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 Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2006 3:41 pm
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Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2006 6:32 pm
 The wind was thick upon the woods long before the black shadow had ever trudged into the snow. For two days now had the blizzard ravaged the woods, bringing with it blinding snow and frigid temperatures. It had only recently subsided somewhat- for no longer did the air rip at the earth so, but still the snow was blinding and the wind wild; but it was passable now, if only passable by the most presently mad.
All around him, Phib was confounded by white. It was almost a kind of blindness- and it burned at his eyes as he struggled to keep place with where he was at. The wind was coarse enough to blow most of his fur and tail off to one direction, and he hung his head low and ears down. It kept the cold from blowing into his head, but from the force of the wind he found it almost hard to believe this was actually the better half of the storm.
But despite all the wild horrors of the blizzard, it was not the worst his life had seen. Being raised in a most frigid wasteland, these sorts of occasions were not so blearily uncommon upon him. It was unfortunate however, that knowledge did not ease the stinging cold in his eye as he made strong efforts to keep it open in the wild wind.
This weather seemed to have fallen from nowhere- perhaps it had blown down from the mountains to the east. It had sent the old king and his mate down below the earth where some warmth could be achieved, but it had happened so quickly that it had been impossible to gather up some of the stragglers to his territory into present company. During the storm Cassidy had made her way to the den, and hopefully she had stayed put and was doing well to keep Ryoku warm as he made his way out to round up what wolves remained left in the storm.
He had known a couple of wolves had taken to lingering upon his regions- but in particular, he was looking for Anya. Unlike these vagabonds, he had a name to fit to the saddened lone. It was in his hopes that she had found some sort of shelter- but Ryoku had become exceedingly concerned about the well being of some of the wolves on the borders. And although she did have the propensity for being worried, he too felt that at the very least the conditions on the borders were substandard- and it would not do if this blizzard would last any longer.
Phib picked up the pace, his large paws falling somewhat in the snow, for even the snowshoe like capabilities of a wolf's paws could only do so much against the fragile new snow. He was heading off into the direction he'd last scented her at, and hopefully that would do for the time.
It would still be hard tracking her, or anyone stuck out in the wild cold. Hopefully however, sound would come into play. Raising his head just enough so that it did not get the fully blast of the cold, he opened his mouth and let a low, short howl cut through the sound of the wind. It would not do to let it last long, for he could not risk the loss of too much hot air from within his frame.
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Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2006 4:28 pm
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Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 4:35 pm
Another blast of cold wind, and Phib felt his side rattled. This was new. Was it age? It didn't happen again, so he classified it as a freak occurrence. But surely enough, he knew that for all the strength he did have, he was aging. Even if he pretended not to notice. It wasn't a particularly bleak outcome- his family had a history of living well past the age of 'why the hell aren't you dead yet'. But then again, his family also had a history of getting insane as age wore strength thin.
As if dispelling the notion, he snorted against the frigid air, and lost touch somewhat with the aged self. For even healthy young wolves, he was still remarkably young in disposition, and he continued on the cold trek without much concern again to it.
But the wind did howl- and the world seemed to be covered in a hazy blue mist. It swirled like white smoke, obstructed only by his body and the wild and stony grey trees. A few of the weaker ones bent to the wind, making the path strange and spindly.
But from the depths of the wooded area, there came another sound which the wind did quickly to try and drown against the snow. It rose and fell again, cut off in strange proportions, but it was enough for the old king to indentify it as a howl. Impossible to tell from who- but he did not doubt the necessity of responding to it.
At this attempt- he rose his head so he could do a longer howl, although it left his mouth dry and icy by the time the warm air had rushed from his throat. It responded simply, 'I'm here-' And snorting against the cold air, he shook off his white muddled coat, and began to trudge slowly through the ankle deep snow. The fact that he had heard it meant the owner was not too far.
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Posted: Fri Mar 24, 2006 9:24 pm
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Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2006 6:32 am
Phib kept his place in the howling wind, although it was now exhorting it's force upon the left side of his body- so much so that he slightly leaned into it, and it was able to keep him upright. He waited. Scent was impossible with the snow- breathing alone was almost painful as each breath brought in cold air and shriveled all the warmth from the body. It was conditions he was used to, but that did nothing to alleviate the cold or allow him to move further.
More waiting- but it would have to do. Once more he made a soft, low howl, and found himself staring at the endless dazzle of white. Anya would have to make her way to him, or they would loose position. He did not like the idea, but nor did he deny the fact that he stood out considerably better in the snow. And yet, even now the snow blasted shape of his coat had almost been swallowed into a slate grey rather then his deep black. The snow invaded the layers of fur beneath the guard hairs, chilling his body.
He exhaled sharply and lowered his head to another quick blast of snow, and he became faintly aware of an old wound in his leg somewhat throbbing. But the snow did well to numb most portions of his body, and belligerently, he attempted to ignore it. It was a faint bumping against his chest that brought him out of waiting, and glancing downwards his eyes met with Anya's.
