told me i'm both kinds of wasted

 

 The first thing the viper notices is how cold it is. A groan came from the male's lips as he pushed a paw over his eyes, trying to shield himself from the light. "Fuckin' shit... Where am I?" He grumbled, eyes peeling open and trying to make sense of the reflecting light on the snow around him. How far had he wandered from home? He didn't feel hungover, just disorientated. God, if Nicharion could see him now, he'd laugh his ass off. 

 Finally, he pulled himself from the snow, shaking it off and clenching his muscles tight. Why the fuck was it so cold? But he didn't dare let himself shiver, gritting his teeth. What the hell was he supposed to do now? It didn't occur to him that he was on a giant glacier, but did so once he felt his paws slip and went sliding downwards. "Shit — Fuck!" And there he went, face planting into the garden that lived right outside of the ice. After a moment of realizing what had just happened, his teeth gritted against each other, grinding. This was a fucked day. He popped right up afterwards, grass stains on his face, chest, and forelegs. Out of irritation, the man's hackles raised on end, brazen in the light, and his teeth were bared, ready for someone to test him — god save whoever found him. 

---

soft tag for @Sorina, but anyone can find him!
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The Glacier Gardens had been a primary source of herbs that once filled Shiroshika's stores. Quicksilver was sure he'd been there once or twice before, but he could not recall. He'd likely been distracted, he supposed, prowling with the hope of catching up to Reiko after an interaction had gone wrong. The druid was taking some time growing accustomed to the lands that were meant to be home to his young family, for the snow underfoot continued to nip at his paw pads.

It began to flurry again as he roamed, cold nose working to detect any familiar scents that he might recognise from the Southern lands he'd come from, but the call of a stranger drew his head up. Quicksilver's tail flagged at once, his hackled pricked defensively; he did not trust rogues to be so close to his frozen mountains. He blinked snowflakes from his lashes and stepped forward, pausing as he spotted a black-red figure rise from among the flora.

Quicksilver saw the bearing of his fangs and remained on edge, though he did not reveal his own. He barked, drawing attention to himself, and sucked in a deep breath. He wasn't willing to let his guard down, not yet, but was hopeful that the loner would not move to strike.


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 Viridscent green eyes searched, darting back and forth for a sign that he was anywhere near home. But these weren't the Highlands, no. This was unlike anything he'd seen before. Did spirits whisk him away in the night? Someone broke him out of his search for answers. Someone barked at him. Nathair's teeth clenched against each other as he snapped his gaze towards whomever made the noise. 

 The culprit was found not far off. A lean alabaster man, decorated with different shades of grey. Nathair's hackles prickled even more. The fur on the backend of his rump rising as well. "Who're you? Did you bring me here, twig?" The wrinkles on his nose crinkling more as he pressed a step forward, showing that he wasn't afraid of any wolf. He'd trained since he was a teenager in the jungle, practicing his taunts and viper like strikes on anything that he could. The man's tail flagged high behind him, dominance in his stance. He refused to back down to whoever the fuck was in front of him. "Where the fuck am I?" He moved a step closer, leaning down, ready to either steady himself for an attack or lunge forward if the stranger was idiotic enough to try anything.

@Quicksilver
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While the rogue might've been unafraid, Quicksilver interpreted his hostility to be just that. The druid stared, his pallid eyes unfaltering, as his newest acquaintance reacted with distaste to his presence. Fear coursed his own veins, reminded him that he was no warrior, but there was a far stronger instinct within him that'd been discovered following the birth of his offspring.

Thus, his posture remained tall and his ears remained erect; this display wasn't about pride or dominance, purely as a first means of defence. Tension ran high among the wolves of Shiroshika after their return to the frosted mountains they'd previously fled from, and Quicksilver was confident that they would aid him without hesitation should he make the call.

He flicked his tongue over a pearly canine and inhaled deeply through his nose to steady his nerves. “You woke up here?” Quicksilver ignored the wildling's insult, letting it roll from him like water from a duck's back. If he wanted to ask again, without trying to offend him, then the silverwhite would've been willing to assist. “Happens more often than you might think.”


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 Snow assaulted his charcoal pelt, penetrating the coat that had been accustomed to warmer climates. The viper's ears were pinned against his head. Hot, quick puffs of air exited his nose like a bull revving up to charge. "No shit." He snorted as if he were stating that the sky was blue. 

 'Happens more often than you think.' Nathair's maroon eyebrows furrowed together out of confusion. "What the hell does that mean? Is that some kind of riddle?" His eyes narrowed at the other. He wasn't in any kind of mood for this. One moment he was sleeping on a comfortable elk pelt he'd just traded some halfwit who thought he had a miracle potion for limp-dick. It was amazing what wolves would trade to get it up again. But he was one of the best salesmen in the South. He and his trickster partner, it was easy to make money when you had a "miracle worker" and his "ill-found victim." And the next moment, he was in some fucking cold ass climate, with barely any protection from it and some fucko who was telling him riddles.

