Silver Moraine move it on over

Weather: 15°F, Snow (2-5 inches) throughout the day.

The snow had not ceased since it had started yesterday. Thankfully, it was not a heavy fall, and Dune had spent the night with his nose tucked under his tail to keep warm as it continued to fall around and on top of him. When he finally awoke the next morning, an inch or two had accumulated, blending him in perfectly with the landscape. He looked more like a giant snowdrift than a wolf, and only when he blinked away the snow and his icy blue eyes squinted in the snow did he appear as anything else.

He rose, shaking and sending snow in all directions. Even without the snow covering him from head to toe, he was well hidden due to the striking white of his fur. His nose, eyes, and paw pads were the only non-white attributes he possessed. The terrain here was rough and rocky, but thankfully the snow cushioned the worst of it, and Dune continued to travel the natural road in a general southwestern route.

had it not been for the caramel and cream that dripped down her face and back, corinna might've blended in well. but, of course, that was not the case. corinna stuck out a decent amount, especially in whatever territory she was in now-- but she was not worried. in her own mind, corinna was pretty and charming enough to make nice with any stranger-- which may or may not have actually been true.

but that was not a concern anyway. even though the scent of a stranger blew by every now and again, corinna had yet to spot them. and so, she continued through the snow, blinking as it landed upon her face, still on her way to lord knows where.

The soft sounds of footsteps caused Dune to pause mid-step, and after a moment of thought, he turned around to see a white wolf painted with brown markings all along her top. He chuffed in her direction, eyes landing in her general direction but not challenging her with direct eye-contact. This was no time for fighting. Dune was weak, malnourished, and the only thing he sought right now was food (and perhaps others that could help him in that venture).

He didn't bother making more precise communication, at least not for now. The wolves of the north had always been less reliant on words, and Dune was no exception. He spoke only when he absolutely needed to, and even in those cases, his voice came out in one to two word stilted sentences.

the chuff certainly drew her attention, and now that she was aware someone was... here, she spotted him. a sad looking fellow of soft (she assumed) white fur, staring in her direction. truthfully, he could've waltzed right up, eye-contact and dominant posture all about him and corinna wouldn't have done a single thing about it. in fact, she might've giggled-- but this little lady was most certainly not the fighting type.

"hey, you," she purled, taking a few strutting steps towards him, "need something?" the question was always without follow through-- corinna assumed no one really wanted anything but a conversation with a pretty gal-- and would you look at that? here she was. she gazed expectantly at him, tail waving lightly at her hocks.

"Hey, you. Need something?" Oh no. Pleasantries. Dune wasn't looking forward to this one bit. He was a fine fighter, a decent hunter, and reasonably intelligent, but his social skills were severely lacking when it came to conversation. He could pick up on signals easily enough, but judging by the way she spoke, she was much more fluent in spoken word that he had ever been (or ever would be, considering his age). Her question was an odd one, since it didn't offer anything. He supposed it could have meant that she intended to give him whatever he asked for, but Dune was smart enough to know that nothing came without a price.

"You offer?" he decided to ask instead, wanting clarification more than anything else right now. This, of course, indicated that he might take her up on some kind of offer... but that wasn't really the case. Dune was interested to hear what she was offering, though. Was it food? A place in whatever pack she belonged to? Some local knowledge that might help him in the future? He waited expectantly for the answer.

corrina frowned. apparently, he quite literally did need something, though she had only meant it as a kind greeting. most wolves responded with a 'ah no i'm just out and about'... that was easy to respond to. then again, corinna realized, she had been secretly complaining about the lack of stuff going on in these wolves lives. she held her tongue.

"what you need?" she asked, slightly mocking his choppy tongue, but her lips were turned up in a sweet smile.

Dune lacked the social finesse to see her mockery, and instead he responded to the question to the best of his ability. "Prey?" he asked, making a sweeping gesture with his muzzle to the land "out there" and putting the best questioning look on his face. He had not been terribly lucky in his search for food, and it was the number one most difficult thing about being a loner. Dune knew that he would have to find companionship sooner or later. That was what allowed wolves to stay alive during the winter.

it seemed this wolf was hungry, something corinna couldn't entirely relate to. her problems lined up well with his, where they were both alone in the dead of winter. without the support of a pack, it was harder to feed yourself. however, corinna thought herself quite resourceful, and was getting very good at the art of scavenging. she'd managed to find some leftovers or charm her way into a meal more than enough times to keep herself full. and, well, she of course did plenty of hunting.

she looked around, emphasizing a point. "not with me," she said-- obviously, "what, you wanna hunt?" 

He narrowed his eyes in mild annoyance when she said "not with me." Of course not with her, which is why he had gestured away from her to ask her where the prey was. Dune, while not the most eloquent wolf, was not an idiot. In fact, when she asked if he wanted to hunt with her, he scoffed, suddenly deciding she was not worth his time. "Not with you," he replied, using her own words against her. With that, Dune began to haughtily walk away from her, disliking her tone and general demeanor.

ooooh! corinna was shot down. her ears angled forward at his response. she was surprised he'd come up with something so witty, given her own opinion of him-- not that that was necessarily accurate at all. and then he left. and corinna, too proud to beg, let him go. though not typically naturally mean, for a moment, she wished he'd starve to death. and then, she herself turned her head up, turned, and left. hmpf.