Tongues of Fire and the bite of Ice

The cold dug deeply into his bones, and his toes felt like they were being pricked with icy needles. His jaw was locked to keep it from chattering loudly, and his muscles tense, trying to keep the cold out. His ears lay flat on his skull to keep the remaining warmth in them in. Shivering, he dashed forward, his paws sending up sprays of dry snow. A howl made a shudder run down his back. He stopped, his tail erect and his ears shoved forward. The metallic scent of blood made him raise his hackles. The spray of crimson liquid surrounded a pair of wolves. One with his muzzle lifted to the sky, and the other obscured by snow drifts. He narrowed his mismatched eyes and precariously took a step forward, the snow crunching under his toes. The male, a russet, was howling grimly. 'What is he doing? He'll call every loner from miles around!' He could already hear some faint barks and yips of glee at the smell of blood. He glanced around him at the trees and clicked his tongue. He rushed forward, smacking the male in the head with his tail in the process. "Don't know what you're doing, don't care. Just, run!" He said without missing a beat. He pounded onward into the trees, hoping the idiotic male had any idea what kind of a mistake he'd just made.

Alex looked at the male as it bounded away. What are you doing you idiot, get out of here! his smart side growled. He raced away, his rusted colors flashing through the white woods. Well, if anyone knew Alex, they would know he could be quite stupid when really, he needed to focus and be smart. He rolled his eyes, wishing he could just shrink away and vanish.

Tarot growled under his breath. 'This is why I hate wolves. Never say thanks.' He thought shaking his head disapprovingly. "Oh you know, just looking for dead carcasses to howl over!" He snarled back at the smart-alec wolf. His tail lashed wildly against the wind, but it whipped around in aggravation as well. He bounded deeper into the trees and finally slid to a stop when the trees drew together so thickly, light only penetrated through pine branches covered in white snow. He pricked his ears up and stared with a furrowed brow at the red splotch in the distance. He lifted his lips and snorted loudly when a gray wolf leapt wildly over to the body. He turned away before anything else would have embedded itself in his mind. It was hard to turn, but his irritation fueled his frozen state. He turned sharp eyes to the male, his teeth glinting in a stray ray of light. "I'm sorry for your loss, but I'm afraid you're not getting that lady back, and her death was just at the wrong time. Mourning like that wasn't the smartest idea. You could have at least buried her in snow to cover up that bloody scent!" He barked loudly at the slightly large male. His slender figure was slightly smaller, which should have caused him panic, but instead he continued his sharp chastising. "Then she wouldn't have been torn to pieces..." He muttered, his teeth clenched tightly together into a inner woven wall of ivory fangs. He could hear savage howls and growling and the faint sound of tearing. He shuttered involuntarily and turned to walk away from the scene, intending to get as far as possible as not to be discovered. When the other male didn't seem to join him, he turned to stare at him with a slight look of contempt. "It's best to get out of here while we can. I don't want to meet the same fate as that female, and I doubt you'd like that too." He turned to pad away again before waiting for an answer.

Alex looked back to where the sounds were coming. "Sorry." he muttered under his breath. He joined the other wolf silently a few paces behind. "I didn't- never mind." He muttered again. The wolf would probably think he was even more stupid than he already did if he told he had not ever known the fae. "She had been torn apart before-" he sighed.

The irritable male lashed his tail as the male continued to protest, but he cut himself off in the middle. Tarot raised a brow and turned to glance behind him at the male. He seemed to loose his recent, bold remarks. The black wolf paused in his gait and stared with hard eyes at the russet male. "So, you didn't know her..." He mumbled, his white tipped ears twitching in the frigid wind. With an unbelieving snort, the male continued forward. The other male frowned and spoke again. This time, Tarot furrowed his brows. "I would think I appeared a bit smarter. Apparently not. Yes, a killed wolf would be mangled, but not to the point of being eaten by it's own kind." He growled scolding the other wolf again. He blinked slowly, and his gaze became sympathetic. "Be more careful..." He mumbled with a huff.

Alex looked at the new wolf. "Hey...um...thanks." he.said slowly as if afraid to critisized again. He sighed and frowned.

The surprise at the male's apology was hard to hide. He stared at the russet male with large, circular eyes. He blinked slowly as if comprehending such a thing required thorough examination. He opened his maw slowly, but nothing escaped his lips expect his easing breaths from the run a few seconds ago. Then he clamped his muzzle shut and shook his head. "I'm glad you thanked me, but to be honest, any sane wolf would have done the same thing." He mumbled awkwardly in reply to the male. With his mouth pressed into a thin line, he padded forward. The icy feeling of snow returned as the adrenaline from the rush wore off. "What do you even think you're doing in a place like this?" He wondered out loud, glancing back at the male. "Please tell me you have a valid reason for being in this bloody wasteland..." He muttered, turning to look forward at the ice covered trees.

