Felvargs

The weather had gotten colder and colder for over a month and while young Roda had been getting used to it, there was something different about this particular day compared to the others. The clouds looked darker and heavier than usual and the chill she felt was particularly sharp. Being a young puppy, she had never experienced such weather before and it had piqued her curiosity enough to where she had ventured away from her den and siblings, as well as her easily-worried mother.Roda approached a clearing she often played in where she knew there was a small hill for her to climb so she could obtain a better view of the clouds. Climbing to the top, she put her nose to the wind and sniffed several times as a cold wind began to pick up and ruffle her dark fur. It was so cold that for once it pierced her coat and tickled her skin. "So... cold..." she muttered, but she didn't flinch. A storm was coming, she could tell that much, but this one was different from the rest. The chill was much heavier this time. It was a curious phenomenon."Roda, so this is where you've been." A familiar voice had snuck up on the puppy. It was Roda's mother, Olallie, a beautiful black silken female who Roda deeply admired, though not as much for her beauty as her caring, loving nature. She was tentative to every pup in her large litter, though Roda seemed to demand her patience more than the rest of them. "A storm is coming and it's safer to stay in the den for now.""I know! But I like storms!" Roda protested, "Rolling in the mud and catching rain drops in my mouth are so fun, Momma! Why do we all have to come inside this time? I wanna play outside!"Olallie sighed, but it was hardly an exhasperated one. It was the contented sigh of a mother who loved her puppy's antics while also wishing her pup would come along with her and be a little more obedient. She walked up to Roda's side and looked out at the oncoming storm with her. "Can you feel it on the wind? This isn't like all of those other storms. This storm is the first of its kind for the approaching winter. It's going to be very cold tonight and as a puppy, you'll easily get sick out here if you stay out too long, but I promise I'll let you play as much as you want in the morning." Olallie winked with a smile.Roda knew her mother only wanted what was best for her, but now she was getting even more curious. "Winter... that's the season after autumn! You told us about it before. Is this one of those storms that'll give us snow?"Olallie chuckled at how Roda was already ahead of her on the explanation. "Yes, soon little flakes of snow will fall across the land. Instead of catching rain drops in your mouth, you'll be able to capture snowflakes. They fall slower than rain so it should be a little easier.""Whoa, so we'll finally get to see real snow?!" Roda's eyes widened at the thought and continued to watch the skies above. "When will it come? When??"Olallie would have preferred to have gone back to the den, but she was weak to seeing Roda's eyes light up in excitement over seeing her first snow. "Soon, soon," she replied. Motherhood was something she was always anxious about. And yet now, Olallie was happy to be a mother for moments like this one. "If you look beneath the approaching clouds, you'll see a shaft of white. That must be the snow. It's coming our way and it won't be long before it gets here.""Really?" Roda bounced up and down, eager for the snow. "Can we please stay out long enough to see it fall? We'll go back to the den right after, I promise to be a good girl! I don't want to wait until morning to see it fall!""Roda, you know it's not good to go against your mother's wishes, right?" Olallie tried to be firm, which was difficult in front of such a cute puppy. Her honest smirk ended up seeping through and Roda knew right away upon seeing that smirk that her mother would go along with this plan in the end. "Alright, we'll stay out, but only until the snow starts falling. Night is coming and it'd be for the best if we weren't outside during a snow storm in the dark.""Yay! I knew you'd be okay with it, Momma!" Roda bounced up and down once again. "Papa is such an adventurer. It makes sense that he would fall in love with another adventurous spirit like you, huh? I bet he loves the snow!"At the mention of Roda's father, Olallie put on a subdued smile. She missed her mate deeply and it touched her heart that Roda was always thinking about him. Of all her babies, Roda was the one who had the most attachment to him. She wished she could be as adventurous as him, though."Momma! Momma! Look! Is that it?! Is that the snow starting to fall?!"Olallie didn't get a chance to speak more about her mate, Ophanim, as young Roda was too enthusiastic about snow to return to their previous topic. Sure enough, little white flakes of snow had begun fluttering down from the dark gray skies above, pushed around by the light wind created by the oncoming storm. As Olallie looked up at the first snow of winter, she couldn't help but to think of Ophanim. She had never told Roda that Ophanim actually did love the snow and that their first encounter was in early winter... on a chilly, frosted evening at sunset. The cold would forever remind her of him.Roda was bouncing around with her mouth open, attempting to catch as many tiny snowflakes as she could. "Am I catching them? Am I? They're so little I can barely feel it!""You're catching plenty, but I've caught more than that when I was your age," Olallie put on a playful smirk at her adorable daughter. "You have a lot of practice ahead of you if you want to reach my level.""H-huh?!" Roda glared at Olallie, "No way! I'll totally catch up to you! Watch this!" and she opened her mouth even wider than before, only for the wind to pick up and the chill to send the little puppy back to her mother's side, using Olallie as a sort of wind break. "It's gotten colder!"Olallie smiled, "Indeed it has. Let's head back to your brothers and sisters. In the morning, there will be even more snow. And it'll be a lot more fun, too!" she winked again. "Yeah?! Is that the snowdrifts you talked about before?! Where you can jump in it and dig out your very own snow den?!"Olallie nodded, "Yes, but first we need it to snow all night to build up a thick layer to dig in and work with. It'll take a while so in the meantime you can sleep while waiting for it all to pile up!""Aww, how am I supposed to sleep when I'm this excited, Momma?!" The mother and daughter then headed back to their den, catching snowflakes the entire way.

