Swiftcurrent Creek Ever chased chickens?

@Gwen & @Noor assuming last thread was near the edge of Sunspire Mountains, going to go ahead into the Valley

The cold was an awful feeling, especially for a dog as scrawny as Knew. It was a miracle he was alive, that miracle being Gwen. She'd hunted for him before they even knew each other, he would forever be in her debt, whether he knew or not. The snow continued to pile around him, unfortunately around the tons of icey and steep rocks surrounding the creek. It might not be the best place to find live game, but plenty of small animals had died a gelid death here. 

Knew, being the child at heart he was didn't look at these dangers to be oaths to injury, but instead fun. He leapt from rock to rock, nearly slipping multiple times. He glanced over at his soon-to-be Empress. "C'mon Pige! Try it out!" The matted tramp insisted as he tested his luck.

Noor watched Knew's wreckless behavior and quietly sucked her teeth in a motherly sort of way. She was an older wolf; not old enough to be considered elderly, but nonetheless of age to have mothered both Knew and Gwen. That's bad! she called out, not being able to properly word her contempt for his dangerous behavior. It seems none of the wolves in these parts have had any home training, I swear. Noor laughed and turned to look in Gwen's direction, then looked back at Knew, and she smiled for a moment remembering her own sweetheart and the joy they once brought each other. It was a beautiful thing, this infantile affection. She hoped that both Gwen and Knew were aware of how much of a blessing it was, and that they knew to savor it. Mashallah.

Gwen stepped forward and watched in shock as Knew began jumping between the rocks, but as he turned to her she gave a gentle laugh and began to follow him. "Trust you to do something like this, Knew. It's like the Ice Skating all over again," she said, almost slipping on a rock herself. It was fun, she had to admit, and the ivory wolfess could not hold back another laugh.

She turned her head to look at their first recruit, Noor, and smiled at her. If she wanted to she could cross the rocks, but there was bound to be a safer way across nearby.

His enjoyment increased instantly the second Gwen joined in, he leapt onto another rock, his footing slipping on the ice a bit, and he almost fell, but luckily jamed his paw between to other rocks. "Where we gonna find food 'round here?" The tramp glanced back at Snow for a moment, sending her a smile. "Why don't you join us?" It would be interesting to see the seemingly reserved fae playing about on the frosted rocks. 

His tail wagged side to side, jumping once again, but landing perfectly this time. He let out a sigh of relief, occasionally glancing back at the two, making sure tey were following.

Why don't you join us?

Though outwardly Noor showed disgust, she'd been considering entering in on the shenanigans, comparing the good to the bad in her mind. It seemed that the joy of untouched youth outweighed her more logical mind (not that Noor was much older, but she'd experienced enough to make her feel like an old hag) and she took a few steps forward, then stepped onto one rock and almost immediately fell onto her back with a loud thud! 

Noor sat silently for a moment, before bursting into a wave of giggles and glee. She rose back onto her feet and began again, this time with a bit more coordination, hopping to and fro on the slippery course.

As Gwen leapt from rock to rock, occaisionally slipping, she pondered Knew's question. No doubt there would be frozen prey lying around somewhere - that probably slipped and got crushed by a rock or something similar, but if it was frozen then how would they eat it? Gwen sighed, willing her hunting skills to come into use, but before she had time to do anything there was a thud behind her and the wintery wolfess turned to see Noor in fits of giggles. This triggered something in Gwen that made her also laugh, and she shook the gathering snow off her pelt and turned back to face the course ahead. Sure, it was slippery, and it was very clearly hard to cross, but they could do it, right? Besides, the territory that they hoped to put a claim on was somewhere on the other side of these rocks, wasn't it? They'd probably have to travel a bit further to find it, but it was there, she was sure.

The soon-to-be Emperess sprung onto another rock, loosing her footing yet again but regained her balance before she fell. With a focused expression, she raised her muzzle and took in a deep whiff of the air, hoping to find something around here. Normally, she'd lower her muzzle to do such things, but on the rocks they were balanced upon, that didn't prove useful.

With a start, the she-wolf caught the very faintest scent of rabbit - and that was such a surprise that Gwen had to blink a few times before she set about trying to find it. She hopped across a few more rocks with less struggle than she had before, but it was still difficult and the weather wasn't exactly perfect, which didn't help. Gwen checked behind small rocks, crevices, and any small gap she could find, and eventually she found the spot. She shot a small, gleeful glance back at the others before attempting to drag the frozen carcass from a crack in the rock beside her. It came out, but it was coated in ice and Gwen almost instantly dropped it at her paws. Sniffing, the wolfess parted her muzzle and called the others over. "Knew! Noor! I found.... prey!"

Though, it didn't really help that it was frozen, and Gwen sighed before attempting to crush the ice with her teeth, as well as attempting to warm it with her paws, but even that didn't help much as her paws were stiff and cold. "It must have frozen in the cold and the ice probably hid it's scent, which is why it hasn't already been eaten."

