Whitewater Gorge The TV's on, the woman's blonde

The word of grandmaman was absolute and Chevalier de Cigue knew this well, but he resented her choice nonetheless. He had never held a desire to see his maman after she left, and he was sure that Viskani did not want to see him either; no peace was needed to be made between two wolves who had already moved on from one another. His grandmother may have kept it wrapped up in the mission of a message to be sent, but he understood her intentions all too well. She was always big on that you love them because they're your blood kind of crap.

He came to a gorge now, stretching out his neck to look into the icy waters that raged within. He would need to find a spot where he could hop over, or go around all together.

Eyes narrowed into what could only be a grimace of sorts, Chevalier looked down each end of the gorge before deciding to follow it north. He would need to rest soon, his paws aching and the pads surely drying out - he was never one for travel.

Kaiaka stood at the edge of the gorge, her sharp pink eyes measuring the gap. It seemed reasonable. Taking a few steps back, she inhaled deeply, then surged forward. With a powerful push, she leapt, her lean frame slicing through the air. She landed lightly on the other side, barely disturbing the snow and ice beneath her paws. Turning, she peered down into the depths below, her expression unreadable.

Unfazed, she shrugged to herself and turned south, setting off at an easy pace. At least the view was worth it.

Her rose-quartz gaze drifted along the jagged edges of the ravine, following the icy waters below. The current was fierce, its churning waves a sure death sentence to anything that fell in. And yet, to her, there was grace in the chaos, a wild, untamed beauty that held her attention as she walked.

As Chevalier walks he spots another wolf walking; they are on the opposite side of the gorge, where he needs to be. He wonders if they may have jumped over further down.

Excusez-moi, He calls out to then, ensuring that he raises his voice over the sound out the water below. Did you hop over further down, or are you looking for a way over as well? He asks, nodding to the continuation of the gorge ahead of him. I need to get over and reach the mountains just east of here. He knew they had gone that far, at the very least.

He was beginning to get a bit antsy. The eldest son wished to move quickly, to get his little family reunion over with and then rest in the safety of his maman's territory.

She hadn’t expected to run into anyone out here. Nature was vast, and more often than not, she found herself alone, not that she minded. The solitude was welcome.

A voice called out, a male’s, cutting through the quiet. She stopped, lifting her gaze toward the sound.

Allo. You lookin’ to cross? Keep northward. There’s an easy gap to hop, should set ya right. Her tone was casual, matter-of-fact, but loud enough to carry across the gorge.

Careful when ya jump, though. Them ledges are slick with ice. Would be a shame if ya fell in. She tipped her head toward the eastern mountains, her expression darkening slightly.

Them mountains are feelin’ winter’s wrath. I’d tread careful if I were you.

An easy gap just north. He made a mental note to look out for it.

Winters wrath or not, I do not have much of a choice. He stated matter-of-factedly. My maman lives within those mountains, I was sent to deliver a message to her. And no wrath would be worse than his grandmaman's if he returned home without doing so.

He was confident in his ability to traipse the peaks. Chevalier was a mountain wolf through and though, he had not spent all that time in the peaks of his home for nothing.

She shrugged, her tone edged with indifference. Ya been warned. Try not to get yourself killed. Them mountains have taken enough lives this season.

If he was set on facing them, that was his burden to bear. She’d heard plenty speak with such confidence, many never returned. But that wasn’t her concern. She was just a passerby, a whisper in the wind of his journey.

Still, she wished him well in silence, hoping the mountains would be kinder to him than they had been to others. She wouldn’t try to dissuade him. His path was his own, and she could respect that.

He offered a nod of acknowledgement before moving on ahead. As much as he enjoyed a good chat Chevalier was sure that just as he did, she had somewhere to be.

Just as promised, the was a gap ahead small enough for him to hop over, and so over he went without issue to begin his trek towards the mountains.