Blacktail Deer Plateau now that the evening is slowing

she wakes late the morning, emerging to heavy, thick snow that seems to muffle all sound. the result is an utterly silent morning and the distinct sense that she is strikingly, entirely, alone. the girl steps carefully into the blowing storm, threading her way along a line of conifers. squinting into the blowing snow, she considers briefly returning to her sheltered den, before stiffening her shoulders against the onslaught and moving on, in the direction of the crayfish pond.

the snowstorm blew over their little nook, snowflakes flying every which way. ying enjoyed the snow when it was gentle, calm, but this..

she needed to take her mind what a major inconvenience this was. it had been some time since she'd been hunting and she quite missed it!

moving from the border, the huntress made her way to the pond, hoping for some luck in the venture.

snow falls thickly still, obscuring the true edges of the pond. she remembers it as it remained unfrozen and tranquil, one of her favourite places to simply observe all that went on around her in the gentle lull of autumn. there is still beauty here in the winter, but it is utterly silent; nothing but fast-fading tracks to suggest life ever passed by this place. 

the sylph steps lightly toward the pond, wondering at the crayfish and minnows that had darted in the shallows when she'd last been here. beneath her paws is only ice, and she steps further onto the pond in an effort to solve the nagging question. she clears away the snow with her muzzle, peering into the murky, pale ice even as more snow gathers upon it. she can make out nothing here, but a glance nearer the center of the pond reveals a few open spots. perhaps life exists there still? curious, the girl steps carefully toward the center of the pond, having no reason to believe the ice does not stretch all the way down the entire length of the waterbed.

the walk wasn't long. within minutes, ying was at the water's edge. there was another girl, this one wandering dangerously far over the pond's face. the huntress's anxiety began to build as she watched the stranger drift.

what you doing? she called, a faint whine present behind the words. not safe, girl! behind her, ying's tail began an agitated twitch. it was a sign of concern rather than aggression, as could have been read by her furrowed brow.

there is a prickle of wariness as she steps near, the gentle shifting of the ice beneath her giving her pause. gently, she bends to nose at the snow settled lightly above it. a foreign voice, then, a curt question. clem starts, attempting to swivel to face the woman, ears slicked back against her crown. 

but it's ice, not solid ground beneath her paws, and as she works to steady herself her forepaw punctures through the ice. it's all downhill from there; she falls onto her shoulder and more of it gives way, and it's shockingly cold, and she's struggling to heave herself up onto the ice again, but shock makes everything seem so slow. and then she's floundering, one thin forelimb extended across what remains of the solid ice, the rest of her half-submerged and struggling towards the edge.

before giving herself the chance to think, ying started sliding her way toward the stranger. the ice was thin (what was this girl thinking?), barely solid enough to hold her weight. she took each step with as much care as was warranted, but knew that time was of the essence; she fought against each slip to steady herself until almost close enough to grab onto the stranger's scruff.

only a few feet away, ying fell onto her belly. a superficial split was left in the ice, making the mission even more dangerous than before. she scrambled to get back up onto all fours as quickly as possible.

behind her, the ice began to cave. hindlegs slipped in first while ying clawed at the ice in front of her.

"oh!" she cries, voice barely heard above the cracking of the ice. it's terribly cold, that kind of cold that stiffens her tendons, makes the water feel like she is struggling through something solid. 

somehow, barely, the sylph makes her way onto the ice. it is a precarious situation, already, her gaze grows blurred with tears. this is her fault, hers, if only she'd not been so stupid. "I'm sorry, I'm—forelimb breaks through the ice again, and she is sharply cut off as her breath catches in her throat. she struggles forward, delicately grabbing the stranger's scruff in an attempt to pull her free. 

the moment she attempts such, however, the ice at her rear fractures, and once again does her hind end slip in. her grip is lost; once more does she flounder.

the strange girl's grip provided enough support for ying to pull her hindquarters from the water. she clambered her way up onto all fours, legs splayed just too wide as she attempted to regain her balance. while focused on her own dilemma, she missed the other wolf slipping backward.

they needed to get off of the ice. the huntress was careful to keep the majority of her weight on her joints, bending all four limbs as she lunged forward and took a mouthful of the girl's scruff. without a word, she began to yank backward, hoping to pull them both back to land without issue.

through no small amount of struggle, the pair manage to make their way back to land. when the earth beneath her paws is steady and unbreaking, and her breath has returned to her, she fixes the woman with wide-eyed stare, trembling. "I'm so s-sorry. It's-I wanted t-to see where the fish went." she admitted, clattering teeth making it hard to speak especially clearly. "th-thank you—I'm really s-sorry." 

she shook the water from her fur and heaved several deep breaths. her heart raced and as the adrenaline began to fade, ying found herself approaching a fainting spell. she settled down onto her stomach, looking up at the girl with confusion in her gaze. 

in the water, she whispered, voice stern and words rough, fish do not fly. what had this stranger been expecting? ying turned away for a moment. we are okay, so...okay. she wasn't mad, she simply didn't understand.

