Frozen Sorrow, [aw]

[ayla]

A lithe figure of a female wolf was silhouetted behind a sheet of fog. However obscure she may seem beyond the fog, the sound of footfall breaking through a thin sheet of ice and freshly fallen snow was unmistakable; Ayla was on the move. The fur on her legs and underside were damp from her trek through the powdery substance that blanketed the ground. Even her muzzle was splotched with muddy residue. Evidently she had attempted, so far unsuccessfully, to unearth small mammals that were hibernating under the frozen earth. Her search had been unsuccessful and now she returned to where she had left her sleeping mate; curled up under the root system of a barren tree. A foreign object zipped past her ear, yet her dull copper orbs stared onward apathetically. She did her best to stay out of the higher snow banks for they tickled her belly when she walked over it, and threatened to swallow her like a snake swallowing a mouse. Aside from that, she didn't like her belly being touched, anyway. She pressed onward hoping that she would return to Corvin before he awoke and moved in search of her. Ears pivoted as the sound of scraping sounded from underneath her paws. Setting to work, she began to dig furiously trying to uncover the meal before it had a chance to escape. As she reached the muddy earth she could hear that it was still as loud as ever, blissfully unaware that it was only moments away from death. The thought cause a little smile to tug at her dark lips, but it didn't work out. Her sharp claws broke through the soft soil with great ease and she bore down on her target. It was a snowshoe hare, a fairly plump one for this time of year. In an instant she sunk her teeth into its soft flesh and was pleased that she had managed to find breakfast. Stumbling back the way she came, using her fastly fading scent trail rather than eyesight, she approached her sleeping mate. Flinging the rabbit a foot away from his nose, she flopped down beside him; worn out from her task "Breakfast has arrived." She muttered as she licked his ear in hopes of waking him up. Until they found a proper shelter from the bitter cold, it was a well known fact that a wolf was a sitting target to the cold; like prey being hunted by the season itself. Hopefully today would be the day they found such a place, a warm shelter where the pair of wolves could wait out the seasons chill, or perhaps a permanent place to call home.

[corvin]

Sneezing, the male lifted his head and blinked the sleep from his amber eyes. "Whazzat?" he mumbled, still not fully awake. Turning his head to look at the rabbit he licked his lips and and inched towards the hare hungrily. Snatching it up in his jaws he devoured the meat and glanced at Aya "Thanks." he said gratefully. He stood up after eating and shook the snow from his fur. "Why does snow have to be so cold?" he questioned nobody in particular. His tail swayed slightly and he turned to look at Ayla, bending his neck he nipped her ear lovingly and then stretched. Grimacing, his muscles stiff from sleeping in the cold, he grunted and said "So what shall we do today?" His gray fur bristled as a gust of wind blew through the forest. They had been traveling for a while now, and to be a lone wolf in the winter was never a good thing. Sure some lived through it alone, but most of the time it spelt death upon a loner. Luckily enough he had Ayla to spend the winters with. If he didn't have her, he would have probably been gone a long time ago. Lifting his nose he sniffed the air and was surprised to find the scent of prey lingering around the snowy wood. "Even in the winter this place seems to be filled with prey." Perhaps they could stay here, it seemed like a nice place to settle...and start a family, something he had always wanted. And hopefully Ayla would want that too.

[ayla]

Ayla watched her mate stand and walk away. Reaching over she gobbled up the lingering bits of hare. She scoffed as he commented about the amount of prey in these parts and scrambled to her paws. “I am not sure how much prey there is here.” She commented as she stood beside her partner. “After two hours of hunting this morning all I came up with was that rabbit.” She motioned towards the remains that he had left behind. “What little prey there is has buried itself under the frozen earth and is very hard to get to. Hopefully that will change when the weather begins to warm but I don’t know.” Lucky for her she was not hungry at the time, but she knew he would be. Her years as a lone wolf traveling had toughened her to the harsh lifestyle she had endured. While she was only three months old, and traveling lost in the world, she survived on leftover scraps here and there. Her lithe, slender build was accustomed to going long periods of time between good meals, and the little bits that she had eaten would be enough to last her for a while. The duo had no idea what this area of land was like in the other seasons. All they knew was the cold chill that clung to air and chilled their bones. The chill that stripped the trees of all their dressings and causing them to look like haunted figures looming in the distance. Suddenly a fierce wind whipped through the trees, carrying an eerie wail followed by a chilling silence. Ayla shook herself trying to fling off the clinging snow. Her thick fur fluffed up to stand on end and help fight out the cold. Her fur was much thinner than her partners but at least it provided her the minimum amount of protection needed to be trekking through the snow. Pulling herself closer to his side she breathed in his warming scent. “We need to find a place to stay; a cave or something where we will be warm and protected from this abominable weather.”