cryptated:Boneyard lingered in the trees that formed the outskirts of her native forest. Long shadows cast by the last rays of sunlight painted harsh lines across the open field beyond the trees. Each breath hung like smoke in the cold air. A slack jaw and a deep inhale brought the scents from the nearby village more firmly into the dark felvarg’s awareness, accompanied by those of a herd of deer grazing upon the meager offerings of the forest floor. The felvarg’s claws pierced the leaf litter as she contemplated the possibility of a hunt. A chill breeze tugged at her fur and she shook it off, allowing her fur to fluff up slightly.Aereflow:Mist shook herself as the late autumn winds ruffled her coat, already thickened for the winter to come. The gray felvarg stepped lightly through the woods, blue eyes sweeping over the now almost bare branches surrounding her in the evening light as each step made the slightest crunching sound from their leaves underfoot. The felvarg, traveling home, was returning from a trip to trade with the nearby village. On her back was strapped a pack laden with some last minute supplies for the coming season, it’s weight a steady presence, though not enough to hinder her movement. As the sky drew darker, Mist found herself contemplating if she should have taken the villagers’ advice and stayed there for the night, leaving the next morning instead, but she shook off the doubt. She was well versed in traveling in the night, so she continued forward.cryptated:Boneyard took another deep breath, hoping to single out an individual prey scent to target. She was met with the scent of another felvarg instead and stiffened, leaning into a nearby tree trunk to conceal herself. She quickly sorted out that this was neither packmate nor a scent wafting here from the village.The dark felvarg circled around to get a look at the newcomer, keeping herself downwind until she could properly gauge the situation.Aereflow:Mist padded onward, her eyes taking in the sights of the forest in the fading light and her breath steadily wisping out of her nose at regular intervals. Her fur was more fluffed up than normal, being pushed around by the chilling winds.At some point, idly, the gray felvarg slacked her jaw a little and let the scents surrounding her waft over her senses. All she smelled were the things she expected to: nearby, the scents of decay and prey animals, lingering scents of other travelers fading, and more distantly, she could still detect the scents of the village, other felvargs going about their day to day business still being carried forth on the breeze.cryptated:Boneyard wove between trees, deft steps upon their roots sparing her any mishap and some portion of the dry leaf litter’s noise. Her ears swiveled at the sound of the other felvarg’s footfalls. A deep breath clarified the felvarg’s familiarity, prompting Boneyard to peer past the trees for confirmation.Sure enough, the grey felvarg making her way through the forest’s outskirts was one Boneyard had encountered a handful of times throughout the season. Hesitation glued her paws to the spot; she could easily have just let Mist walk on by. However, she questioned how likely she was to see her so close to her own home range again and there was only one way to find out.Heaving a sigh, Boneyard allowed her next step to fall upon the dense leaves, heralding her approach with a rustle and crack. “Mist,” she said. “What brings you here?”Aereflow:Mist’s heart leapt in her chest when Boneyard made her presence known, the gray felvarg only just managing to control her body enough to not actually jump outright. Her head snapped to the direction of the approaching felvarg, but when she confirmed it was Boneyard she allowed herself to relax and took a steadying breath. “Hi, Boneyard,” Mist greeted, her voice bubbly as she returned to her characteristic demeanor. “I was trading for some supplies in Skalaness,” she replied, gesturing to her pack as she did so. “You know, getting a few last things for winter. I’m heading home now.”cryptated:Boneyard noted the other felvarg’s initial tension, but offered only a twitch of her ears as Mist composed herself. Beneath the leaves, the chill earth sapped warmth from her claws.“Fair enough,” the dark felvarg replied, her tail whisking through the harsh wind. “How often do you take this route?”Aereflow:“Not very often,” Mist responded. “A few times, though. I don’t really visit the village too much.” The gray felvarg took a moment to adjust how her pack was sitting on her back, shifting it with her shoulders and changing how the weight was distributed in her paws. With that done, she decided to ask, “Do you live around here?”cryptated:Boneyard hesitated, breaking eye contact for a moment. In that moment she noticed something moving in the air and stared into the middle distance until she was certain of what she’d seen.