Two Rivers Isle glory in battle, honor in life

The river that ended in the ocean had carried him inland, through thick forestry and lush foliage that carried with it the promise of spring. The waters were still cold enough to raise bumps in his flesh. Still, the Nord had allowed the twisting rivulet to lead him south.
 
It was at a dual-path that he paused. Shimmering eyes followed two directions, unaware of the isle that had nestled itself in between. Further south, he saw the promise of another forest. Kodlak passed through the water and onto land before shaking the free droplets from his pelt and pointing himself toward the rolling hills that stood between him and the wood at the other end. With daylight fading, he would need somewhere to rest and wait for morning to shed light on his travels.
 
Bending his neck to the earth, the Nord breathed deeply before he pressed forward.

I love Kodlac. <3 Been wanting to thread with him for a while!

It had been a terrible idea to cross this river. Evening hated getting wet because to get wet was to be freezing for hours. She could not go out into the sun to warm up, lest she risk a sunburn, and so she was left to wallow in her dampness until she managed to dry off on her own. Shaking the water out only helped so much. Not that she’d have the chance to dry off in the sun, anyways, for it was going down now, which was why she was out in the first place. She had come out just as it had disappeared and dusk had started, the time when there was still light in the sky but the sun was no longer visible. 

Whatever had possessed her to cross the river, it didn’t matter now. She could see the silhouette of another wolf in front of her, some ways away. They must have crossed a few minutes before her, and slightly to the left of where she had. Evening was unsure if she should call out, for she did not immediately trust other wolves to be friendly, or to look upon her with kindness. Her siblings and father had treated her terribly when she had lived within her familial pack, which is why she had left in the first place. Who was to say how others would treat her out here?

She hesitated, and then decided to say nothing, but ghosted the other wolf, a wraith some distance behind them. She tried to be quiet, simply wanting the pretense of company, even if they did not speak to each other, but she was probably making more noise than she thought she was. She shivered as the wind pulled at her wet body. Why had she crossed, again?

wow thank you for saying such kind things about kodlak <3 that is so sweet of you

There was a cold that burned far deeper. It was one that had found a home only in the furthest reaches of the northern landmarks; a wind that whipped across icy tundra and polar waters. Nothing could compare to that which was Jorrvaskr. Having been raised in the clasps of her frigid hand, Kodlak had endured most things that cut a bitter chill against his flesh. The waters of the Teekon Wilds were not enough to test his spirit, or to dampen his hopes of reaching the base of the distant mountains.
 
Spring had only just entered their land, but the Nord could already feel a shift in the air. The temperature was even, with only a light biting from the wind and the threatening plumes of storm clouds that rolled overhead. The Harbinger cast his gaze upward and followed their patterns with some interest before the sound of shedding water had pulled his attention from the gloomy overcast sky.
 
Turning sharply, the dusty warrior caught sight of a peculiar shape and color. Her coat was light, pallid in appearance, and her eyes seemed to set a startling contrast to the rest of her features in the form of salmon pinks that had spread to her nose. Albinism was not common among the wolves of Jorrvaskr, so he openly watched the unnamed female before feeling within himself that he was being impolite. With a quick shake of his light agouti coat, the Nord barked softly to her in hopes of drawing the swimmer’s attention. His tail wavered once at his rear.  

This is a terrible post, oh my lord. I'm sorry, my brain could not focus on this one.

Evening froze on the spot, like a deer caught in the sights of a pack of hungry wolves, when the male turned and looked at her. Stupid! she thought to herself. How could you think you were being quiet? You were splashing through a river! You should have waited. Well. It was too late now.

The male barked at her, but in a friendly manner, and she saw that his tail wagged once behind him. Maybe he just wanted company like she did. Wouldn’t that be nice? Feeling just a little apprehensive, she allowed her own tail to begin wagging, but stilled her voice from barking back. She felt that breaking the silence might not be a good idea, but that was probably just some superstitious feeling she had. However, she did unfreeze herself and begin to slowly approach the male. Feeling a bit braver than a few moments before, she cleared her throat to speak, but found that she still could not do so. Instead, she gave the male a cautious sort of smile, hoping that this interaction would end up being a good idea.

oh, it was not a terrible post. i rather enjoyed it.