Eeeep, sorry for the long post >.>

Knew watched his colorless Pidgeon twist and turn around the rocks with a proud smile, he held pride in the fact that she was his. His best friend, his bird, his Empress. It was a miracle he ever took his eyes off her, but with the attention span he had forced his attention to shift. Suddenly, Snow had fallen, only noticing after the abudance of laughter that she and Gwen shared. It took a moment fo rhim to process what actually happened, and it was clear when realization hit because his eyes widened and ears lifted. 

"You alright there, Snow?" The tramp qestioned, cocking his head to the side and blinking. She seemed well, she was giggling after all. His tail wagged slightly, shifting side to side - happy to know Noor decided to hop around the rocks like him and Gwen were. 

It wasn't much longer until the youngest female announced her find; food. Everything about him seemed to illuminate at the thought of delicious food, until landing his amber gaze upon the rabbit popsicle. His light faded, and it was obvious the disappointment in his eyes. Knew still fed on meat like he was a King, and no royalty should be forced to eat a frozen rabbit, possibly a week old. "Well," a sudden pause of silence took over. "Gotta live with what we got I guess." He sent the two others a forced smile.

Yes, I am fine! I am fine! Noor called out to Knew, still sick with pleasure from the group's shenanigans. Her joy only grew with Gwen's find. It was quite a small meal for the three of them to share, but she knew it would work itself out one way or another. That is, until she saw the poor thing was frozen solid. Noor thought to herself for a moment, remembering back when she was at home with her sister. They too had harsh winters, and it wasn't rare for one of them to have to thaw a meal for their husband. Noor looked to both Gwen and Knew for a moment, then approached the corpse and began to breathe on it's hard shell. Noor's breath was hot and steamy, though her body was almost as cold as the hare's. She would've sat on it, but she didn't quite know if her own cultural persuasions woud properly translate into their's.

Gwen gritted her teeth at Knew and Noor's obvious disappointment, abd gave her tail a flick. "Sorry I got your hopes up..." she mumbled, then shook her head. If she was to lead a pack with Knew, she'd have to start behaving like a leader - an Empress. She couldn't let her pack starve, no. That would be a pretty bad start to things.

With a sigh, the she wolf stood up and padded to the side of the creek once more. She glanced over at its icy waters, then blinked. Of course, the fish! Gwen turned back to the frozen corpse and picked it up in her jaws, flinching. She carried it over to one of the rocks they had stepped across and lay the rabbit on top. "Here, we'll put this in the sun, perhaps it will thaw a little. If not, I guess we'll have to leave it." She said, then went back to the place she had been when she had peered into the water. With another flick of her tail, the wintry wolfess voiced her thoughts to the others. "You two get some rest - I guess I'll try my paw at fishing,"

To be honest, the she wolf had no idea if there were even fish here, but she had to try.

Knew noticed Gwen's reaction to his disappointment and quickly tried to make light of the situation. "Don't worry about it Pige, we can eat this!" He insisted, for once he actually wanted someone to stop doing something for him. He trekked to her side, staring at the water and nudged her shoulder with his nose. "C'mon, I don't need you getting wet to freeze like that rabbit." The dog sent her a nervous smile, he really didn't want her to be disappointed in herself because he was greedy. 

He then sat down, still at her side. "I won't rest a blink unless you are too." Knew protested, lifting his psoture up high and smirking at her with mischief. He then glanced down at the slowly moving creek, large ice chunks moving along it. Not much longer and the stream would glaze over in a floor of ice and be the perfect terrain to ice skate over.

It put a strain on Noor's heart to see Gwen so disappointed in Knew and Noor's own reactions. She watched silently as she scurried to a warm spot to thaw the small rabbit and took care to note Knew's affections. It seemed best that she not say anything amidst such a trying moment, but rather, she chose to watch the young lovers blossom into each other's company. She stood to walk closer so that she might be in earshot of their conversation, but decided against it and sat back on her haunches, choosing to watch from afar.

Gwen gave a small smile at Knew's words. She should have known that he'd be stubborn, especially as it was one of the things she liked about him. "I suppose that if I try fishing I'd probably fall in," she chuckled, resting her shoulder against Knew's. The wolfess noticed his nervous smile and leaned closer in an attempt to reassure him. She didn't want him to feel guilty or anything, especially since it was her that brought the frozen rabbit and got their hopes up. She only smiled at him and turned her head to face the land behind the soon to be Emperor. "I can always try to hunt something bigger along the way - that rabbit won't give all of us a great meal," she added, shooting a glance at the skinny dog.

His tail shifted side to side, happy to have convinced not to go through the trouble of fishing. Knew quickly licked her cheek before standing up to find Snow. "Sounds good." His smile was wide and his eyes were bright and held a life that his body no longer showed. "Why don't we all take a rest?" The Emporer suggested, tilting his head to the eldest of the three. Before getting an answer he laid down in the snowy ground, hoping one or both of them decided to stay close for warmth - he desperately needed it.

Noor moved closer to the pair just in time to catch Knew's suggestion of a well-deserved rest. She nodded her head and gave a relieved grin as she sat back on her haunches. Yes, yes. A nap. She was tired enough to fall over where she sat, though she waited for one of the superiors to first give word. Noor looked to Gwen and winked playfully, a kind gesture with no real meaning other than to give comfort behind it.