[corvin]

Turning his head to look at Ayla in disbelief he shook himself again, bristling slightly. He scented prey, but Ayla said there was none, if all she had come up with was a rabbit then he had no choice but to believe her. He shuffled over to her side and glanced around the forsaken land " A cave would be nice." he said slowly. Lifting his gray muzzle he tasted the air lazily and snorted "There nothing out here...." now he understood what prey he had been smelling, the rabbit. But with the creature gone he couldn't smell a scrap of anything out here. Thrusting snow over the hare's carcass with a large paw he looked at Ayla forsakenly, his tail drooping. " Let's go, we should find shelter before a blizzard starts, with my luck we'd get a thunderstorm as well." he growled. With that he walked away from her a few pawsteps and then turned to look back at her over his shoulder.

[ayla]

Ayla followed in step for a few paces before falling in beside the male. “I think we should head that way,” she began indication with her tail. The fog was a little disorienting and could leave you even more lost than you already were if you didn’t keep a sharp eye. After what seemed like countless hours the dense fog lightened into a fine mist. “We must be approaching noon, this fog is nearly gone for the day.” She commented, grateful that once the sun reached its highest point in its path against the sky the fog melted away rapidly. She did agree with Corvin on his comment about a storm. The sky still seemed darker than usually overhead. They could be in for a big one. Quickening her pace Ayla pushed onwards, weaving and dodging the branches hanging down from their masts. Multiple times, her paws broke through the thin covering of snow and she plunged downwards. Her belly fur dripped with water and her pads became sore from the constant contact with the ice. She was just about to lose hope when she spotted a dark spot up ahead. Narrowing her eyes to slits she stared intently until the spot became a hole. The whole grew larger and larger until they were close enough to realize that it wasn’t a hole at all but a cave. Running past her mate she slipped inside, overjoyed to have found a place to rest. She stopped short as she picked up the scent of another canine, but breathed a sigh of relief when she realized it was fairly stale. Probably the left over scent of a wolf how camped out in the cave over the autumn season. She flopped down onto her side, too tired to explore the rest of the cave properly. Upon her entrance she noted several small openings darting here and there off the main chamber. The main entry way was plenty large enough, and deep enough, for the pair to finally get a well deserved rest. After a good sleep, and possibly a hearty meal she would investigate the adjacent caverns.

[corvin]

The male glanced towards the entrance to the cavern, Ayla had trusted it so quickly. Corvin would not do the same. What if there was a bear living in the darkness of the cave? Growling he approached and sniffed the air intensely, his shoulders tensed and the fur along them bristled. His head was lowered in an aggressive way and he stared into the den with cold menace in his glowing amber eyes. Now he'd really gotten himself to think there was some creature of the dark lurking in there, waiting for him. His tail swished and Corvin took a few hesitant steps inside when he noticed Ayla flitting about, and no bear scent at all. He grunted and padded towards his mate. Flopping down beside her he grumbled "This weather is getting to me... Do you think there are any other wolves out here?" Corvin flicked his ears and looked around, this land would be nice to command. And in the days of full leaves, the land would have much more to offer. Maybe Ayla would agree, and stay here. "Ayla, what do you think of this place, it seems like a nice land to start a family on..." really, the whole decision was up to her.