She seemed cold, but glad, and he was pleased that he had found her- her coat was much thinner then he remembered. For what it was worth his tail swayed pleasantly at the light attentions she paid to his chin, before circling around her, and boxing her towards the direction he had came from. The snow was blowing this way, and in some minute portion it blocked some of the snow. "Come!" He spoke against the noise, his voice sharply made with the frigid temperatures.
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Posted: Sun Mar 26, 2006 5:00 pm
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Posted: Sun Mar 26, 2006 5:40 pm
The wind was blistering against him now- and even though he did have a thick winter coat, the snow was finding it's way to blast through the guard hair and burn at his skin with tiny cold flecks of ice. He had assembled, somewhat, a kind of tolerance to it however- one, mostly because it would not be the first nor last time he had navigated in a blizzard, and two, because he knew (either through instinct or sheer belligerence) that he could not even appear to look wavering. Anya did not seem to well- for a moment it looked as though she might loose her balance before she continued moving. It was not good for anyone to be left out in this- let alone a woman, which alone was enough to keep Phib henning her back towards the den.
Unfortunately, the way back was getting to be just as harsh as coming. It was quickly not enough for him to stand in the path of the snow- it was coming with such a force of wind that it fluttered up beneath his belly and across his throat and found its way everywhere. Even his eyes were dazzled with snow, and he had to bitterly blink and snort once to free them from his face. With this plan failing, he pulled alongside her and kept his shoulder against his.
Navigating too, was another problem. The world was white and a puzzle. Nothing looked much like it once did- and if it was not for the thick scent of salt to the south and the faint recollections he had of his trip prior there may have been greater concerns at hand. Salt was good- he knew that smell, and within enough proximity of the den he would smell that as well. But still there was quite a distance to cover, and he continued to worry about the female's condition- it did not look as though she had been eating much before the storm. She seemed to be keeping herself as stoic as possible, and hopefully that would be enough.
"--A little more south--" He uttered out, and the breath came in a tumble of snow and ice which made him sputter somewhat. He said it mostly to reassure that they were in the right direction- although it was hard to tell if she could hear, for even standing next to one another the wind was loud and what the wind did not destroy the cold numbed and weedled away into frost.
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Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 1:20 pm
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Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 1:39 pm
Her voice reached his ears, but he had to lower his head to avoid another cold blast of air before responding. It was not that the cold blast would be absent by the time he resurfaced his head, but the fact that he could give himself a moment to prepare for the warmth to leave his chest as he spoke. And finally when Phib's head did rise, it still took a moment for him to begin speaking, as the first few seconds left itself only to a slow breathing and a careful consideration of the direction they were moving. He did not stop to speak- it seemed as though Anya was having a hard time keeping herself conscious, and stopping would only make it worse.
"Not far-" He uttered, a bit lower then before. "A bit too far west-" Another pause before continuing as he swallowed to keep the biting cold out of his mouth; the cold frost seemed to travel it's way down his throat as he did, and agitatedly he snorted a small plume of mist. "-Go east," He simplified, looking east. "Not far from-" His paw felt numb, and he dragged it against the snow to bring it back. It angrily complained about the cold, and probably had a nasty bit of ice shoved through it. But there was little time to be picking at the ice. "-Here, the ocean you can smell, keep following that." He concluded, and swallowed harshly against the new frost that had absorbed itself through his teeth.
A log was in the way of the path, although the amount of snow had almost drowned it. He forced himself over it rather then walk across, for he did not like the idea of straying even a minute further to the west. The bark was so stiff with frost some of the portions crumbled under his weight, and he had to shake his back leg free of some of the wood fiber. At least another mile now.
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Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 3:12 pm
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Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2006 7:04 pm
Despite the windy cold, he turned his head to watch the pale female clear the log. She seemed almost as though the snow had formed her- even now they were both so dappled with the covering it was hard to tell who was being swallowed faster. His own coat, although still dark against the endless white, had been pelted to a faint grey, particularly on one side where the snow was caking and he had no more will to shake it for fear of it becoming habit. He could tolerate the cold. But if he removed it, and he grew warmer, only to have it return, it would become a problem. No, better a constant strangling then a slow gap- he knew how to even himself, and handle himself in such situations. It did not make it more pleasant, but it did make him a bit more sympathetic.
And then- suddenly she fell, straight into the snow as if it had called her down. He gaped somewhat in surprise and received a chill to his throat, and had to snort a couple of times to expel the cold from his lungs. Quickly he trotted the two steps towards her- which thanks to the wind felt more like five, and began to sniff at her head, and crossed it once or twice with his tongue. "Get up." He spoke lowly, and just above her head and it fell as more a whisper against the harshness. He pushed her with the end of his snout. "Not far."
Phib's head rose, and blearily he opened his eyes to strain against the snow flurry. No- not far at all, because he could smell another wolf in the distance. Cassidy most likely- for he doubted even with all her concern Ryoku would manage herself from the den. Hopefully she was not moving towards them- but he did not mind using her scent as a marker.
"Not too far." He responded again, somewhat more a chant then an observation.
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Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 3:12 pm
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Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 9:29 pm
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Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2006 1:27 pm
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