Big Salmon Lake i was excitied for winter, but now i hate it

It was midway through winter and Lenina had already grown tired of it. The cool air, faint breeze —it was all nice, but nonetheless exhausting. Thick fur had kept the woman relitively warm thus far, but there was no protection when it came to the tip of her nose or the bottom of her paws. Freezing they were, as if her snout would break and crumple into ice. Neadless to say, winter wasn't the best season for comfort. Nicer than the warm summer in some ways, but much, much worse in others.

Pausing for only a moment to let out a wide yawn, Lenina siwftly continued on her way towards the lake. It seemed frozen over, but it was still worth a shot. She had no doubt the water would be painfully cold, but it wasn't like any other water would be better. This was the closest she had, and might as well take advantage of it. Her pace slowing as she approached the edge, grey eyes scanned along the border, seeking any sign of water yet to be frozen. Luck seemed scarce but not impossible.

Finding a small crack between the ice and ground, the pink wolf's posture shifted before dipping her head, lapping up any drop her tongue could find. As expected, it was nearly torture swallowing what felt like knives, but water was an unfortunate requirement of life. And with a sigh, she finally rested, sitting back against her legs and taking a moment to simply breathe. Chin tucked in, tail held close to her body, Lenina tried anything she possibly could to gather some semblance of warmth. It appeared she was the only wolf insane enough to attempt drinking from the lake, for she didn't catch the sight of any other stranger. At least, not yet.

I am sparkle eyes with drool coming from my mouth looking at this wonderous new girl. Scream! I can't resist.

He walked at a quick trot, both eager and also aware of the chilling cold weather. Either through his inclined emotions or the movement of his body he kept warm enough to continue his pursuit of an elk herd traveling south from the Heartwood. This near region was vast and teeming with various types of life. It seemed as though every turn had a new set of tracks to follow.

However, this mission was slightly different. He was not all that hungry. As he kept himself well fed he instead wanted to know more about the patterns of the large ungulates of the area, and see what fruits they may have left behind for him. He could see up ahead a large body of water frozen over and a what looked to be a rose wolf.

Their uniquely colored pelt provided him with the urge to make their acquaintance. Still a little ways away he let out a faint howl and gestured an initial greeting with his head to get their attention.

Thank you so much! I'm glad my girl has sparked interest, and you have no idea how excited I was when I realized someone replied lol.

Too occupied with the frigid swirls of wind passing her by, she hadn't yet spotted the new stranger only a handful of meters away. Lenina was smart enough to know that keeping on the move may help maintain warmth, but she feared the icy temperatures had frozen a slice of her brain, for she still didn't want to leave her resting spot. Unreasonable, perhaps, but she quickly shifted blame to aching muscles and stiff joints.

The howl, however, did indeed catch the woman's attention. Instead of altering her position to face the opposing direction, she simply craned her neck back and around to face whoever had arrived. A brown wolf. How unexpected and yet beautiful. She couldn't help but admire the chocolate fur against the stark white background. Visually appealing it most certainly was.

It seemed that the stranger was no threat, as her grey eyes caught sight of the faint but friendly gestures. Unsure if the action could be seen from such a distance, she betted that it would and replied with a swift nod. And yet, her mind immediately wandered towards: What do they want in exchange for such friendliness?

She was quick to scold herself for such thoughts, but apart of her was lenient knowing it couldn't be helped. Instead, Lenina decided to welcome the interaction, waiting to see if this new wolf would approach, flee, or bargain.

Over cotton candy pink shoulders cloudy grey eyes meet his icy blue. Immediately he knew there was something different about his women. Perhaps it was her yote accents or appealing appearance but she portrayed warm and drew him in during this cold winter day. He took a few steps in her direction before remembering his previous task. In the snow, he made a mark that he could easily identify and return to. 

He turned back to her and trotted her way to fill the gap between them. In his mind, he thought he should position himself at her side or front as she would then no longer need to position her neck in an inconvenient manner. In his typical fashion, he greeted her by lifting one of his front paws and bowing his head. "Good Day Miss" he said in his rich voice before listing his head and meeting her gaze.

There was only a brief worry as the newcomer approached, but she held her ground regardless. If for whatever reason a fight broke out, she'd either win or die trying. However, as the stranger inched forward with a kind demeanor, she couldn't gauge if it was relief or disappointment filling her heart. Relaxing, yes, but not as exciting.

Her eyes trailed his movement, neck slowly turning back as her gaze never wavered from their focus. Then, he stopped, and oh dear was his greeting quite odd. Eyebrows knitting together and jaw shifting just a little towards the left in confusion, she simply let the scene play out. Perhaps it was custom in whatever land he originated from, but Lenina had never seen such actions.

