oh, this black ice

From cool waters to ice, a stilled chest beat-beating with a pulse strong enough to rattle his bones, Navrose met this world with a sharp, throat-tearing gasp. He smacked dry jaws—dry?—willing his frame upright, stomach to the frozen earth. Around him, the world was… odd in that it felt and looked so much like his home but notably varied.

For one, the man knew he died. For second, his tundra was aflame, wildfires licking and tearing at the foliage.

Navrose winced, shook his head at the risk of the ache it’d induce, and forced himself to rise.

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Olive was away, but Tiberius remained — the court had officially begun. They had taken some of their kin with and the others were behind ; manpower was lessened lightly and there was a drum within Aries's heart.. She hoped and lightly knew in truth that she was sure nothing would happen in the in-between. Duskguard had no natural enemies, although the past of one or another had named one particular pack in an unknown alignment, there wasn't anything that yet to deem true enemies within this northern land. 

.. But she was still uneased. 

Taking the chance, the woman took the edges and scouted around the vale. Out of the territory and the exploration of anything that stood out ; to prey and loners alike. She noted on the ground the movement of the herd, although often was in the vale of Duskguard, lately they taken their endeavours elsewhere due to the ferocious tiger, hunting them one by one. She sniffed at the tracks, they were stale but.. Wasn't the only scent she could tell. A loner drifted somewhere nearby, the scent caught on the wind as she raised her head and looked forward with a golden look —

a tall wolf stood far, far away.

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His bones popped like bloodied hide tossed to cache and fished out weeks later, a painful stiffness to his movements he persisted past. Navrose swallowed the stale taste of his mouth, copper-tinged and unwelcome as the soreness which came with his breaths, the fact unsurprising. It was as though he’d simply… awakened, the circumstances of his death a mere figment of the imagination his body sought to counter.

The sea salt still burned his tongue.

Scent came alive next, a slowly rearing reconnection to the brain, dark nose twitching, pausing in step. Navrose glanced around, taking this scent as foreign and confirming it when his eyes landed on a figure such a distance away he only knew was female due to the undertones swept along the wind. Navrose tried to speak, failed. His throat raw and the words lost. After another moment, he dared to venture closer.

The odds of her belonging to his pack in any capacity was low, if existent, but he could not help but be willed by the selfish desire for answers.

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They slowly approached, long-limbed with the alluring that they were far taller then initially seen, especially with each stride they took they were the measurement of a gigantic wolf ; but slim, thin, athletic look, not a one like a bear that reminded her of Tiberius or Genghis. It reminded her something akin to a wanderer, a lost soul within the tundra that none to approach — mysterious and wild, but instead of a phantom she thought, was someone who smelled of flowers and something burning. Her nose twitched, as she smiled. 

"Lovely day isn't it?" ah, but the drizzle was there. She had nearly forgotten such a weather, for so subtle that the dew didn't penetrate her fur and only grazed her plump-surface. A rather light storm to say the least, where the sun was still shinning through on this morning ; giving the land but a light glow from the glistening water.

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As poorly as he felt, the weather was one thing that remained unable to touch him, his thick, soft coat allowed him to move with the rain pattering down and rolling off, merely leaving him a damp mess. His only repose—and yes, he'd call her such—was the woman as he neared, none unlike a spirit, ethereal, graced by the tundra's whispers all but for the golden hue of her eyes. If he was still laying in the water, brain activity dwindling, cusping death—let it steal him.

Something sweet and flowered met his nose, through his bodily discomfort of coming into himself, he proposed a soft smile, canting his head in an enticed tilt. "Undoubtedly, but the day is as I am, ever lucky," he managed, voice thick with exhaustion. "For we both only have you to thank for it." Navrose, though not from an explicit line, had nobility instilled in him as soon as he could walk. Leaving a few feet between them to allow her to near if she so desired, Navrose lowered his head in greeting, lifting it high once more, glancing down upon her.

"My name is Navrose... and yours?" He flicked an ear, an octave dropping to deepen the state of his warm words. "What's been so blessed as to have you?"

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"My, aren't you a charmer," this line was familiar, "but i'm sure you have seen even more pleasant days." Lately Aries had many that were quietly stroking her heart strings on the endless compliments given — not something she was generally used to and though wanted to accept such compliments, the blush she felt beneath her fur had her evade in another way. A woman who was not prone to flirtations and not used to such honey-laced words wasn't sure how to deal with the continual flirtations.

"I am Aries Winterwald," something compelled her to give upon a full-name. She bowed lightly before lifting her head to him with a warm and soft smile. He aura'd a way that made her feel like she was at the balls again, where men and woman would dance to the days ahead for the court that celebrated. How she missed those festivals and the times of dancing and signing — a simple way others would try and woo' a partner, if not already engaged.. She often did not part in that topic — especially once she actually did get engaged.

"You do not seem like you are from around here.." Aries said as she sniffed lightly and pointed out his loner-scent. There was not a pack upon him — only herself and the rements of Duskguard.

