Alpine Lake Deep Freeze

So far, so good. No spiderwebbing cracks yet. With three paws on land and one on the ice, Tzila was the image of a wolf playing it safe in this situation. The knotted muscles in her back, between her shoulder blades tensed. She applied the full weight of her lone paw upon the ice, bracing herself.

Nothing.

Drawing in a breath through tightly clenched teeth, she extended her other forepaw and set it down. Her back legs bent at the knee joints, to ensure her purchase upon safe, solid ground remained as it was. If she fell in now, then she should at least have a decent chance of scrabbling away in time. Her silver eyes strained, peering down through the ice. Trying to assess the depths. They should be shallow, as was common with most bodies of water, she reasoned. But, she didn't know the nature of this particular lake.

A single, icy gust of wind disrupted the otherwise peaceful atmosphere. With it a scent was carried. One of her own kind. Were it not for the gust, the dark she wolf would not have noticed the other, standing some distance away. The roar of the falls made hearing difficult at best so close to the lake. Her head swivled, turning to seek out the stranger. A dark blot, she pinned the wolf easily, who was staring at her. Dark ears lowered to pin against the blood like hairs of her ruff, silver eyes narrowing. "What?" She quipped shortly. "I know what I'm doing."