Winter Again (Open)

[Argus]

Zoey;

Finally! Winter was again here. Winter meant snow! Zoey couldn't be happier. She skipped along, fairly floating despite her advanced age. Her white coat blended perfectly with the white blanket surrounding her and she stopped a moment to enjoy the crisp air ruffling her fur. It seemed like forever since she had felt the nippy chill of the cold season.

One of her paws slipped and she went flying, sliding onto a glassy surface. She lay still for a moment, too stunned to do much of anything. When she tried to stand, she found her paws unstable, unable to gain any purchase on whatever she was standing on. Looking down, she realized that it was ice. A frozen pool of water. Her beige ears flicked in interest at her new discovery.

She tried standing again, but found that her large paws were no help to her on the smooth ground. Giving up on standing, she began to belly scoot over to the edge of the pond, where the ice ended and snow began. It took her a painfully long time to go anywhere, and by the time she was halfway there she had decided that snow was a lot more fun than ice would ever be. A little further and she was making a list of all the virtuous qualities of snow, and all the bad qualities of ice.

[conspiracy]

Axel;

His first winter season in the valley; he hadn't been certain how he felt about it so far. The cold killed almost everything, and made it harder for anyone to hunt for food. It was still undeniably a beautiful sight to take in; a cold one, but still beautiful nonetheless. He'd been raised to appreciate things. Axel came to a stop when he'd heard a sound coming from nearby; letting his curiosity get the better of him. The wolf averted his course, having not been headed in a particular direction he decided it wouldn't hurt to take a look. When he found what he was looking for he stood with a tilted head.

That was an odd sight. Axel thought while watching the female scoot across the snow; he'd momentarily wondered what the wolf was doing. Till he inched closer head nodding in understanding as he saw that she was on top of a frozen pond. Maybe she needed help; and Axel knew he couldn't just walk away without offering it. If the ice were thinner it could easily break then she'd be in trouble; but he guessed from how cold it was that that wasn't the case. It'd just seemed like an uncomfortable situation for her to be in.

Moving from his spot he walked over to the edge of the pond; his blue ears twitching as he stared over at her. “Do you need any help ma'am?”

[Argus]

Zoey;

Zoey glanced up in surprise from her task. She hadn't been paying much attention to her surroundings, which wasn't such a good thing. She shook her head again then glanced at the male and went back to scooting along. "Nope! I don't think there's much you can do to help me mister." It isn't like he would be any better at standing upright on ice than me.

"Almost there." She wasn't really much closer to solid ground then she was when she began, but she was trying to keep herself going. She was getting pretty tired of the repetitive motions required to drag herself along. She stopped for a moment to rest herself then continued on. It took a cople more minutes which seemed like eternity before she managed to pull herself up on the soft cloud of snow. She pulled herself to her feet and smiled at the newcomer. "Hiya! Sorry, I was a little busy there. It's nice to see another face!"

During the winter months wolves tended to become scarce. The cold and lack of prey made survival hard for most. None of that mattered to Zoey though. She just really like the feel of the cold air and colder snow. It was somehow soothing to her.

[conspiracy]

Axel;

He'd frowned, expression unsure as the female declined his offer leaving him to watch her continue to scoot along the ice. The thought of grabbing a stick and holding it out to the she-wolf crossed his mind but he didn't voice it. If she'd wanted to help herself than that was her choice; the last thing he wanted to do was seem too pushy. It just seemed like a tedious task to complete, and one he was sure the wolf was getting tired of. A small grin tugged at his lips the sight itself though concerning was a little amusing; but he wasn't one to laugh at another's expense. Instead he just looked on while the wolf scooted seeming to remain in the same spot as she went. Should have offered the stick.

“Almost there.” She'd murmured, making his brows raise and head tilt, because she still had a long ways to go. Though he wouldn't tell her that but he could offer his encouragement, since the female looked as if she was growing tired. “Yep, just a little ways more miss.” he said.

When she finally reached solid ground she'd given him a friendly smile and greeting after pulling herself up. She had been the first wolf he'd come across since entering the valley; and he'd been grateful for the fact that she was a friendly wolf. He'd not had nothing but his thoughts to keep him company; and a few moments with another was much needed. “Yeah, you don't see too many out in the cold. I'm Axel by the way and you are?”

[Argus]

Well, at least he seems friendly. That's a good thing, right? Zoey liked meeting new friends and she did consider this stranger to be a friend in the making. "Axel, huh? My name's not something I use very often, but since you gave me yours, I'll give you mine. It's Zoey." Zoey wasn't a young pup, despite what she acted like, and she was tired. There was more than one reason she liked the winer best, and the option to make a little home out of snow was one of her favorite. If a hole dug in snow could really be called a home. She was getting ahead of herelf though, thinking about going to sleep already. Why, the sun wasn't even halfway through the sky.

"So brings you to this part of the valley this time of year?" As she had so recently discovered, the water was frozen over, so Zoey doubted that was the reason Axel was here. He didn't seem too sure of himself though, and the thought that he was new here crossed her mind. Then again, maybe Zoey wasn't the best one to draw conclusions, as she had only met three or four wolves in the valley herself.

[conspiracy]

Axel,

Zoey, he repeated the name in his mind storing it in his memories for safe keeping. He hadn't known what to expect after going out on his own; and away from his pack. They were stuck in their old ways and would most likely stay that way; but he wouldn't let them be his downfall. Especially, after seeing the after effects of what would happen when he aged. “I'm new to the valley, so I'm just trying to find my way around it.”

Axel told her, glancing around at his surrounds so far he'd only known where he came from but not where he was going. Though he wouldn't exactly consider himself lost; because he had not set a destination for himself. He was just finding his way around and whatever place or whomever he came across would be a plus. The wolf liked being around others so another friendly face would be a plus for him. “How long have you been in this valley?”

[Argus]

Axel was just trying to find his way around the valley. She could understand that. Although it probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do in the dead of winter, but maybe he just hadn't noticed the cold. Or the snow. She knew what it was like to completely ignore things like that, considering she was here with him. "Well, I hope the valley treats you well. I've been here a while, but I tend to only come out in the winter." It was true, she had met a few other wolves in her time here, but she couldn't say she knew any of them well.

"So I take it you don't have any destination in mind?" From the way he talked, she figured that was a reasonably safe assumption.