The northern ice had made him a fearless fighter. He had been forged in the very chilling depths of Jorrvaskr with stone and stinging waters. Kodlak did not fear the fang of another, nor did he turn away from the prospect of crossing paths with one who was not favorable to him. There was boldness in the Whitemane blood. They were not the type to cow to an adversary, no matter the odds. The Nordic warrior did note how she peered at him with a watchful glint in her sharp salmon colored gaze. In doing this, Kodlak lowered his skull into a customary bow that granted him less of a frightful appearance. There was not intention to frighten her, but he would not hail her again if she chose to flee.
 
“Greetings icy maiden,” he offered to her in a soft baritone. The swelling sea foam of his gaze did not leave her shape, for he was not foolish enough to leave himself unprepared in the face of a stranger. Kodlak saw her expression, wrought with concern, and he offered her a smile that toyed along the edges of his lips just enough to break through the grizzled appearance. The land had shaped him into a creature of power; a brute among his own kind. The Nord still had his manners and his customs at his back.

Sorry for the wait! Been trying to scrape my muse for this character back.

Well. He had bowed at her, so maybe there was actually no reason to be nervous. Feeling a little awkward, as if she were reacting to her father, she bowed her own head in return. The motion only lasted a second and she jerked her head back up because she felt stupid doing something so formal. She opened her mouth to speak, for like the third time, but he beat her to it:

‘Greetings, icy maiden.’

Icy maiden? Evening was completely taken aback by these words. No one had ever called her anything other than Flower (her old name), or Girl, the title her father had given her. She pulled her head back and looked askance at the male. Was he laying it on thick so he could get something out of her, and if so, what? Or was he just… one of those rare, genuinely nice wolves? “Um,” she said. “Hello…” She’d almost called him sir or something but had stopped herself. That would have been too much. Feeling incredibly awkward, she plowed on before he could say anything else. “What — what brings you out here? To cross a freezing river, I mean?”

This was going terribly.

The peculiar girl seemed as though she was fumbling through their interaction. The Nord took an instinctive step back to allow her room to breathe; he was not interested in testing her mettle or the sharpness of her fang. He had fought far worse, but the warrior was not fond of backing others into a corner. The wild wolves knew well how to maneuver their limbs to strike in ways that would cause pain to even the most skilled of his kind. He was healthy and capable, but more than this was an underlying sense of understanding that forced him to breathe against the wisps of air for signs of her feverish fear. Perhaps his caution was not warranted, but he was far keener on being safer than he was on having to defend himself.
 
It was the question that afforded him a moment of reprieve from his stoic stance before her. The Nord allowed a smile to crack his features and he chuckled softly. “Ah, the frigidness of the water does little to me. I hail from lands far colder than this one,” the Wuuthrad responded in a confident tone. It was instinct that turned his nose toward the north. It was longing that turned the smile downward into a thoughtful frown. Kodlak missed his homeland dearly, but he had struck out to build a life of his own and to join more companions beneath him. The great tundra of Jorrvaskr would always remain close to his heart, but he knew that he could not allow it to dwindle his fierce spirit.

The man’s response made her wonder, for a moment, if she would fare better in a colder area. Would the cold make the sun hate her any less? Would she not become so burned by it in a place of constant snow and ice? She didn’t think so. She had gone out into the sun as a pup when it was cold outside, and had sunburned just as easily as she had when it was hot out. The sun did not care what temperature it was. The sun cared only to conquer those below it, specifically Evening, who was so prone to its burn.

She realized she was lost in thought and quickly shook her head a moment to clear her thoughts. “Where is your home?” she asked, out of sheer curiosity, and because she did not often speak to others. Any pleasant interaction with anyone was always welcome to her. “Farther north?” She assumed he was from the north because, well, that was where all colder areas were, right? North?