Ever since the male had found the snow covered jagged mountains, in what was known as Frozen Fang pass, he truly felt at home. Almost even more so than the actual camp itself. Here, it snowed year round and the bitter cold wind always blew, just like his old home.

Today he was here on a border patrol, having left the camp just as the sun began to set it was now just after sunset, the snowy mountains only lit by the dim light of the sun beyond the horizon and the moon as it started to rise. All around him, he was surrounded by enormous mountains, some of their peeks thousands of feet above him, but yet he was not at the bottom of the canyons in between the mountains. The border followed a small path worn into the sides of the mountains by mountain goats, and thus is was also easy to maybe catch one while on patrol during the day.

At night however, the mountain goats gave way to other creatures of the mountains. Mostly lesser predators such as coyotes, but there was also the occasional snow leopard. During his patrols, Kodiak could occasionally spot one on another mountain face, but he has never come face to face with one. He figured the border markings served as a deterrent for them.

After navigating the steep slope of one mountain, he came upon a part of the trail that seemed to widen; here the male decided he would rest for a bit, and take in the view of the huge mountains, cast in the dim light of dusk.

Chiara hadn't been in the pack more then a week and already found herself lost in a early snow storm. Darkness of the night made it nearly impossible for her to find her way home and soon she realized it was too late to turn home in this blizzard. Eying the path ahead on her the dark wolf forced her way through this storm, feeling a trace of hope Chiara walked forcibly towards it, hoping for refuge. On either side of her the mountains grew taller, making her realize she was getting closer to the cold mountains ahead, a place she had yet to visit. Perhaps one day on her own accord she would venture up the steep slopes, but not tonight, no now she just wanted to get home.

Pushing further forward a blast of air made her step left and nearly trip over a resting lump of fur and muscle. Sprawling on the snow Chiara snarled at the figure, snapping at it's face in a threat that would scare anyone. It was only after she blinked the snow from her eyes that she saw it was Kodiak, one of her few true friends. Dropping down the aggression a few notches she stared at him, surprised beyond anything. "What are you doing out here?" The male had been a member for a bit longer than her, perhaps he knew the way home and away from these mountains? Kodiak had proved a fast friend fro their time in Helidos. His smooth words and ability to brighten her day never failed to make her happy, even after what happened with Damon. After his death and having seen him here he seemed to enjoy her transformation that much more, why was that? Wagging her tail at seeing him she toned down the face of being rough and tough for a second, she didn't have to be around him.

As Kodiak began his break in his patrol, the winds started picking up, and soon a heavy blizzard rolled into the mountains. The beautiful view disappeared replace with pure whiteness. Kodiak could only see about five yards in either direction. The blizzard that blew in with the wind will make any travel much harder for the wolf. He was considering waiting out the storm until morning when something, or someone stepped on him.

The male was quite startled jumping out of the snow, and snarling in return to whatever it was that sneaked up on him. In a few moments however he realized it was a pack mate, his nose picking up the fae's identity before his eyes. Once he knew it was Chiara, his fur flattened again and his face softened from the snarl it held before.

"I could ask you the same question, I am on a border patrol." the male said shaking the snow out of his fur. "It was going well until this storm rolled in."

It was quite nice to see the fae, he hadn't seen her since he was in Helidos, and indeed they were good friends. Chiara was in fact one of the only friends the male had, and one of the few wolves he had even gotten the time to meet. The male had always felt slightly disconnected from the pack life, and he spent most of his time out in the pack's territory rather than getting to know the other wolves. Perhaps it had just been his instincts that were left over during his time as a loner, which taught him to avoid other wolves. The fae put him at ease however.

Her friend snarled at her as she growled at him, but as he settled down, so did she. lowering her stiff tail the relief in her posture was hard to hide at the realization that her old friend was standing before her. Their brief time in Helidos was spent exploring the mountains, getting stuck in them and nearly falling down a cliff. During that day Chiara had pushed aside her old shy ways for something in him she didn't understand. He made her feel relaxed, like he was a long time friend or brother to her, very odd. Similar to the same effect Damon put over her she found Kodiak easy to talk to and trustworthy. He always knew what to say to lift her up or feel sure of herself, a trait she hadn't found in anyone else.

As he explained himself the fae found herself drawn to embracing him, out of the reason of not seeing him in so long. There last meeting had been at the border when she found Esmerelda and was covered with blood. Few words were exchanged before she chased him off and left Chiara wondering if he had missed her as much as she did? She held back from hugging him, but instead didn't hide the grin or her face or the wag in her tail. "I had yet to explore this area before the storm rolled in. Could we find shelter some where and catch up before we become buried?" She asked, motioning to a cave notched into the side of the mountain. The wind and snow was picking up and she didn't want to have a decent conversation freezing to death.

