Snowforest Taiga Anguished.

For @Kigipigak! :D

The winter's seething seemed to grow stronger, as expected, but something was clearly off about the way things were coming. Snow fell in one direction, and did so in a way to where he could feel it thumping against his coat like faint rocks. Increasing wind speeds did not make things any better either, because it was also getting difficult to see jackshit around here.

Yeah, fuck trying to go any deeper through in search of a pack -- Kaster either needed to find his own shelter now or spend his grave beneath the snow.

And so was the archer's current mission -- a small dig-out he'd been creating for the past hour. Not quite big enough to be considered a den yet, but it was getting there. Beside the woodland sire was a stack of two hare's he'd managed to find along the way, and hopefully he'd be able to create a separate space for it soon or else the scent of blood might attract some unwarranted visitors.

But perhaps that was too late...

The snow came in faster than he had anticipated. There was a certain level of ennui plaguing Kigipigak as he roamed, knowing he needed to go back to the ravenhome and do his duty there, but he was distracted by that same sentiment. The last thing Kigipigak wanted to do was piss off his betters — he'd done enough damage with Valmua's help — and he knew, too, that he should be back at the Watch to continue patrols. 

Kigipigak had not thought about the oncoming winter until it was upon him. He'd barely considered the passing of days or the encroaching cold as it wasn't nearly as intense as the far-flung regions of the northlands where he was born. By now Unnuakvik would have been fully stocked for the season and ranging to their more mild second rendezvous to wait out the worst of the season. Here, the winds had only just started to pick up and cool off—then the snow came, and Kigipigak was surprised by it.

He roamed; he was not sure where or for how long. The wonderland captivated him and drew him in to a state of nostalgia. As he drifted between the waves of white falling around him he picked up the scent of blood, then a small trail that might've been made by a deer or a large hare — so he began to prowl along after it. The silhouette of a wolf came out of seemingly nowhere; their tawny coat and creamy scruff making Kigipigak think of Valmua.

Let you off your leash then? Kigipigak called out to her as he closed the distance, nearly stepping on the piled rabbits in the process. Over the burm now, Kigipigak looked a bit annoyed, and then noticed the stranger's coat wasn't quite ruddy enough. Their figure was more rugged, thick in places where Valmua was curved; in short, it wasn't who he thought it was. A flicker of understanding swept across Kigipigak's face. Oh, you're not who I expected.

"Too late" was, sadly, the correct choice of words.

Not even within the seconds of Kaster creating his additional dig-out to hide the food and some bumbling fool came stepping into the picture. A scowl was quick to cross his features, followed by an annoyed grumble as his icy gaze trailed towards the interloper. Some pale wolf boy -- probably of artic origins -- and looked like he'd had his shit-kicked in a few times judging by those scars.

Kast didn't know who the hell this was, or who the hell this male even mistaked him as (and honestly,  he could care less). The only thing that mattered to Kaster was the food and the partialy dug den this man needed to step the fuck away from.

"Do I know you?" The woodlander asked rather judgmentaly with an arched brow, taking a step over his food with a fore paw to guard it and sizing up the boy in front of him.

The stranger's likeness to Valmua was not strong. As soon as Kigipigak made his comments they reacted, further proving that Kigipigak was an idiot for that span of time. They lunged to stand over the rabbits and the sudden action made the northerner's coat puff; he stepped back, tilting his chin down as a protective measure over his throat, which made him look a bit like a horse dancing dressage.

Not unless your name is Valmua and your junk fell off to frostbite. Kigipigak shot back.

There was venom in the stranger's tone and Kigipigak wasn't in the mood to deal with a stranger with a bad attitude. With his tail lashing in short furious bursts behind himself the ranger emphatically stalked around the piled rabbits and sized up the stranger properly. He noticed the way in which their sides rapidly moved; they had been exerting themselves to some extent prior to Kigipigak's arrival. Their coat was plush and dark, indicating good health, and overall they looked heavy-set.

He wasn't about to check for balls or anything. Valmua might have been a fireheart but the defensive manner of this stranger's behavior, as well as his deeper voice, proved it was no woman. 

