it is with a stubborn set to his jaw that long legs carry the svelte reif away from his destination and into lands that grew sharper, brasher with the claws of frigid chill that tore greedily into his bones with each hagard step.  the moment he'd approached those leering peaks, began clambering up their treacherous slopes like a flea latching desperately to the back of any living mammal it could find; he'd decided no. simple as that, he would not- could not step paw under those willows and inhale the sharply stale air as it twisted and crooned about the fringes of velveteen ears. if he didn't have to see it devoid of life then his memories would remain untainted, in times of melancholy it would take a simple fluttering of eyelids to recall tranquil swishes of willow branches and softly spoken hums of his family. why taint that when he could just fade into blissful naivety instead?

so why had he never turned back, why is it that even after that mental affirmation, pale paws had dragged his pallid form forth? even after reaching the highest of brazen peaks where each inhale seemed to sear his very insides with ice so potent that it could challenge the very flames of fire, he'd continued on to descend the mounds. and now, leaving them behind he still simply walked as shivers danced gleefully about such a pitiful vessel, thin coat no match to their jesting strokes. yet so distracted as he was, fleeting glances back at his true destination /that he'd deny ever giving into/ not helping, it is with a start that he notices his approaching form. sage eyes round as he freezes up like a deer in the headlights, apprehensive in the face of this hulking beast prowling towards him. ruddy and BIG, panic grasps at his heart as eyes narrow. no chance of him not being seen and so in such a wearied and neglected state; all the boy opts for is a shuddered sigh as forlorn eyes glitter reproachfully.

oh how he looms, cloaking the boy in his shadow as prying eyes rake mercilessly across wan features. averting his own sage flickers, reif glares off to the side of the brute, ears sweeped low against his skull. it's just as he's contemplating the odds if he decided to simply dart off, so serpentine and svelte in nature compared to the mountainous hulk of wolf before him surely he'd escape unscathed yet...a frustrated huff halts such injudicious wonderings. reif ran solidly on a diet of pure fact and even when he even half wished they'd lay low and let him delve into such niceties as hope, they delivered as wholly as ever. he was weak, frail in this neglected state whilst this..eyes peer forth now in order to deliver an adjective that went beyond the initial clamours of- brutish ruffian and is utterly nonplussed by what it is he sees. boy. to finish the sentence, this boy on the other hand is a healthy build of powerful muscle, size was not the key factor in terms of speed here.

youthful features carved into the twisted wry of one aged into the maturity his initial form suggested. there had to be less than a year of life separating the two and yet reif felt infantile in comparison despite the lingering attitude now beginning to creep forth to accommodate that assured skywards tilt of his chin. yet brows are quick to furrow at the words to slip forth so smoothly serpentine as they whisked jestingly about the fringes of leaning ears. the clutches of trepidation fade into the background as equally unpleasent befuddlement takes its place and already he can feel frustrated heat rising up throughout his form. "give up what?" it's snapped forth sharply like an arrow flinging its slender yet deadly form free from the taut bow that so resembled his tense frame in that moment. utterly irked, his long feathered tail swishes free restlessly; why did all the wolves around here feel such a need to start conversations with these stupid, nonsensical assumptions. all he knew was that he was tired and muddled and just wished he hadn't left stick tucked away back in the mountains. a helpless look is cast back towards the impending, jagged horizon. in all honesty he'd left it there not only due to the discomfort that accompanied carrying it everywhere but as a sort of anchor. fearing had there been nothing to drag him back that he'd just have drifted on forever, like an astronaut drifting through space; utterly impotent. 

shuffling paws distractedly, reif casts eyes uneasily towards the chest of the...boy, seemingly more subdued as an unpsoken query flickered; dangerous in its wistfulness; 'are the mountains your desintation too?' because yea, walk in the wrong direction as he might; it never succeeded in changing what he knew was keyed in as his end destination.