Kodiak smiled lightly as her face lit up at seeing him, and he wagged his tail slightly in return. He followed her gaze to a cave in the side of the mountain, just barely visible in the snowy conditions. The male simply nodded in agreement to her suggestion before he started heading towards the cave, the large male sinking a bit into the snow with each step.

Finally, Kodiak plowed through the last bit of snow, which got surprisingly deep very quickly, a bunch of white powder pouring into the bare cave as he came through the snow drift forming at the mouth of the cave. Once inside, the cave was quite roomy, and it did well to shelter them from the harsh winds outside, a constant howling sound forming at the mouth of the cave from the wind.

The male glanced back to see if the fae had followed him before giving his fur a quick shake, sending small bits of snow stuck to it flying off. He then settled at one side of the cave, peering out at the blizzard, and the pure whiteness outside. While the conditions were poor, Kodiak would not have it any other way. His thick coat was built for this kind of weather, he felt rather stuffy at Helidos, especially during the summer, the warm weather had been quite a shock to him, but here he was right at home. Finally after staring outside for a few long moments he turned to Chiara, "I always preferred the colder weather..." he said, somewhat awkwardly. The male hadn't seen the fae in a while, and he really didn't know what to say, she seemed somewhat different from the time they had spent at Helidos, and he was still wondering why she was covered in blood last they met, it had been the blood of a wolf from the scent it had. He didn't question her further then however.

Chiara followed Kodiak willingly into the cave, glad to be out of the wind. Inside was damp, but warmed quickly from the body heat emitted from the pair. Looking around she fae noticed the cave seemed to expand upward, creating a vast ceiling that echoed every sound around them. Her eyes scanned the cavern, deciding it was suitable for the pair to relax in until the storm settled down. The wind howled outside like someone was dying, making an eerie sound that chilled her to the bone. She was glad to be here with her old friend, time and distance had separated them before and now was a chance to catch up. Kodiak then spoke about he enjoyed the cold weather and it made her smile. Her old pack lived in the dense forest and winter was only a few months long, not letting her grow a long coat like his. Envious of the warmth he had she quenched her own shivering and sat down to talk.

Not sure what to talk about Chiara gazed around until some small talk entered her mind. "So what have you been up to? I haven't seen you since I entered the pack covered in blood a few weeks back." She said, willing to open those doors if he asked. She had no qualms with talking with him about it, she had nothing to hide.

Kodiak glanced over at Chiara when she broke the silence, looking away from the howling winds and white snow outside he tilted his head over so slightly as she added the extra little detail about the blood. "I haven't been at the camp much recently... Mostly I've been on patrols and hunting." Kodiak smiled now though, content with his company. "I haven't even built a den yet in Ernyx lands, not that I've had a use for one yet." The male paused to yawn momentarily, "Maybe you could help me build one sometime? I tried at Helidos before, it didn't work out however." he smiled lightly at the thought before turning his gaze back to the snow outside, the male seemed quite relaxed with his company as well, a rare sight.

After a while he spoke up again, "So what have you been up to? Judging by your scent you are not a warrior anymore." the male said acknowledging the one detail he noticed since they entered the cave.

Chiara swished her tail to cover her paws and nodded in acknowledgment as he spoke. She hadn't seen him at all since her arrival and from what he said she knew it took up most of his time. As he mentioned not having a den yet she cracked a rare smile. She recalled in Helidos him not having a den either, but didn't know he didn't know how to build one. She assumed it was because he spent so much time as a loner he never required one to settle in, but that would change here. "I could help you make one, sure, or you could just share mine. It's an old badger set and it could fit five wolves right now. It's not much, but it will be warm enough until you decide to make your own." She offered, glancing at him quickly. She caught him eying her and when he spoke again, she knew the reason why. "Yes it's true I'm no warrior anymore. Upon my arrival in meeting Esmerelda she heard my story of how I came here covered in blood and promoted me to Lead Warrior." She said before smirking, "guess that makes me your superior, huh?" She joked, knowing full well she wasn't the type to demand respect from her few friends, she already had it.

"I know you want to know why I looked like that, hell everyone did. I appreciate you not pressuring me, so I'll tell you. As you know I was friends with the male Damon when we were in Helidos. Well we were a bit more than friends and the day I told him this my father found me. He had been hunting me ever since I ran away and vowed to kill me. Damon tried to stop him, but was slain instead by my father. In a rage that came from somewhere I snapped and beheaded my flesh and blood before saying my last goodbyes to Damon. After that I left and felt stronger and without the need to cower in fear anymore. I guess Esmerelda saw the change too, which explains the promotion." She finished, letting her gaze drift to the cave walls, anywhere but his gaze.