[ayla]

Ayla had dozed off and was aroused by the sound of his voice. “Huh, what?” She asked in a sleepy tone. “Oh this place,” her ears pricked forwards and she looked out at the world beyond the cave. This place did seem to have the makings of a good land to raise a family on. Of course she was still unaware if there were other wolves out there; lost somewhere amongst the frightening cold. She could tell by his tense movements that he was wary of the cave. “Would you relax, if there was anyone living in here I would have picked up on the scents. I’m not one to go rushing in without at least scenting the surroundings first. The only scent that I came up with was a stale scent of a wolf, possibly from last fall. It was the same scent we came across when we entered these woods. I think that this land use to belong to a pack, but then something happened causing them to scatter. If that be the case, then these woods would be the perfect place to call home.” She looked forward to the day when her and Corvin would settle down and begin a family of their own. After all they had been together for a few seasons now. Ayla rolled into a more upright position and let out a long yawn, which ended in the usual canine whine. Resting her head on her paws she took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You know, I think I would like to stay here. I mean sure, it may be difficult finding prey at times, but that’s what makes it worth while. I mean if everything in life were beyond easy it wouldn’t be worth living would it? Not to mention if we did stay here I am sure we would learn where the prey is and how to find it. We would adapt and then thrive.”

[corvin]

He flicked his ears, nodding to her words and taking them in with serious thought. "I do agree, if we lived here long enough, we would obviously know the best placed to hunt by next winter. It wouldn't be that hard." he commented. His tail was waving in the air behind him and he licked her cheek lovingly. "Do you ever think of having pups?" he asked, his amber eyes nothing more than curious. He glanced outside and gave the cold snow a glare before turning his attention back on Ayla. "I do...but I would want to officially settle down. I mean, it's hard enough just taking care of ourselves as loners, but if she stayed in one place it would be much easier."

[ayla]

Ayla allowed a small smile to spread across her maw as he repeated what she just said in his own words. Her tail lightly dusted the ground behind her as she moved it back and fourth as he continued speaking. Her tail quit twitching as he asked her about pups. Of course she wanted them, it was a dream she had always carried with her, but would she be a good mother to them. After a few moments in deep thought she realized that she would learn to be a good mother. After all, this would be her first litter so she would be learning as she went, but she assumed that instinct would tell her exactly what to do. “I have always dreamed of starting a family, and that dream seems to come closer every day that we are together. I do agree that we should settle down and I think this would be the perfect place. It seems to have the things we need to survive.” She thought carefully about what this decision would entail before continuing. “You know, I believe that we will be fine. There doesn’t seem to be any reason why we couldn’t stay here and start a family of our own. I think we should give it a shot.” Ayla leaned in and licked his cheek, before scooting closer and allowing her pelt to intertwine with his. His scent entered her scent glands and she felt the warmth and comfort she always felt in his presence. “I mean only if you want to of course.”

[corvin]

The male flicked his ears, registering Ayla's words in his mind. His tail began to wag back and forth, thumping the floor on one side and his mate's flank on the other. His amber eyes were bright at the prospect of being able to become a father.... "Of course I want to!" he said enthusiastically. His whole body wriggled and he reached over to cover her face with licks. Many a day he had thought of starting a family, making himself a home and finally settleing down. But always he and Ayla had to travel, always move along to take care of themselves. But now that was going to change, they would settle down here and start living the life they both always wanted to live. And perhaps down the road end up with a pack....

[ayla]

Ayla was glad to hear that he wanted to start a family as much as she did. She leaned in and licked his cheek once more, smiled and then grew restless from sitting down for so long. “Come on let’s explore the back caves.” She stood and padded towards the back of their perspective new den. She entered the came off to the right. It was the perfect size for the two of them; a place where they would be able to escape the cold winter air and the summer heat. The two of them could easily fit in here and also have room for a litter of pups. Next she went to investigate the second cave off to the left. It was slightly smaller than the first but still a good size for two wolves. It would be the perfect place for the beta pair in a pack. That left only the middle entrance. Containing her excitement she padded over towards it and slipped inside. It was huge. There was more room than she had ever seen before. “This place is perfect!” she exclaimed, her voice resonating off the empty walls. A whole pack would be able to fit in here. She set off to investigate further. Up high in the top of the cave there was a small hold in the ceiling. It let in the light from outside but kept out the chill. Directly below there was a niche in the ground, no doubt carved by the elements slipping in from the roof. A pool of snow had collected in the basin. Padding over Ayla sniffed hesitantly at the white powder before determining that it was safe. She licked up a tongue full of the frozen water before turning and returning to Corvin’s side. “I love it here, and I want to start a family as soon as possible.” She licked his cheek and hoped he was on the same page.