Duskfire Glacier Check my pulse and if I'm dead, you owe me

She wasn't quite sure what had drawn her from the lake and her children to a place that only held sorrow and disappointment. It had been a long time since she had set foot on the glacier, and yet, she felt the same desolation as she had the day the storm had stolen everything from her. She still had no idea where half of her family was or if they were even alive. Memories of a time when things had been solid between her and Sia flooded her mind, making her close her eyes and growl in anger. She hated him so much she felt it in her cells—except she didn't really hate him all; she loved him more than she could even admit to herself, and that's what hurt the most. She had loved and looked up to her big brother her whole life, and he had let her down—hurt her more than anyone ever had, and it left a hole in her heart that could never be filled.

She moved slowly through the territory that had once been hers. Much of the snow still remained, but she searched through it to the best of her ability. At this point, she just wanted some closure, and she wondered if she would ever get it. She had a sinking feeling that she would spend the rest of her days longing to know what had happened to her missing family members.

Despite the summer, the land was cold here. As much as she adored it (being alone, the coldness, the view) she was not built for colder areas. Her paws slid out from underneath her every now and then. Occasionally it would work out in her favor and other times she fought to stop herself from sliding to an icy grave.

It was after one of her harsher halts that she spotted someone. Just barely. Their snowy coat lined them well against the horizon. Eleni knew her goal as she spotted them though. A sharp, pointed bark escaping her. It was almost a demand for their attention.

What is this place? She asked as she skipped over nicer introductions or even an apology for crashing onto the scene like a bull elk. How was she to know what feelings this woman held for the lands? She was inclined to spot physical injuries, not mental.

She wasn't sure how long she had been trekking along the glacier before the loud bark intruded into her sullen thoughts. She paused, turning a shrewd gaze on the earthen girl. Her presence and her stupid question sparked a flare of annoyance in the northerner, made worse by the fact that she was in a particularly shitty mood; revisiting ghosts of a tumultuous past tended to do that. 

A glacier, obviously, she replied coolly, turning to begin walking again. She supposed she couldn't stop the stranger from annoying her, but Taki probably wouldn't be very friendly company, especially not while standing on the ruins of her pack and family.

There was a lot of things Eleni didn't like and one of those things was being walked away from. Especially when she had just engaged the stranger in a conversation. Their cool words did not appease the young woman, it was a pitiful excuse for an answer in her eyes. Her hackles bristled in a poor attempt to seem bigger than she really was.

Without thinking, she called out sharply. Hey! Although once the word was out she realized she was not entirely sure what she planned on doing should the woman turn around.

She froze when the stranger yelled out, turning slowly to fix her with a fiery gaze, eyebrow raised a little. What, she answered, tone chilly and irritation evident. She hadn't come here to babysit some barely adult stranger who clearly had no manners or sense of self-preservation. What could this girl possibly want from her? Taki hoped she didn't expect a tour or some kind of storytelling time, because she hated both of those things even when she was in a good mood. Plus, she wasn't going to explain how she came to have such an intimate knowledge of the glacier to some stranger, especially one who had already proven to be quite annoying. What she really wanted was to sulk in peace, but clearly that wasn't going to happen.

The sharpness didn't deter her anyway. Stupidly and foolishly she stood her ground despite knowing full and well this woman could rip her apart. The thought churned her stomach but she knew that there was one thing she could ask.

Nirali and Araceli... She trailed off as she swallowed the nervous lump in her throat. Have you heard of them, those names? Her tail lashed nervously at her ankles as she awaited what response she might get. Truthfully, she was not confident that she would even receive a response.

She stared at the girl a few moments before her expression finally lost some of its anger. She was looking for someone, maybe even her family, and Taki, sadly, knew far too much about what it was like to search these wilds for someone. Maybe if she had run into her somewhere else, somewhere that didn't incite soul deep despair, she would have maybe even seemed sympathetic to the stranger. But that was more than she could offer right now. 

She sighed a little, clearly still irritated by the girl's presence. No. I have never met anyone with those names or heard anything about them, she answered anyway.

It stung a little but Eleni had to admit, she was surprised the woman even humored her with a response. She had expected teeth or an ushering of get lost. She dared to say there was almost a softening of the woman's personality. Granted she would never even utter the thought for fear she was reading everything wrong.

Hey, uh, thanks. The words came partially choked by a bit of disappointment. What were the odds of a stranger knowing her siblings anyway? She didn't even know where she was or who lived here. I'm sorry for being so... Her words trailed off as she awkwardly shrugged her shoulders. Rude. I guess.

Taki stared at her for a few moments, her face expressionless. Then, she offered the stranger a stiff nod. Well, we all make mistakes, she said, tone just as emotionless as her face except for the slight raise of an eyebrow. 

Good luck, she added, and then she turned to trot away unless stopped, her form blending into the white and eventually disappearing as she put more and more distance between them.