Duskfire Glacier don't build my cities with what could get taken back

---

she'd realized upon Sunny's return that she'd hated who she'd become; running off the smoke from burning shame and guilt and grief that stabbed through her at every though of her mate, of her father, of her siblings. at the stinging pain that came when she thought of him as her mate. slinking through the territory as if she didn't belong there, when she was still a leader alongside him. 

and so, upon waking, she'd decided to forego the numb ritual of hunting until exhaustion set in, choosing instead to trek north. there she might find reprieve from the heat, and she could distance herself from the borders for more than a day. 

the cold seeped through her pawpads now, and she could almost imagine it as it gradually cooled her limbs, focus on the relief it brought from summer's relentless rays. there were scents here; many of them, she could not simply ignore them and forage on to the heart of the glacier, for where surely the cold would be greater still. instead, she adjusted her trail and stalked the perimeter of the ice plain, tail wafting behind her in simple pleasure.

He guarded the place well enough, stalking about to make sure there was no direct threat. Most days he slept off the dull heartache that had taken root upon being alone again. Part of him felt like he was healing but it always seemed like he had his worst days after his best days.

In a tired haze, the older male roamed around the glacier's lands. He was eager for change despite still holding on to the past. It seemed the fates listened to him though. There in the distance was a silver figure. They were not that haunting shade of ivory that seemed to plague his thoughts. They were youthful beauty.

Aleks had not realized he had halted his movements, staring from a distance while lost in his thoughts. The older male was practically nothing more than a smoky shadow on the horizon; far too interested in the silver dame.

---

she would not have noticed the shadow were it not for the prickling intuition perched between her shoulder blades; ignored for only so long until she paused in her step. her gaze scanned the ice sheet once, twice, and only the well-trained gaze of a hunter finally allowed her to pick out the shadow to near to be part of the greyscale mountains beyond. 

her gaze traced the shape of a canine, beyond that molten optics could reveal nothing. she watched the shadow as he watched her, finally noticed, waiting for the same intuition (or perhaps a shared hawkish gaze) to warn the watcher that her gaze too rested on him.

There was no voice. No words - soft or harsh - calling out to him for being so...stalker like. Instead there was silence and a shared gaze upon each other. He could have thought she was a ghost cast upon the icy lands to haunt his loneliness. How cruel the fates would be to take away his love and send a ghost to chase him down.

Slowly he moved closer. One long legged step at a time. He stopped a few respectful yards away. Close enough for them to pick the details out on each other but still providing them both with ample personal space. Hello. He murmured in deep tones as his tail attempted to give a friendly sway. It was a hard task - for being social and friendly wasn't exactly his forte.

Hopefully she could forgive him for being less than charming.

---

the shadow moved near, and she watched his approach carefully. when he paused in his step did she pull careful details from him (as she'd determined the shadow to be) at last, twin dying sunsets cast into sharply drawn face, short furred and lean. he greets her with a friendliness that doesn't seem to come entirely easily, yet sincere. 

"hello." she echoes his greeting, tail resuming its waving at her hocks, wind-touched fur given a stiff shake. she is curious, and moves past any small talk that might present itself with a question. "do you claim this glacier?" the scents here are thick, in places, and old scents seem overlayed with fresh ones, indicating some have lingered here for a while.

He almost appreciated the shift onto business topics - perhaps would have even smiled if he had it in him. These kind of things he could handle much better.

Narrow head shook softly. No. It was a simple answer before he went into a softer explanation. Merely guarding it for now. He was here to hold down the fort. A throne no longer suited the older male despite his love for this place. Instead he'd be the one to wield the knife (metaphorically) for the pale wolves.

Where do you hail from? The earthy male asked with a small tilt of his head.

---

her ears pricked forward as he offered his information, interest decidedly peaked. "for whom?" one didn't guard things on a whim, surely. head canted, wondering if he was affiliated with the scents crisscrossing the ice sheet.

she proffered the requested information easily, twisting once to motion to somewhere over her shoulder.  "morningside. we claim the maplewood and neighboring plains to the south." gaze slid back to the male, realizing that names nor titles had not been exchanged, but finding them unimportant in the moment.

they spoke but a few moments longer, but responsibility weighed heavy on her spine and she could no longer allow herself to remain away much longer.