Triangle sniffed the air, the scent of blood still hanging in the air. She sighed and sat against a bank of snow, her white fur blending in perfectly. As she waited for the scent of blood to disappear, two males entered her vision. "I would like to avoid wolves here, thanks." Triangle thought. they seemed to be talking about the origins of the blood scent. Apparently, it was a female wolf. Triangle nearly gave away her location, stopping herself before she growled. She just wanted to get out of this territory, she had nearly found what she was looking for. As the two males continued on, not noticing her, she decided to follow them. Her paws padded silently on the snow and ice, as she had learned was a useful skill here. Triangle only made a sound when a snowflake found its way into her nose and forced her to sneeze. She stood still for a second, then hid in the nearest snow bank, hoping they hadn't seen her. She closed her eyes and waited for what was to happen next.

Alex shook his head and sighed. Yep, he had criticized him. Oh well. He bit his lip and shook his fur from the snow slowly drifting down "Don't know. I got lost trying to track a deer and ended up here. I'm pretty sure someone else got to him." he said. He looked away and turned back to the male. "Do you feel like we are being followed?" he muttered under his breath. He hadn't meant to say the question out loud. He braced himself for another smart slight against him.[/color]

The black male lashed his tail in irritation. He slowed his pace to pad beside the russet male. He stared at him through narrowed eyes. "A deer..? How hard-headed are you?" He muttered quizzically. He stared at him exasperatingly. Then the frown lines on his forehead deepened. "And why are you admitting all of this so easily..." Tarot suddenly paused in his trot as a muffled sneeze came form somewhere under the snow. The male voiced his own suspicions. "Finally..." He cast a side-glance at the male. "You're using those senses of yours." With a laughin grin, the white marked male glanced around the snow drifts and flared his nose as he tried to scent out whatever was stalking them like prey. He tipped his head, tufts of fur shifting over his green eye. He eyed a certain snow drift, intuition winning against the voice of reason inside his head. He really hadn't been able to smell anything out in the snow, but he could tell there was a musky, pretentious air around them. 'Hah? We've got some stuck up wolf on our tail. What does he think he's doing, stalking two males like we're mice...?' He snorted indignantly and glared around him. "Look, we don't plan on trespassing. Just let us know if we've overstepped." Tarot didn't notice any scent markings, and neither had his new friend, but this was always the simplest way to get rid of other wolves. He flicked an ear back. "But I must say, sneezing isn't all that impressive when you're shadowing someone." He said mockingly with a mischievous smirk.

Triangle walked away from the snow drift, nearly growling."Don't bother me."She said as she slashed her tail through the air. She sat with a flick of her ear, closing her eyes with a sigh. "I was only leaving here, when I smelled blood. I hid then, being scared. When you two walked by, you were speaking about the scorce of the scent. I wanted to find out more so I followed you." She said, cocking her head to the side. " Was that bad?" She asked, before raising her paw and licking it. "Did they think I was trying to hunt them? They must be idiots, if so." She thought, nearly snickering.

Alex looked at her. He narrowed his eyes and flicked his tail. He hasn't thought that someone was hunting them...just stalking them. He cocked his head. "If you don't mind my asking-but who are you?" Hr asked hesitantly. He tried to show a hint of politeness but his tone sounded a little daring. He lowered his ears a bit.

OOC: I am so sorry. T^T Orz

The black and white wolf stared at the creme colored female as if gauging her sassiness. He lowered an ear with a disapproving pout on his lips. He glanced at Alex as he sent a question her way, trying his best to seem somewhat considerate. 'Why in bloody hell would you want to know what happened? That scent means death you sassy piece of crap...' He thought, looking away at the glittering snow. He exhaled through his teeth contemplating the eager sarcasm in his voice. 'Glad I didn't say that out loud...' He imagined steam blowing out of the female's ears, and coughed to hide his laughter. ["And why would you willingly reveal yourself to two male wolves?......Not your best moment is it, Miss...?" He trailed off, allowing the female to interject him with her name.

"Triangle." She growled. She rolled her eyes. "I have nothing to lose or risk, and you both noticed me anyways." She flicked her ear and swished her tail, disturbing some snow. "I would say that you should be smart enough not to offend me, mister. Now, I gave you my name, give me yours."

