Frostfire Ridge and those of you who are downtrodden

the early morning is chilly — though his fur does a well enough job of keeping it at bay. he might not've noticed if not for the reminding bites of it on his nose and the small curl of his breath; barely visible as it passes betwixt his lips but proof that the temperatures have dipped. even so; a heavy fog has settled over the glacier and its neighboring ridge, of which, wintersbane sent to explore.

he has not forgotten the search for rivenwood's worripa ...and doubts that the boy has found his way to this region of the wilds; though this is an assumption based upon the fact that he has not heard of nor seen a boy fitting that description. still, he searches, ( secretly ) glad to be out of the confines of the glacier for the first time in many, many moons.

Duskfire Glacier had one more escapee, and this one had also departed on a search. 

Veteran had stalked across the ridge, eyes scanning the ground for his prey. His search proved to be in vain; it was far too early for the little slithering reptiles to be out, as they would be waiting for dawn to spill over the ridge before emerging from their tunnels beneath the ground. 

Veteran had filed that piece of knowledge away: no skinks before dawn. With a sigh, he had settled down at the base of an east-facing boulder, determined to wait for the sun to rise. The cool air tingled the skin on his back, but the stone in his chosen spot was warm on his belly-- if he had been any more experienced with the world he would have thought it unusually warm, and perhaps he might have questioned the sensation.

wintersbane finds a cub ...but not the hale rivenwood cub he'd left the confines of his borders in search of. of course, he nursed the idea that the cub didn't want to be found, pulling from his own experiences as a run-away cub. unfortunately, for veteran, the boy's proximity outside the safety of duskfire glacier's borders does not bring with it relief. instead, it draws a frown of disapproval from the tundrian and a chuff that further capitalized upon said disapproval.

veteran — the tundrian king draws; an exasperated sigh lingering within his lungs, ready to be drawn upon and let loose. what are you doing outside of the glacier's borders?

Veteran had let himself relax, basking in the unusual warmth emanating from the boulder beneath him. He nearly jumped out of his skin when his father addressed him.

When he turned to face the full brunt of his father's disapproval, he visibly crumpled. 

"I didn't know..?" he tried out the lie tentatively, letting it hang in the air for a minute. It sounded wrong, felt wrong. His dad was going to see right through. 

He hurried to speak again. "Well it should be our territory. We should mark it! Right now!" Maybe the distraction would work better than the attempted lie. Veteran turned over his shoulder hopefully, already beginning to walk off.

there is a terse, skeptic tug of wintersbane's lips; furthering his disapproval until it is etched into his face like carvings into stone. he knows that this is unavoidable ...and to be expected; but he still does not believe they were old enough to venture outside the safety of the glacier's borders. least of all by themselves ( though he certainly has no leg to stand on but wayfarer doesn't know that and wintersbane doesn't plan to divulge ). don't lie to me. wintersbane does little to soften the stern tone the rasp of his voice. he would rather his children be honest with him. would the boy have been older, wintersbane might not've seen through it — but children were not the best liars.

hold it — wintersbane barks, catching up to veteran in a few strides. the ridge would make our territory too big. wintersbane says simply. while i consider it one of our hunting grounds we do not need to claim it.

Veteran froze in his tracks when his father barked, and he turned reluctantly back to face Wintersbane. 

He was completely unaware of the true vastness of the world outside Duskfire Glacier; in his eyes the Glacier territory seemed massive. So he accepted Wintersbane's explanation readily. "Okay." Dad was the alpha, and it was his job to know things like how big their territory should be. 

Speaking of hunting...

"I was hunting lizards. We don't have any in our territory, but there's bunches here." He paused, considering. "The ground is warm here," he commented. "And lizards don't have fur to keep them warm, so they need the warm ground." That would also explain why they were waiting for sunrise before they crawled up onto the ridgeline's boulders. 

Speaking of the boulders..

"Can we go up there, Dad?" Veteran asked, turning toward one of the larger boulders with a good east-facing view. The sunrise would look amazing up there, and Veteran had a feeling his father would appreciate that just as much and he did.

in favor of not giving veteran the third degree, wintersbane draws from what he feels might be the most enriching form of parenting ...wrong or not. a noble past-time, wintersbane commends and offers in a softened tone still stern with the seriousness behind his words ( for he wants the point to get across all the same ) but one that should be done within the safety of our home. at least until you are older. that time was creeping closer than wintersbane perhaps cared to admit; and with it the knowledge that soon his children would forge their own paths.

i see. wintersbane draws. with the coming cold months soon upon us i fear the lizards might not linger here for much longer. though, in truth, he did not know. he couldn't claim he's ever hunted lizards before.

yes, wintersbane agrees after assessing the boulder that veteran gestured to. but be mindful of your steps. you don't want to fall. wintersbane didn't want that either, for several and many reasons. still, he tries not to be an authoritarian father as he climbs up to the boulder, making room for veteran as he waits for his son to join him.

"I'll be older tomorrow..." Veteran almost replied cheekily, but he stopped himself before speaking the saucy answer aloud. Wintersbane didn't seem like the sort who appreciated that particular brand of wit. "Yes, Dad," he replied obediently instead.

Veteran responded gleefully to his father's assent, wagging his tail and practically vibrating with joy. He was going to get to spend more time out here in he forbidden borderlands, and even better-- it would be just him and Dad!

The boy scrambled up onto the boulder, and when he reached the summit, he saw some lizards darting for cover out of the corner of his eye. He didn't chase them this time, though.. spending time with Dad was more important. 

"Dad, why does it have to get cold? Can't it stay summer all the time?" He was a child of summer, with no experience or memory of the colder months. People spoke of them heavily though-- heavily enough that Veteran didn't really care to experience "winter." 

editing in a conclusion

Veteran settled in with his expectant gaze set toward the east. He and his father would continue chatting for a while, enjoying the view until the sun hung well over the horizon line. By that time, the sun's rays would stretch over their resting place and spill onto the Glacier territory below. In time, father and son would depart to continue the patrol together.