[Haiku]

- Haiku -

The hefty clatter of paws against stone echoed off the cliffs. The wind was eerily quiet, just barely above a whisper as it traveled up the rough slope, rustling her pelt. Huffing against the evening, she pressed on, determined to get out of the wind and cold. She had a plan to make camp for the night somewhere close before going on. However at this rate, she wouldn't get very far and it was then, that she forgot just how hard mountains were to navigate in the cold. Just before she could go on, a sneeze nearly scared her- only to realize it was her own. Looking for the cause of the sudden action, she spotted it- several, no.. millions of flakes dancing on the currents of the wind, traveling down to earth. Frowning as her ears pinned back, she trudged on, careful and cautious with her steps, not to puncture the soft pads that had eventually hardened to the terrain. With a whip of her tail, and lunging up onto her hinds, she met the rock beneath her paws with grace, taking the moment to over look her current area, wondering where exactly, what happened to all the life. But before she could go too deep into her thoughts, she took a minute, to greet the cold. 

[Ki Tisa]

Ki Tisa clambered up a steep face of the western mountains and drew a sharp breath of bitter air. Winter came hard and fast in Gemini; harder and faster the higher you climbed. Snow was building below where it already broke above, and he turned his nose towards clouds split open.

He knew there was no real reason to be up here (poor Iaera, having to pick up the slack of people like him, he would have thought if he had ever properly met her). There weren't likely to be trespassers up on the slopes or anything particularly interesting outside weird, sturdy shrubs and sure-footed goats. But, its howling solitude was a welcome reprieve from Down Below and the ever persistent chattering and drama and people, crying, always, over someone. People he didn't recognize acting like they knew who he was. Children claiming they were related. Another new tragedy. At least the mountain was cruel in a straight forward way.

He paused on a ledge, toeing the dizzying drop, with winter's first real fist blistering on his back. Below, he spied movement, and after tilting his head and squinting realized it was a fox. He had eaten foxes before but wasn't particularly hungry—and even if he was, he realized that Gemini's habit of accepting creatures usually on his personal menu might make such spur of the moment snacks awkward.

"Hey," he called down to her.

[Haiku]

- Haiku -

Before the calico could press on with her quick witted adventure of the sorts, another voice, masculine, startled her. Pelt bristling just the slightest, she looked around for the source before glancing skywards. There, perched above her was another creature- wolf. 'Oh boy..' She sincerely thought, already checking things off of her bucket list before she could assume she was this wolf's next meal. She knew she was small, but she hoped her size wouldn't greet the larger canine to a little festive delicacy. Ears pinned back, she let out a quiet huff before settling on the rock, glancing up again, squinting against the drifting flakes.

"Hello there," She greeted, voice eerily calm, though the quiver beneath her tone begged to be hidden from sound. She frankly wondered what it would take of her, to bargain this wolf out of his next meal. Letting out a faint noise, a click almost, she gave an awkward wag of her tail, hoping to distract the larger, perhaps to make a hurried escape if need be. However though, she saw no threat in the current situation, so she stayed put, waiting for the larger to make his way down. Perhaps he could spare her life, if given a decent bargain.

[Ki Tisa]

"Hello there."

The fox even wagged her tail. Well that was going to make eating her even more awkward, if he intended to try. Which he didn't, but, still. It would have made things more awkward, you know.

"So," he started, pausing to itch behind his ear. "Right. So. You're in Gemini. It's a pack."

It occurred to him that there were probably innumerable animals just going about their business with no idea that a bunch of wolves laid claim to the area. He didn't remember asking any rabbits for their undying loyalty to the Queen, or mountain goats what they could contribute to their society (other than the obvious, yum yum). Maybe he WAS hungry after all.

"If you don't know, well, you do now I guess. You can stay if you want but you gotta join."