Whitefish River Like white smoke

@Iliksis

The wintry mist was cold, it seeped into his pelt and chilled the yearling to the bone, but he found himself unwilling to return to Morningside at the current time. As the sun began to make an arrival in the sky, rising above the dark line on the horizon, more colours were roused from hiding - as if a paintbrush had swept across that charcoal canvas and tainted it with lighter blue, even orange that glowed like flames to herald the appearance of early morning.

Kieran had chosen this time to wander simply because it was quiet. The occasional chirp of a waking bird only aided the peace settling around the river, a gentle sloshing simply background noise as his paws moved swiftly over the snow, handsome ginger pelt illuminated by the first golden rays of the day and standing out spectacularly against the sparkling white that coated the land. The boy traipsed across this stunning scene with the faint trace of a smile drawn upon his lips, feeling each breath bring with it another wave of calm that settled on the beach of his mind and soothed any fear from the strange contraption around his neck - it had done naught to hurt him thus far, it only remained as a nuisance.

No matter, he could move past this if the acceptance allowed him a few heartbeats of tranquility.

thanks for starting - tag is just for visibility!

by morning iliksis had managed to score a small family of woodgrouse that had been stunned by the wintry cold overnight. they hardly stirred as he descended across them in their roost - one by one, he plucked from the frozen boughs and dispatched them with silent efficiency. they met their bitter ends dulled witless by the cold, and hardly stirred more than a squabble as he killed them. he left two of them cached for @Ithrik, and set out across the plains with the last mangled bird clapsed between his thin jaws. its barred feathering stuck out between his sharp teeth, with tufts of soft cream down-feathers still rimmed around his jaws.

he had only gone several acres when he saw another figure illuminated by the sun's nascent rays - he watched as the wolf, scintillated by a golden halo, broke beams of gentle sun with its long blued shadow. he would have ignored the wolf were it not for the strange thing wrapped around its neck, foreign and curious. with a wordless dip of his head iliksis stepped out in a lofty trot towards him.

The bitter onslaught of deadly winter weather was stilled at this moment, as the youth traipsed the land with a light skip in his step. The snow crunched beneath his ginger paws, creating perfectly round footprints in the canvas of white, little tracks to mark where he had crossed trailing behind his drifting figure. Kieran was appreciative of the fur that coated his body, the icy fingers of winter coiling around him like a scarf knitted by the snow itself.

He caught sight of a figure in the distance, a dark colour that stood out amongst the blank yet sparkling frost, and his tail began to wave gently behind him - a sign to display he was no threat, not wishing for conflict. Perhaps they were only a stranger drawn by the black thing around his neck, but the young hunter would not mind some companionship. "Heyo!" He greeted cheerfully, foresty eyes gleaming in the light.

around them the cold shuddered. thin beams of sunlight flittered in front of him, cut only by the long shadow cast by his slender limbs. the wolf in his sights was aware of him and in the midmorning silence the stranger's voice rang, accompanied by a friendly lilt of his tail. iliksis decided then that this wolf would likely be an easy mark - it seemed the type to be obliging and trustful of strangers. iliksis rose his own tail in a quiet wag, but stayed his tongue for his mouth was still occupied by the half-defeathered grouse in his jaws.


he pulled close enough to survey the agouti, a glint of mistrust in his dull eyes. what snaked around the wolf's neck was curious indeed, but iliksis did not fear it. wordlessly he canted his muzzle towards the object, his eyes trailing from the collar to the male's own eyes with clear meaning: what's that?

His cheerful greeting was not returned (he supposed because of the deceased grouse betwixt the shadow's jaws) but it mattered little to the ginger youth - his tail wagged in steady beats at his rear, ears cupped forward to hear any words that might be spoken. None came, but the stranger responded with a quiet wag of their own tail and appeared friendly enough. Perhaps Kieran would get that casual conversation he so desired on a bitter morning such as this. 

A silent question was proposed as the man spotted the contraption around his neck, and the young hunter shrugged his shoulders lightly. "Some big noisy grey bird flew over. I don't know why but I don't remember much of what happened, only that I woke up with this on my neck. It doesn't hurt - I don't think it's dangerous. Just a bit uncomfortable." The Streiter had no issue when it came to talking, finding himself often the one to start conversations.

iliksis studied the band that wrapped around the male's throat dubiously. he had never seen something like that before, and it perturbed him. the lack of knowledge of what that was ate at him -- for without knowledge, he was not in control.

he flicked his tail and ran a tongue along his wicked teeth, considering what he could do. he supposed he could kill the boy and inspect whatever that was that clung so tightly to him -- but what if it somehow secured itself onto him? the prospect of suddenly being tethered by whatever foreign rope that was did not sit well with iliksis.

but he wanted to know -- to see up close -- what it was. his gaze flicked hungrily to kieran's, holding it there -- and then, he started to prowl forward not unlike a cat stalking down its prey.