“Relatively close,” she answered, and then pivoted into another topic. “Looks like we’re getting snow.”Aereflow:Mist took the change in topic quite well, in that she didn’t even notice that Boneyard had done it. Instead, the gray felvarg’s gaze immediately snapped to the air around them, and in short time she was able to confirm that the other felvarg was, in fact, correct. “Snow!” she exclaimed, wagging her tail a bit for emphasis. “Oh, I love snow! It’s always so pretty. Isn’t this the first real snow of the season?” After a bit, the situation she was in hit her and she continued with, “Well, I love it when I’m at home, anyway. Maybe it’ll stay light.”cryptated:“It seems cold enough for it to stick this time,” Boneyard affirmed. Peering over her shoulder, she spotted the white flecks beginning to pepper her back. The dark felvarg twitched, but restrained herself from attempting to shake it off. It would do no good under present circumstances; she still had the trek back home ahead of her.“How far do you have to go?” she asked.Aereflow:“I’ve had to go farther,” Mist replied. “I’ll be fine.” The gray felvarg punctuated the statement with a nod. She wasn’t overly bothered, as she knew her thick coat would protect her from the worst of it. “Besides, better get used to dealing with the snow anyway. It’s not gonna go away for a while now.” Another gust of wind came and Mist watched as the snowflakes swirled around the two in response. She also noted that the ground did seem to be collecting a few small piles of snow here and there, a sign that both excited her and warned that she probably shouldn’t hang around for too much longer.cryptated:“I suppose you might make it home before too much piles up,” Boneyard suggested, her tail swishing involuntarily in response to snow clumping together on it. “I prefer walking on it when it’s already fallen and packed down.”By now the shadows had faded, the sunlight a meek glow along the horizon a mere handful of shades paler than the night sky. Sparse patches of snow littered the ground, gathering at the top of each minor hill or ridge. Overhead a network of intersecting branches were dusted with snow and dense cloud cover promised a long night of snowfall. Boneyard heaved a sigh, anticipating the following day’s soft, fluffy blanket of the stuff.Aereflow:“Yeah,” Mist agreed, “It’s easier that way for sure.” Mist looked around, noting that the amount of snow around them, stuck to whatever surfaces it happened to land on during it’s gentle descent from the sky above, seemed to be increasing at a steady rate with no sign of stopping. She flicked her ear, dislodging a bit of snow that had clumped there, then shook her body a bit to knock some of the gathered snow off her back. In anticipation of moving, she shifted her eight from paw to paw, claws flexing into the leaf litter and cold earth below her. “I guess I should probably head out before this gets bad enough to slow me down,” she said, nodding her head in the direction she’d been going when they’d run into each other. “I’ll see you around, Boneyard!” With that, the gray felvarg adjusted her bag again, turned, and started off towards her destination again, her body braced against the biting winds and snow falling, and her breath coming out in puffs that trailed behind her. As she went, Mist enjoyed the serene, quiet atmosphere that surrounded her.cryptated:“Yeah, fair enough,” Boneyard replied, offering a wave of her tail in farewell. The dark felvarg stalked back into the cover of the trees, shaking herself off once safely beneath the branches. Many were bare, but a few pines among them aided in slowing the snow’s descent. She watched as Mist moved on, minding the direction of the grey felvarg’s departure. She snorted, her breath lingering in the air around her. The trees and leaf litter were beginning to glitter with frost as they captured moonlight. A few lone snowflakes made their way through the branches and spiraling slowly towards the ground, ensuring that even the forest floor would see some coverage by morning.Boneyard oriented herself towards home, weaving between the trees. The roots tangled beneath her paws as the trunks grew closer together, heralding her return to the deepest parts of the forest. Even the dense mat of branches overhead couldn’t prevent a few lone snowflakes from speckling her dark fur.