 All of it was getting under his skin more than he thought it would, and it was hard to push it all down to try to get some information. It was difficult — straining even to be charming when you didn't know what was happening. The viper sucked in a breath, holding it in for a moment before releasing it. His hackles stayed up, still wary of the other. "Listen. I don't know where the hell I am. What is that supposed to mean? Is there some group that drags sleeping, unexpecting wolves to the North?" Maybe that elk-pelt was too comfy. Maybe he'd just slept so deep... Or got duped into sleeping on some valerian laced pelt. Whatever the fuck it was, he just wanted to get back home. So he could beat whoever's ass did this to him.

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He was braced - against the snowy wind, against the stranger's fury. Quicksilver was anxious of an attack and wasn't quite sure how he'd respond if teeth were turned on him. He'd done nothing to warrant such hostility and did not particularly want to offer any help, either. He simply wanted the loner to move on, away from the land that bordered his own, without violence.

“Not a riddle,” he answered simply, ears splayed, “it just... is what it is. Happened to me, too. Happened to most of us.”

Silence fell between the duo, and Quicksilver welcomed it. He looked on, pallid eyes unmoving, for he did not wish to place himself in a vulnerable position should the rogue choose to assault. The druid watched on as his feral companion inhaled deep and exhaled in a sigh, seemingly trying to compose himself, and while he maintained his own caution he did feel some small relief.

The silverwhite flicked his tail, “you're in a place called Glacier Garden.” He paused. “I can't explain why you woke up here. Some come from another life, others have no memory of theirs.”


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 The morning sun was set in the sky, but barely touched near the planet, causing the cold to break through Nathair's thin coat. The light against the snow was bright and blinding, making him squint to see Quicksilver. He couldn't quite make out if the other man had been reacting to his hostility or merely brushing it off. If he had an issue with it, then Nathair would flip on like a light-switch, only needing a simple motion to send him barreling at the stranger. He could use a win. 

 When he finally answered, the confusion he felt didn't go away. If anything, it worsened. 'Happened to me, too. Happened to most of us.' Huh? Nathair rolled his shoulders, eyebrows furrowed together as if trying to solve a mystery. He still didn't understand. Sure, it wasn't a riddle, but it sure felt like one. The man's teeth gritted against each other once again. But then, when Quicksilver started to speak again, the tension in his face faded. 'Some of us come from another life...' What the fuck? No seriously, what the fuck. Had he fallen asleep in a fairy circle or some shit? 

 Nathair took a long glance around him, noticing the gardens nearby — okay, now that was also weird. What in fuck's name would grow in this place? And realization slowly started to sink in that this was not the highlands. This wasn't anywhere where he was from. No, wherever the fuck he was, he was in the same hell as all the rest of them. "Fuckin' great." He sighed, rolling his eyes, then returning his attention back to the stranger. "Well, then. Glacier Garden. Cool." He commented, sounding disinterested. "Tell me, you know of any warmer places than this?" 

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He waited, watching quietly as the rogue's aggression seemed to ease a little. Quicksilver, unwilling to let down his guard so easily, did not dare step forward in approach. He didn't know this wolf, did not trust him, and considered how quickly he'd been to become hostile he absolutely did not want to feel teeth at his hide. The druid blinked, feeling his own anxiety peak, and did his best to mask the very real uncertainty within him.

“Go South,” he answered simply, squinting against the snow that nipped at his eyes as he moved to gesture briefly in the appropriate direction. Normally he would see the mountains rise up in the distance, but the weather was not on his side. “You'll find a frozen forest, claimed by a pack who call themselves Haldis. Beyond that, the temperature is milder.”

There was no chance he'd make an attempt at recruiting this wildcard, he'd already decided. Shiroshika would benefit from a "tougher" sort, especially considering their recent relocation, but he was reminded of Gyrfalcon and Reiko's grave injuries following the attack of an unstable pack-mate. No, it would be best if this stranger moved on sooner rather than later, and the silverwhite decided he would linger until he did so.


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 The lanky male gave him information that warmed him just from hearing it. Nathair's posture changed to something more causal. "Hm. Haldis. Great. Thanks." Nathair muttered, still confused. Nonetheless, it didn't seem like this man was going to give him anymore. He seemed like he wanted Nathair to get the hell out of there, and Nathair wasn't about to argue. He'd rather freeze his ass off doing something worthwhile, anyway. 

 Shoving himself in the direction Quicksilver had noted, "See ya, twig." He chuffed, beginning the path of frigid, frost-biting weather to, at least, not as harsh, cooler biomes. 

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