"oh," came her quiet voice, "okay." her ears flattened, shame and upset gathering in her chest. she's quiet a long moment, and then, 

"I j-just thought—because it was frozen, the pond, and I thought, I-I thought the ice, um, went all the way down, and um, I wanted t-to know if the fish? if they were in the ice, or, um or if there was still water underneath, but then, um, it would be pretty cold so I didn't know if they were still, still living?" sharp intake of breath, and then, "maybe they were in the mud, at the bottom, or in the plants, but it'd be-be pretty boring to stay there the whole winter, I think, so I—the fish." she snaps her maw shut then, nervous rambling getting a little out of hand.

冷静, she said. the nervousness in the girl's voice brought ying's own ears down flat upon her skull. she hadn't meant to make her upset; the momentary stress seemed to have disable her filter. fish swim in ice, the huntress explained as she slowly lifted up onto all fours, sometimes die, but mostly swim. ponds didn't often freeze to the bottom. when they did, it was often a blessing; a large meal would come to welcome spring.

she balanced herself before walking to the water's edge, seeing if there were any silvers to point out.

again, then. "oh," ears half-rise, as the woman explains. "that's good, then." she offers, shivering still. the woman moves to the edge, and cleo follows cautiously. 

they've broken up much of the pond in their previous struggle, enabling a better view of the water. she glances once to the woman, then back at the dark water, watching as the falling snow dissolves instantly into the dark. then, suddenly, a flicker of movement. "was that once?" she asks softly, as if she might scare it back to the deep.

they were soon standing beside one another, staring into the depths of the pond. it went down much further than ying had imagined. yeah, she whispered back. a pang of envy came over her; she'd thought that she would be the first to spot a fish. 

she took one careful step onto the ice, testing if it was stable enough to hold her weight. another small crack formed and she leapt back, walking to try another section. ice here is thinner than that ice. ying nodded toward the pond's center. 

you walk it, she explained, taking one, two, three careful steps onto the ice, but be careful. there was one plate left intact enough to stand on. she nodded for the other girl to follow, a cautious smile on her face.

to her shock, the woman steps back onto the ice. "um," comes her initial reaction, and as the woman seemingly invites her forward, "I think, um, I think I'll—" tongue curves over her lips, gaze flickering to the water. she's still half soaked, and wanted nothing more than to find some warmth and curl up in it. 

"ok," comes finally, and slowly, cautiously, she follows suit, creeping onto the ice. one limb remains on solid ground, and as soon as a tiny cracking sound is heard, she freezes, looking to the woman for direction.

calm, she whispered, stay on.. off clear ice. the only ice safe to walk atop was that which had become opaque. ying knew this from experience prior and from the more recent ordeal. she could see how worried the girl was, so she decided to take the lead. 

another flicker of light caught her attention. ying wandered as far from shore as possible — only a few steps — and began to crawl. on her belly, she shimmied to the edge of a small hole and waited for a fish to appear.

she's not sure what the woman's intent is yet - to teach her not to fear the ice, perhaps? "ok—thank you," she offers, though remains firmly planted. "I'll, um, watch from here." she decides, falling silent as she watches the woman shimmy forward. auds prick forward, her shivering slowly subsiding as warmth takes careful root again in the places close to her skin.

the girl decided not to follow. ying did not argue, instead deciding to focus on her current task. the silvers continued to swim just out of reach, frustrating the young huntress. she knew that her time was limited; just as she was beginning to turn back, a target appeared at just the right location.

she stood quickly and snapped, snapping the creature's spine with unceremonious crunch! ying quickly reatreated back to safety and threw the catch onto land, asking her companion, hungry?

a flash of movement, and then a fish flies past her. the girl gasps, wanting to know just how she'd just done that, but far too nervous of the ice to ask for a demonstration. "yes, I—thank you!" she calls, tail wagging as her fear gradually ebbs. 

she steps back, making for the fish she'd thrown back. "that-that was so cool," she admits, pulling the fish toward her. pausing, wanting to make sure, she peers back over her shoulder. "can I eat it?" 

nuvujak nodded. the nervousness had passed, leaving her with a wide smile. she would sit there and watch, ready for conversation should it be requested. i am ying, she told her, who are you?

as soon as the ok is received, she tears delicately into the meal. the flesh is supple, sweet, a taste she finds herself quickly getting used too. she decides fairly quickly, then, that fish is her favorite food. it is only when ying introduces herself that she remembers they'd never made true introductions. a sheepish smile as she swallows, and then, "I'm clementine. or clem, or cleo," she offers, tongue swiping over her fangs to catch a morsel of fish there. "it's really tasty—thank you, ying," she says with a wag od her tail once more, cold almost forgotten.