Caught in the snow, same as you. Kigipigak went on to explain - or, attempt to. Not hungry for your little rabbits either. Cue a small wrinkle to his expression, a glance over at the pile that was mostly dismissive.

As soon as he'd made his move, the norther took his heed seriously stepped back -- good. A quick glace to notice that he'd been guarding his throat as well, which earned a disinterested flick of an ear from the woodlander. If violence was needed for him to get the message to not tramble all over his shit then so be it, but since the message was clear, there was no use in tiring himself out with a fight that wasn't necessary.

He did not move away entirely. Rather, the pale boy continued to stalk around him and his small cache. Glacial orbs glared at the large lupine, and his muzzle wrinkled in warning as to what would happen if he launched an attack. And who the fuck was Valmua? God, these Teekon wolves were obnoxious.

"Your woman isn't here, garçon." He commented with a hint of snide in his voice, assuming that this Valmua was some woman he'd been chasing after. It appeared to be that time, afterall -- breeding season was quite close and caused many to act on as little brain matter as possible. Did his "Valmua" get tired of him and left him searching for her tail-end? That must suck.

Finally, his little aquaintence decided to speak up again in an attempt to relate his situation to his own, even commenting that he shared no interest in his food. A soft breath left his nostrils, eyes still slited with annoyance as he stepped back to continue digging his.....for fuck sake.

Snow had fell from the upper slope of the den and into its opening -- probably while Kast was too distracted talking to this imbecile. 

For a moment, the woodlander would inhale as his eyes closed and his jaw tightened -- trying not to loose his shit -- and then his stare comes back to the northerner infront of him. Blank, tired, unnaturally calm-looking considering that he'd been looking at the very person who'd been pissing him off. And then -- "I see. So you've basically come here in search for someone to mistake as your breeding stock. Fair enough--"

 He finally spoke again. Looking down at the hare pile below and shifting to pick them up while he spoke. If he could not dig his den in peace, then he'll spend the rest of his time reprimanding the northerner. "When would be the part where you continue looking for them and stop harassing the stranger, hm?"

The stranger spat words at him, not all of them making sense. Kigipigak wasn't very good at reading people but he could understand the tone of words, and he was especially bothered by the use of a foreign tongue; he had not adopted the language of his superiors upon the mountain and he would not take kindly to this other new, strange tongue. He could tell he was being mocked, at any rate. The fur along his shoulders serrated as it rose up.

When next the wolf commented on Valmua, essentially calling her a bitch fit only to brood and whelp, Kigipigak was stunned. He wasn't offended—it wasn't language he was accustomed to but that wasn't the problem—he had never considered Valmua as a motherly type, nor had he thought about the approaching season. It struck him as an odd concept until he remembered the visit by a man from the seaside — Njord — who had been lured close by Valmua's charms.

You are digging? Kigipigak finally noticed the dug-out section of earth. He wondered how long this man had been working at it; how strange, too, that he would put forth such effort when the ground was frozen. The northerner scoffed. That is a job for a woman! Or perhaps a man so full of shit he needs a big hole to hide it. A boom of laughter erupted from Kigipigak at that point. It was muffled by the snow falling, the sound contained to the pair of men and failing to carry far. 

Maybe he should have checked for balls after all.

Like a tick stuck on the rear-end of a doe, it would appear that the northerner chose to stay and talk his fugly head off rather than leaving, and every word which escaped the mouth of this white yearling did an excellent job at reminding Kaster why he couldn't stand his own species. Still -- for a moment, the archer wondered if making him fuck off right now, or finding out what got under his skin would be more enjoyable -- deciding to choose the latter instead.

"Ohhh?" Brows raised atop bored-looking eyes of blue, his voice laced with faux amusement. "Not that I didn't already take you for the primitive type already, but I wasn't aware you still depended on the fairer sex to make you forget basic skills such as digging a hole." 'Fairer sex my ass', he thought to his own words. In truth, Kast never bought into that "Men did this and Women did that" bullshit; if they breathed, then they could depend on them-damn-selves. Still, seeing as Kigi actually believed in that type of stuff, he wondered if it equally messed with his pride when it was used against him to question his masculinity. Let's find out. "Makes me wonder; do you still depend on your mother's teets to provide milk for you as well? I mean, since you still depend on a woman to survive, of course..."