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"I was always told a poet is only as good as his muse so if my words charm, I have you to thank for them," he said, taking another tentative step toward the woman though ensuring to not intrude much further—a wordless barrier only she could cross to reach him or invite him over. It was something akin to dance. Navrose looked left to right, letting dark eyes return to hers. "Maybe so... today is warmer than I'd like... but not a single day included you, they simply cannot contend." It wasn't an exaggeration, he was an honest man by nature, and the woman remained a breathtaking sight as the wind breathed through her fur, sunlight a halo at her back.

When she spoke of her name, it came as second nature to him, and it was with that he spoke, "A gorgeous name for a wolf like you, Miss Winterwald," he told her, offering a slight wag of his tail. "I'm Navrose Rostova, it's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance."

Aries sniffed his way, earning a twitch of his own nose. She smelt of others, faintly, indicative of a pack. Navrose set his jaw with a hum, shaking his head. "I'm afraid I'm not. It seems I..." Navrose licked his lips, contemplating how to phrase it, certain to spare her the gruesome details. "I hope you do not think I'm mad when I say I woke here when this was far from the place I bedded down."

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"Please," almost a begging for him to stop through her smiles, "you'd make any girl blush, i'm sure you have left some wishing you still were there." My oh my, Aries could only imagine the few woman who were left within tears but such rose-touched words. Any dream of a knight to take them, cradle them in but cute-tones and warmth like no other ; as if they were a treasure itself, and she was no exception. But she knew better then to.. Fall for quick whims of flirts ; for who knew if she would ever see him again?

"Aries is quite fine," she insisted with a similar sway of her tail, "and you are not mad.. Rather it seems to be an.. Normality, in this land. It would be strange to say I was similar, but instead frankly, I fell from the sky." What she once thought was strange was now nothing but another paw within this land. She could no longer think what is up is the same as the up she knew, and might as well be the reverse and go downwards. 

It was an adjustment.

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Navrose let out an amused breath that wisped on the air before his muzzle. He'd had women take a liking to him in the past, he'd spin words to curl around their focus from time to time but she gave him far too much credit, and the others too much importance. "Maybe so," he admitted, attention entirely on her, though. "But I've been so blessed to earn your attention, Aries, for even a moment... grand as any other girl may be they are far from you." The male wouldn't know it, of course, but he was drawn to Aries in the way that the moon was drawn to the ocean, not by any logic but by the intrinsic tether.

"Fell from the sky? My... unharmed?" said Navrose, a lick of worry to his tone though she appeared more than alright now, allowing for her response to soothe him, and with it he offered a hum, the flicker of a soft smile. "Cannot say I'm surprised, you really are an angel." The wind blew again, twitching his nose and carrying with it the scent of others on her pelt. "You're... with a pack, I see?"

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"Dear sir', there is only so much I can take without also being flustered." Aries wasn't sure how to take compliments anymore and not only felt heated but albeit a bit awkward now. It was a point to almost shy away from the man, a reverse affect as she naturally pleased to calm such an acts as much as it made her heart beat lightly. But she also didn't know him to truly accept such words besides that of someone who is quite the socialist. 

She needed to shove her face in snow.

A swift move to the newest convo, "It happened quite a few months ago — I was preparing for an engagement, but a hole appeared! I had fallen alone to this unfamiliar land.. Right in Duskguard's land, where I reside and pledged to. They were nice enough to take someone who seemed by literally, fell from the sky. Although it seemed it isn't such an uncommon phenomenon around the region." An assurance he wasn't but a crazy man to say so, and in-fact happened to many such as herself. She would think her own story was a bit more wild then waking up.. But wouldn't it be more scary not to realize what was happening? Searching, for where one once was..

Such strange times, she thought.

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Navrose would not notice the woman's gradual distaste with his words, a man of bluntness and accustomed to the women of his pack who'd nearer bite your ear clean off for pushing their comfort, unused to the more... quieter sort but it was for his luck that he did not appreciate a crudeness to sweetened words, nor did he appreciate tiring them out so soon, and it was with this that he shook his head with a soft chuckle to underline his next words, "Perhaps it's good to be flustered in this weather," he teased, though with a smile that bordered the realm of jokester rather than the intrinsic air of prestige he usually carried. Navrose would then drop his expression, blank-faced, brows pinched. A hole?

"A hole? Bless," he said, seeming horrified at the idea. "Duskguard..." Navrose said, trying the name out on his tongue, odd turn of naming for a pack—not a last name or birthplace to emphasize one's claim in sight. Perhaps this new world cared little for the things he found monumental. It was then that it clicked, ears pricking. "Your жених — Fiance... Did they come with you? Did... anyone you know come?"

For once, his unbothered, kind aura faded and the man appeared... worried, deeply. As though what she said next would be terribly important. That there was a wrong answer. He felt sick at the thought. He knew he could not hide this.

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"Duskguard is quite a pleasant place if you are looking somewhere." Aries was more then welcoming to introduce Navrose to the group — she enjoyed his company, even though a bit flustered by his unusually sweetened words. It brought a tickling to one's heart that made her wish she could run away for it was embarrassing, but also a fluttering. Compliments from men were a rarity, and as much as she dreamed of it, the reality was it was quite hard to take in. The attention felt nice but it almost felt too greedy, that it also felt shameful. He was right that this weather was quite good to be flustered, as the cold breeze would help wash some warmth away.