No distaste could be found in her expression, for it didn't appear as if the mannerism was insulting or mocking. It seemed genuine, and her features only displayed a look of gears turning in her head.

"Good day... Sir." she mimicked in a moment of panic. She was often unsure of how to respond, which had lead to her reputation of being awkward and unusual. The woman was more of a listener, which is exactly what she did. Despite doing her best to maintain eye contact, her grey pupils flickered away from time to time. But for now the best course of action appeared to be: Sit and wait. She'd wait to see what else this stranger had to offer, and act accordingly.

As he lifted his head her response was quick and an uncertain look rested on her face. Despite the amount of time he had spent raised around women the females of this region seemed more wary and hesitant to his approaches. It was disheartening as he worried he may be doing something wrong. 

For now, he would chalk it up to a lack of familiarity. "I am Andromed Dorian, though you may call me Andr if you wish. How are you?" he introduced. Though it seemed friendly and ordinary enough it somehow left off to him. He wasn't typically this nervous.

Although terrible with social cues, she could feel the air. The atmosphere. A sensation of tenseness and unease, but not the negative type. More so the type of nervousness a wolf experiences when meeting a stranger, which was quite fitting for the current predicament.

A sense of relief washed over the woman as she realized the conversation would be nothing but casual. No hard questions or expectations to be met. Frankly, she could be an absolute jerk if she wished to, but Lenina wasn't feeling like a fight today. Not in this weather.

"It is.. very nice to meet you, Andr. I suppose you can call me Lenina." There was a pause in her words, mind twirling as it thought of a proper response for the following inquiry. How was she doing? Well, there were just about
a million different things she could say.

"To be honest, not doing so great. The cold has turned me stiff, and the water has chilled me to my core."

It took her a moment to respond but she introduced herself as Lenina. The end of her name, Nina, stuck out in his mind. It seemed like a go-to nickname, but not one he would attempt having just met her. She then went on to talk about the unpleasant weather. 

"A pleasure to meet you Lenina... If I might ask. If the cold is bothersome to you, is there a reason you ventured out here and not perhaps to the woods in the south?" he referred to Branblepoint. The trees there would surely provide more cover and relief from the cold. He had ventured to this lake while tracking, but what was her reasoning.

So far the calm atmosphere had held up and the interaction seemed to be settled on friendly. Tense muscles relaxed as much as they could in the cold, and although Lenina kept her guard up, the woman refrained from being the tiniest bit hostile.

And then came another question. It made sense, the inquiry was fair and reasonable. It indeed seemed strange for her to venture out into the open during weather like this.

"I was thirsty." she stated plainly. "This was the closest source of water I've been able to find. But perhaps I will take your advice and direct my journey south."

Thirst. One of life's essentials and worthy of during the cold for. As Andr looked to the water he could see its textured surface. The water had frozen and the current of the water before freeze had left formations in the ice. There was no open water that he could see on his own. "And were you fruitful. In your pursuit of water or would you care for more?" he asked.

He would hate to see her leave empty handed and he had his own hunch of how to find easy drinking water, and would be willing to share said information with Lenina.

Grey eyes followed the trail of Andr's pair of blue, watching as the cogs turned in the wolf's head, made clear by subtle expressions. The woman was once again asked a question, one which seemed genuine.

A few moments passed as she thought on it, unsure how to answer. She herself couldn't decide if the small sips had even satisfying enough.

"I was able to find a small crack along the edge, but it wasn't much."

Apart of Lenina wanted to reply with a "yes", but she was certain that no water, no matter where, wouldn't be safe from the cold and therefore unpleasant to drink. Taking the opportunity would be smart as there was no knowing of when she'd be able to hydrate again, and yet her mind still debating itself before coming to a conclusion.

"Okay. If you know of a place, lead the way."

His assumptions were correct and he was happy to hear that he could be of some help. It also meant that he could test out a theory of his. "I have a thought. Give me a moment" he asked with a smile before turning away from the strawberry lady and trotting back to where he left a mark in the snow earlier.

Elk like any other animal needed water to survive, and being so large they would need more than say a squirrel. Their purpose for visiting the lake was likely for water and Andr hypothesized that they had their own special way of getting it.

With this nose to the ground and a wary eye on Lenina he continued to follow the scent from earlier. It wandered a bit here and there but then eventually made its way to the water's edge. He traveled along it for a few yards before he found a more concentrated area. 

There he could see that the surface of the frozen water was different from the rest. He placed a paw on it and could hear it begin to crack. Like a polar bear,  he lifted his front paws and thrust them downward to break through the ice. After a few cracks, a small area of lake water was exposed. Cold but plentiful. "Over here" he called to her.