Kigipigak was genuinely confused by the rejoinder offered by the man; he held no issue with women or their duties, and wasn't connecting the dots properly as he listened. Was he meant to be offended by the man's jabs? He wasn't. He would have given anything to be back home with his mother; not at her teet of course, but serving her faithfully.

I depend on myself. He states flatly, losing whatever humor had colored his cheeks before. You dig a hole like a new mother. Do you have a wife? It is too big for those pitiful rabbits so it cannot be a cache, so it went that Kigipigak tried to understand. Men need not dig themselves in to trenches and dens were for women with heavy bellies.

A moment later Kigipigak snorts a little laugh, eyeing the man and then the scrape he has managed in the dirt, then the snow piling up all around. You do not sleep in the open like a man. Do you need a woman's help to survive? He could think of no other reason why the man would be here, rather than eating his rabbits and moving on.

Little reaction was given to his prodding -- interesting. It would appear the northern boy before him wasn't as stone-headed as he'd thought. Though, the woodlander was still curious as to how much more prodding it would take before he either left or tried to fight him -- either option would be acceptable. Perhaps, the frosted yearling might even tire Kaster out 'til he reluctantly accepted the bafoon's company.

That wasn't something the archer was willing to give in to for the present, however, because Kaster wanted the annoying boy gone.

Turning his attention back to his hares, and not knowing where to put them, he carried one of them in his maw and began digging. It was not a spot as close to the den as he'd like, but that spot was now filled was snow -- a new den would need to be digged soon anyhow. "Did that fat mouth annoy your pack 'til they forced that 'self-Independence' of yours? You can always go back to them and apologize for it." And leave me the hell alone. He certainly smelled like a pack wolf, otherwise the scent of many other wouldn't be on his pelt.

He did not even bother commenting on the 'Wife' remark. The thought of wasting his resources on some woman and a litter of annoying, whiny kids made Kaster internally sour.

To his next statement, the Archer's brows furrowed during his digging as he resisted the urge to look at the northerner as if he were a dumbass. What would've been the nicest possible way to say that a blizzard was coming to someone who didn't seem to realize it? "Mhm, yes. Let me sleep outside like a man and allow the storm to end my life. At least I know my balls will still be attached to my frozen corpse as proof of my masculinity...." Meh, nice enough....

Kigipigak was a little dim when it came down to it, so the judgement by Kaster that he was a buffoon was not far off the mark. He took this jousting of jests as a game more than anything; shooting the shit with a fellow man, as he once did back in his village. He thought he was making a friend and that this was normal behavior - stranger or not.

When Kaster tried to insult his conversation skills Kigipigak huffed and smiled. My independence was a reward! I became a man and was let loose upon the world. Not that this stranger would really care about the specifics. Kigipigak kept the deeper story to himself.

Storm? It is only a little snow! You must be a southerner, Kigipigak laughed, the sound booming from him and drowning out a little of what his new companion was saying. In the north it is cold all year and the snow falls often. You look at the sky and feel a little wind, see a little white on the horizon, and dig! He swallowed further laughter but the mirth in his voice was clear.

I will leave you with your womanly hole and your snow-bunnies, then. May they keep you warm! Kigipigak was turning away from his company then and moving off, his deep-chest laughter occasionally bubbling out of him as a small chuckle. He was glad to have found this stranger even if they were abrasive, it had been a fun time for Kigipigak.

Finally, after what seemed like a little longer than what the woodlander was really comfortable with, the northerner turned his tail to leave, laughing giddily as if he'd left out some joke for Kaster to miss. The Archer simply stared in both annoyance and a bit of astonishment -- he honestly didn't know whether he should be happy that Kigi was now gone or fearful about how inexplicably dumb he was. Hell, a small part of Kast actually worried about his survival during the storm...

Ah, screw it. Kaster wasn't gonna waste his time pitying the blissfully ignorant.

And so he turned away, rabbit in maw, and continued his previous work from before...