Alex stifled a laugh as he had caught the look on Tarot's face. He didn't show it though. Alex swished his tail and sighed. 'What? Is she threatening us?' he thought. Alex hung his head, because he felt as if a great deal of weight had been put right on him. He sighed and flicked his tail. "Mmkay i'll give yeself a hint on me name meesis twiangle. It starts with an a and it ends with an er. If your smart, i wouldnt trudge further. You didnt need to tell us. You know, just fyi." he said with a funny voice. Alex shoved his ears forward, with new confidence, except, not that much.

Niccara had witnessed one of the most horrid experience in her life. Some wolf getting mangled by her own mate. Tch loners.  Wait.....never mind. She rolled her mettalic baby blue eyes and tramped on. Then she had heard this howl. Like they cared, they only cared about survival. She wanted to get as far from the mauled fae as possible. Then she ran right into a meeting. She hid behind a trench. It helped being snow white. She cocked her head. Was spying really worth it?

Alex's reply almost made him proud of the young wolf. With a loud exhale he replied the female with a toothy grin. "Tarot of the snowy mountain." He said the edge of his smile twitching into a smirk. He lifted a paw off the snow and bowed ornately as if trying to entertain the fact he has a very unusual name. 'Tarot...What is that anyway?' His eyes strayed to the trees thoughtfully as a bird launched itself out of the tree. His ears twitched as a pile of snow fell onto the ground with a loud 'wumph'. Pawing the ground with a sudden tense nervousness, the white marked wolf nodded towards Triangle. "Offend you? Now where'd you get that idea, Ms.
Triangle?" He said with a terse smirk.

Alex smiled and flicked his tail. "It was nice meeting you." he said to Tarot. Alex looked at Triangle again. "Alright, sinse you insist, my name is Alexander... From... I don't remember." he said.

Nicarra smiled a bit, and listened for the fae's reply. Even though she was first mean, she would've cracked up by now.

Triangle flicked her ear, a bird having fled by a nearby tree. 'Oh, if I could just get out of here...' She thought as the bird flitted out of sight. Tarot was acting to smug and formal, an Alexander just got on Triangles nerves. Without taking her eyes off the two males, she headed for the nearest tree. Them a scent caught her attention. Pretending not to notice, Triangle set her eyes on the lowest branch of the tree. A jump would be needed to reach it, but she knew it would take up some of her energy. "If you use your noses, sirs, you will find another wolf is among you." She said before she jumped and grabbed the branch. She scrabbled up to sit on it and watched a snow trench, with one part moving only slightly, giving clue to the breathing of another wolf. She crouched low and held her tail out to balance, watching silently.

Alex rolled his eyes. "Oh well, we're irresistible. " he said. Nicarra noticed that Triangle was watching her. 'Nosey brat." she thought bitterly.

As the brown wolf introduced himself as Alex, Tarot was observing a snow trench, his mismatched eyes darting between the moody female and the white snow. It had moved, but he felt like he was imagining things and should have shrugged it off. He would have heard something if it hadn't been for the bird bringing an entire snow pile down from the trees. With a skeptical frown he watched as the female crouched down to observe something else. A low branch over the suspicious snow trench suddenly caught his attention as she leapt up into it. Flakes of snow glided down as the branch wiggled trying to bear the weight of a wolf. Tarot felt ready to laugh at the sight, but the she-wolf interrupted his thoughts as he suddenly processed her words in his mind. With one ear flattened and he other twitching in fascination, he took a step forward. But not before laughing out loud at Alex's sarcastic delivery. 'I'm starting to like this kid by the second.' Clearing his throat with another grin, Tarot called out to the pile of snow. "White's a nice color and all, but sometimes it starts to yellow and gray. Don't make it worse by wandering near murder sites, Miss. It'll make your conscious cloudier too-!" He remarked with a playful smirk.

OOC: Sorry for just inserting myself in here......if you don't want me to join I'll just delete my post.

Dameon's paws pounded the white snow. He was lucky to get out of his pack, but not so fortunate as to land here. He growled in frustration as the cold nipped at his ears and nose. He stopped when he heard a faint voice make a sarcastic remark. He snickered as he watched the scene from a distance. He covered his scent and didn't make a sound. He decided to come out when he wanted to.

Alex smiled looked harder at the snow, but shrugged. "Girls right? So paranoid." he joked. Alex flicked his tail, sensing a new presence. 'Woah, we're popular.' he thought.

Dameon laughed quietly to himself and started to trudge in the opposite direction. He was going to be caught but he didn't really care.

The wolf snickered and turned towards another sound mixing into his laughter. "Yet another amused soul." He gestured toward the other pelt with narrowed eyes. "Can we help you mister wolf?" He said smirking rather widely.