When Chiara smiled again as he spoke Kodiak's heart skipped a beat, it's pace quickening a bit. The feeling was completely new to him, he didn't know how to react. The male realized he would do anything to see that smile again however. "Sounds good." He simply said to her offer to stay at the den she had.

Those feelings were pushed aside now however, as she answered his suspicions. He chuckled lightly, at her joking but as she continued to speak his face grew serious again, and his curiosity got the best of him as he listened. The male was caught quite off-guard with her story, did all that really happen? It resurfaced some old thoughts about his own father. Sometimes he gad wanted to behead him too, but in the end he regretted not getting to know his own father more before he died, but Kodiak could not imagine even his own father having such hatred for him that he would try to kill him. "I am sorry for your loss." he said, not really knowing what else to say, he figured that was the most appropriate thing to say. After a few moments he added, "If it were up to me, I would die to protect someone I cared about as well." His gaze meeting Chiara's.

Chiara cept her eyes locked with Kodiak's, their gaze one solid flow of vision as she listened to him speak. He looked differently as she smiled to him, almost shocked and happy at the same time. Intrigued she cocked her head to the side as her smile vanished "something wrong?" She questioned, wondering what had come over him. Smiles had never been something she had done regularly, but certain times made the gesture push through her tough act. As she continued on speaking and got into the story her voice became heavy as memories filled her mind. She could clearly see Damon, professing his own love for her and she mimicked his words, speaking truthfully with every word. Never had she been so happy as she was in that moment, until her father came. He stole that happiness from her, but in return lighted a fire in her gut that fueled her to improve herself every day. Still to this day she could hear Damon's last words; "be strong for me my love, find someone to live for and you will never regret anything." They puzzled her, what did he mean by finding someone else?

Slipping her gaze from Kodiak's the fae then looked to the ground as he sent his condolences. It was appropriate, but they felt rehearsed and awkward, not that she cared. She had moved past that day and no amount of pity would bring Damon back. He spoke further and she caught his gaze once more, feeling a new emotion with it, anger. "I know, I should have died trying to protect Damon, but I didn't. I cared about and loved him so much and yet I just stood there while he was ripped apart. It's my fault Damon is dead and I won't stop until I'm so strong I'll never lose to anyone. No one will ever die because I wouldn't do anything to stop it." She yelled, her voice cracking from emotion and echoing in the cave. Her eyes stung and she whipped herself to the side so she wasn't facing Kodiak anymore. The pain felt unbearable as she spilled her story to her friend. Why hadn't she been stronger? Almost like a light switch she calmed herself and sent her emotions into the dwells of her mind before turning back to the male. "It doesn't matter anymore. He's dead, its my fault, big whoop." She scoffed, her voice now void of the previous emotions.

Chiara's emotions seemed to get stronger and stronger with every syllable of the story she told, and by the end, she was yelling as loud as she could; a torrent of emotion filled the small cave. Kodiak took a step forward as if to help his friend, but he did not know what to do against this enemy that hurt her so, for they did not hurt her physically.

She then turned her back to him then, and her emotion seemed to disappear, and she again blamed herself for Damon's death. "Now, I wasn't there when your father attacked Damon, so I do not know exactly what had happened, but I do know if Damon truly loved you he would not have died for you to live with regret or self-reproach." Kodiak's voice was soft but stern.

Still filled with emotion Chiara nearly started to shake as the male's words fell upon her. No amount of coddling would change her mind that it was her fault that Damon was dead. Even now, with loads more muscle and training she knew she wasn't strong enough for her liking. No, she still needed to train harder, so no one she cared about would be in danger again. Bringing her gaze back down she saw Kodiak step towards her in a meaningful gesture. It touched her to know she could count on him as a friend, for the truth was he was one of her only friends.

Chiara knew he was right, that if he truly loved her he'd want her to be happy. Hell, he even told her to go on being happy before he died. She wasn't happy though, she didn't know how to be anymore. What she was was content to be here with Kodiak in this cave, this as the closest she felt to being happy. Unable to control herself she narrowed the gap between then and drew her muzzle under his. It wasn't a gesture of flirtation, as some might see it, but instead a show of how she appreciated him. till feeling embarrassed by it she drew back after her fur and nose brushed him and flicked her ears back. "Sorry, don't know what came over me. Must be this weather." She said, trying to erase the moment before he thought she was weird. Looking away she saw the snow outside start to intensify. Blowing about in swirls and building as they spoke. "I hope we don't get snowed in."