Alpine Lake pass around the coffee

The cold water was so biting, Foster began to lose feel in the very tips of his paws as he paddled towards the not so distant shore. Waterfowl in tow, the bird’s long slender neck cleanly crunched between his molars. The river’s insistent current made the journey a minute too long, lengthy legs exhaustedly clinging to brittle mud as he hungrily pulled himself onto the damp ground. He wouldn’t die of starvation today, but the rivets of burning cold running off his pelt might end him if he didn’t raise his body temperature.

Grimacing at a very unhelpful winter moon above, he stumbled to pace along the island's edge. The sting of the cold against his wet legs had him fighting the urge to tuck all four beneath his slender body the best he could, and simply eat his meal as a wolfloaf. But stopping his light jog for just the slightest moment brought a damning shiver to overtake his entire form, and he couldn't decide what was worst.

Shalon who had been returning from her small excursion to look for any clues as to where her friend Steady might have disappeared to, was running low on stamina. Having travelled the long distance in half the time that was normally required. Making a three day excursion into just over a day and a half. She hadn't told anyone at home that she was leaving, but was assured with the fact the Sylvas was at home in the tunnels, and Aspen was more than capable of leaving her pups for short amounts of time. The last two months had been difficult on Shalon. After discouvering that her friend and his pack had disappeared, but not being able to investigate because of the influx of pups in the Fire Court, she was finally given the opportunity to leave for a few days and see if she could find any clues as to where her friend was. Although she was returning with empty paws. 

After running for so long, she was tired, especially with all the snow making it difficult to run and therefore using more energy that she didn't have. Stopping at the small lake, she dipped her head to get a drink of water. As she lapped the water below she saw another of her kind, and raised a brow at the decidedly chilly condition the wolf was in. Slowly so as not to startle the man she walked closer, "Taking a midnight dip?" She spoke quietly with a small smirk on her maw.

The thing about temperature was it seemed to seized his entire train of thought. In this case all he could think about was being cold, which in turn, made him feel colder. He wanted to think about the nice warm meal shoved neatly between his teeth, he wanted to think about finally filling up his painfully empty stomach—which cramps had been forgotten with this new development. But all his mind could focus on was whether one his legs would stop working entirely and if he’d have to be the one to gnaw it off. So the sudden distraction was good—but also surprising.

He whipped around to address the woman, apparently eyeing him with a pinch of amusement. His gaze didn’t stay on her for too long, scanning the surrounding tree line for more wolves since she didn’t smell like she went about solo on the regular. ‘You alone?’ He tried to ask before realizing his mouth was still full and he sounded garbled. Tucking the duck safely under his butt, he began to relax when he realized no other wolves were closing in. “M-more like a m-midnight s-snack.” He replied then through a new course of shivers now that he'd stopped pacing. His thoughts settled for the moment while pinning a new idea to the forefront of his focus, “...I’ll s-share if you do me a f-favor.”

"You'd share your snack with me for one favour?" Shalon was slightly taken aback, most would have told her to bugger off, but this male was not. She was interested indeed. No one should be swimming at this time of they year, unless one wishes to get sick. With a small shrug she nodded her head, "And what is the favour you seek?" Shalon spoke up. She had no intention of taking his small meal, it appeared he needed more than she did, seeing him shaking such as a leaf on a windy night. She wasn't hungry only interested in what he need help with. 

She could feel the nip in the air, and crispness in her lungs making her breath sticky from the chilly air. Her white paws were throughly soaked through, but the rest of her multi-hued coat remained dry. Unlike her companion who was soaked from head to two.