But all aside she thought he'd make a wonderful packmate. Another male to the midst, a heavy one within Duskguard that was accustomed to quite a variety — the group had a rather healthy blend of both, but the more the merrier to make the pack more homey and welcoming to many. Just as they had done to her, she so hoped to stretch a paw out to others so that more could join on what was now a home. She smiled fondly when inviting him.

"I fell alone — but even if I didn't, i've never seen his face, so I wouldn't even know if I had met him," there was a sigh with her smile, and a paw that lightly tapped her face, "it was an arranged marriage after all," she said then dropping her paw back onto the snow. He spoke a word she was unfamiliar with, and was a bit curious.. But wondered whether it'd be rude to ask, so for the moment, Aries refrained.

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"Looking for... Oh," Navrose pondered what she said before it clicked what she meant, oh, that was right—unfortunately, he was alone... as much as that was a blessing beyond the tinge of hurt he felt. His position in the life he once knew had been snuffed away into nothingness the moment he woke in a world that did not care for what he was; did not even know his name. It flustered him and worsened his concentration on translating himself from his native tongue to one he knew most understood. It was pitiful, really, what he'd do next, as he spoke on the hope she'd understand him, "ты отведешь меня к своей императрице?" — will you take me to your empress?

It saddened him, some, realizing now that he was perhaps the only one to speak his tongue... that perhaps this was some damnation, deserved as it may be, he ached. Navrose shook his fur out, snorting, looking here and there. At least he was alone, no one to speak of his actions, no one to speak of him; she may have been a stranger but there was relief, solace, in Aries for she saw him as another wolf. Nothing more. In her eyes he may not good, no stranger was, but he was not cruel, not dirty, and when he looked to his forepaws they were not stained by crimson. Maybe this was purgatory but it was as much his blessing as his curse.

Holy. This was holy.

And then she drew him from his woe, curiosity. "You did not pick him... yourself?" This made him curious. "Is that how it worked in your world? You did not get selection?" He flicked his tail, painfully innocent confusion on his features, not judgmental nor teasing, honest desire to learn something so odd. "Where I come from, the women they, how do you say... uhm, choose their жених — fiance when it is arranged, I would know." Navrose laughed a little, he'd never been selected, though propositioned twice which was an honor; but he always fell... short, lacking desirable traits. "May I ask why? For the union?"

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"I'm afraid I do not know your native tongue," Aries gave him a saddened smile as she could not tell of his certain phrases of words. She spoke a few languages though, and was always willing to know more : fancied in particular of French as her original, but Finnish was the one she was raised to be in. Otherwise English was just an added plus through the insistence of her now deceased mother and but the simple curiosities of trades from packs that did know the same tongues. Though the snow-kissed woman never truly used it just yet, and she believed this was the most she ever spoken in such tongue! It was.. Easier then she thought, but maybe that was simply the grace of the Gods to do so, "but i'd be willing to learn."

She hummed in thought as there was a few moments of pondering that was expressed onto her face before gliding back to the usual warmth. She was thinking how to express properly, "I was not born in my homeland, but I was raised there. I was offered, but not forced — but I had thought such an arrangement could hold stronger roots to the region, for myself and my sister." Aries had no feelings into it. It felt more a business deal, and a sacrifice worth making, "I thought I would be happy as long as he was a kind man."

It was not something she was particularly hiding or felt it was something to hold. She was open about it ; for surely many wolves were in a similar situation and it was once a past that was.. No longer around. Just a part of what was once her life.

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He’d been hopeful… but it did not surprise the man, not by much at all, perhaps Navrose was the only of this world who knew it—what a lonely thought that was. This would be why, when her voice came to him again, he sagged a little in what could only be considered relief… Maybe he’d not be so lonely after all. ”I’d be more than pleased to teach you, любовь. — love” She wouldn’t have to know it all… so soon, of course.

What she spoke of was odd still yet, his matriarchal homeland was much… different. What Aries relayed felt cold, something like trading caribou with a neighbor to cross through their territory for a short time, but he wouldn’t show it, stoic as he nodded. ”Happy… I would have hoped but I believe everyone deserves to feel loved, from and for another. Having known you as shortly as I have, I’ll dare to say happiness is just half of all you deserve,” he said to her, his tone lack of all the charm and full of sincerity—none unlike he’d speak to a dear friend. ”And dare I say… the past is the past—and you are who you are now, this north is yours to roam free of obligation… Could I ask you to show it to me?”

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There was a slight chuckle, "I could not deny the teachings. Knowledge is power to help and provide." By her tongue alone she knew at least three languages, and by the thanks of the Gods that one of them was normal within this land. However she would miss the blessings of the Finnish tongue and even more the speaking of French to her mother and sister, but it was so rare when in truth they were barely brought up in customs. The 2nd known as far more familiar then the mother-land tongue.

"I would hope that this newfound freedom would grant me so.. And to meet many more like yourself. I'd be happy to tell you more about the tundra, though my own is lacking, I haven't been here for long."

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