinks, but there was the bear there... did his parents get eaten by a bear in the sound? that's probably not the sort of question you can just like, ask, right? 

she does say, "there used to be a pack in the sound 'til a bear drove 'em out," and hesitates. she could mention caiaphas to ephraim but if he doesn't remember it doesn't really matter, and famously she's not great at dealing with others' tragic backstories. letting it go she shakes her head and shrugs, saying, "they suck," in agreement with his sentiments. though it's less that blix hates any of them (yet) beyond her extremely justified distrust in caiaphas, since arrille isn't there. that'd be a whole 'nother story. they're just -- nuisances to her right now.

eager to change the subject, she switches back to his poor frozen feet. "nomi and mallaidh and most of the wolves here are so thick furred but i took after --" mm, "--not them, so. but i grew up here so i guess i adjusted real quick." to demonstrate she picks up one paw and wiggles it, before setting it back down on the ground. the ice does nip at her toes a bit but nothing she minds, and if anything, it offers an opportunity to try and cuddle with mallaidh for warmth, ehehe.

blix doesn't know at first if he means remembering the sound from his childhood or his difficulty with the ice on the ground -- either way, she nods reassuringly, the point clarified when he starts to speak again anyway. she shrugs uneasily, unable to help him with his memories (she hadn't known about the pups in the sound -- really, she hadn't known anyone besides ingram and his dumb friends). 

he does remind her a little bit of mallaidh, though. even if she knows who her parents are after all -- same kind of circumstances, right? and there's always a chance ephraim will remember too. she wonders if they've talked at all. maybe she'll talk to furi about it -- furi's way better at helping with emotional stuff, anyway. still blix knows enough to grin at him, ruffling the crown of his head with her snout playfully. "yeah, i'm sure you will," she agrees, "you're made of pretty tough stuff, ephraim."

cheerily she takes a few steps forward, glancing over her shoulder at him. "c'mon, let's check out this place together," blix suggests, "i'm kinda thinking about settling the new branch here, maybe." if furi approves, she adds silently.

a particularly aggressive branch sweeps under blixen's foot (not because she wasn't paying attention or anything, of course), making her stumble just as ephraim starts to speak. she catches herself, trying to play it off. this is not a very good first impression of the tangle as a potential home. "i mean, that's sort of to our advantage," she tries, then sighs and gives up, casting a suspicious glance at the row of twisting trees.

how does she explain it. "f-- mallaidh likes it here," blixen says, "she always used to come hide out here. i've never gotten that deep into it, but it is close to drageda, which i want." curiously she moves, putting a paw against a thicker branch to try and peer into the depths of the tangle. what treasures does it hide? why on earth does furi like it so much here? 

she looks back and ephraim with a falsely bright grin. "i think we can make it work."

unlike ephraim, blixen is not particularly clever, so she takes the warm grin as genuine and nods, pleased with herself. even if certain brothers who shall not be named think she should be a dictator about the whole thing, it's not really her style to override her packmates desires for her own ideas, unless there's a particularly good reason. having them on board makes this a lot earlier.

"i agree," blixen says. her grin turns slightly more genuine when she adds, "not right now, though," and offers a conspiratory wink. the sky is still looming dangerously above and the last thing she wants is to be caught in a storm in the middle of the tangle (without mallaidh to direct her, obviously). no, for now she wants to call it a day, and she'll drag furi here soon to actually figure out how to get in.