Lenina could tell that her new acquaintance was quite a peculiar wolf. She nodded as a silent answer, remaining in place as she watched the chocolate-colored form trot off a short distance away.

Although not technically moving, her paws shifted as her gaze followed along. A few steps here and there, just to make sure she didn't get wrapped up in other thoughts and lose sight of someone she still deemed a stranger. They had introduced themselves, yes, but she didn't really know this wolf. For all she knew, it was an act, though she doubted such an idea.

It seemed that Andr was searching for something, a path of some sort. But she trusted he at least wouldn't make a fool of himself, and that there was some rhyme or reason behind his actions. And it seemed such an assumption was true. Despite the... strangeness of the technique, it did indeed lead to the promised substance.

Making her way over with a faint smile adorning her lips, the woman couldn't help but admit to herself that yes, her new companion was quite the resourceful wolf.

"Well, you most certainly have a good head on your shoulders."

Arriving to his call, Lenina had a smile on her face, and that listed Andr's spirits. Even if it were only water, the gratification of providing was ingrained in him. His tail swayed in response accompanied by a smile of his own.

"Thank you" he replied to her compliment. "I'm often stalking other wildlife. Over time I realized there were additional benefits aside from their flesh that I could glean from them... Please" he finished taking a step aside and gesturing to the water to allow her the first drink.

His eyes were focused on her's and thus he did not notice the cut the ice had given him on one of his front paws dropping crimson onto the white snow.

The woman realised she could learn quite a bit from the chocolate wolf, and she had no reason to doubt the potential advice seeing how his technique held up to be true. But she too did not notice the trickles of blood hitting the snow, for at first she was too focused on giving her companion a grateful nod and soon after turned her attention towards the icy water.

Taking a few steps, Lenina dipped her head, neck reaching so her tongue could lap at the frigid liquid. Painfully cold, as she expected, but refreshing nonetheless. And within a couple of moments, she drew back with a hum of satisfaction. However, with her attention no longer focused directly onto Andr, it was easy for her grey eyes to catch the obvious contrast of color painted on the ground. So as she slowly lifted her gaze back to eye level, she voiced her concern.

"It seems you've cut yourself." With a quick motion of her head, she alluded to the fresh wound.

"I'm no expert, but I could help you take care of it, if you'd like."

He lifted his paw and saw as a few drops of crimson fell to the snow-white floor. Nothing he hadn't seen before he thought as he licked at the wound. Now noticing it and tending to it the pain started to show, as small pinches and stings of pain rushed down his leg. When the wound continued to bleed he acknowledged that it was something more than minor, though not major. He doubted it would leave a scar.

When she offered to help his first response was "I should be alright" He tried to brush it off and took a few steps to the opening he had created to get a few gulps of water. As he stood there, bearing his weight, the paw he could feel the pain grow and he leaned to his uninjured side. After his drink, he looked again to the ground and saw the newly reddened patch of snow.

Simultaneously a gust of wind blew in and ruffled his fur. It was cold, and no longer stalking prey with freshly frozen water in his belly he could feel it. Knowing of how cold Lenina had been prior to the gust of wind he positioned himself between her and the direction of the wind to act as a sort of wind barrier.

Glancing down towards the South he suggested "Would you allow me to escort you to the southward woods? Perhaps you could take a look at this then." he gestured to his injured paw. It would get her out of the cold he thought.

[align=justify]She watched with concern, grey eyes following the wound as her companion shuffled along. At first, Lenina was unsure whether to insist or leave it be. Everyone had a different pain tolerance, and it was always possible the bleeding would soon stop and all would be fine. But, she also had a knack for feeling the air, the atmosphere, and it just didn't seem right. It was clear that Andr, at the very least, was experiencing discomfort.

A faint chill ran down the woman's spine as a fresh gust of wind blew by. And despite the cold, it could have been much, much worse, for today it appeared she had a friend. Looking up at the chocolate wolf with a grateful smile, there was still worry behind her expression.

But, upon hearing the suggestion, the uneasiness in her chest began to subside, and there was a feeling of relief. She was desperate to take a look at the cut, if only to check and see if it was anything serious.

"If you promise to let me inspect your paw, then it's a deal."

He could see the worry in her eyes but the smile on her face made everything worth it. Gratitude is all he needed, he could practically live off it. With time he was sure this injury would heal on his own, but if it meant getting her out of the cold he would allow her to examine it. "You have my word. After you" he gestured.

Walking along the back side of her he continued to act as a shield. Every now and again his paw would sting and he would lift it and give it a shake. Bramble point would be their shelter from the cold and a place to rest.

Feel free to continue with this thread as they are heading there if you would like. I'll start the next thread, so feel free to jump in when you like :)