[Perses]

       The cold hand of winter had pulled all the colors of the flora from the land and left lifeless trees, snow, and ice in its wake. The once lively river turned into unmoving ice and the shores now covered with snow. The sun's rays provided some beauty as icicles reflected the light and glittered.

       On the shores of the river was a massive sabretooth cat, his sheer bulk making him massive in comparison to most creatures that walked the land. His broad frame had thick musculature layered over it with his thick fur making him seem even larger. A thick mane made him seem even taller and a pair of sabres extended passed his lips. His fur was cream with dark points similar to that of a Siamese cat. His body was also striped with a dark hue that was only marginally different from his darker points. If one squinted, they would notice that the beast's darker points were also striped. A pair of carnelian eyes shone from the dark mask on his face. His body was decorated with some of the beauty that still was present in the land. A crown made up of white and pink winter flowers was worn on his head. His mane was decorated with feathers that he had woven in.

       Perses had only recently arrived in these new lands, these lands that had more creatures than he had ever met. He had been isolated for so long, staying away from others like how his mother had raised him. He followed the trails of the deer and other hooved creatures that he lacked the true ability to hunt, his body fed only by carcasses and food brought down by sheer dumb luck or those too weak that they became easy prey for the young sabre.

       The enormous feline looked nervously at the ice as he was hungry but didn't know if the ice was strong enough to support his substantial weight. He hunted in the rivers during the spring, summer, and autumn though this was his first winter without his mother. He had been warned away from the ice when he was young, told of the danger that falling under the ice brought. But he was hungry and meals had been few and far between due to the few carcasses in the area and the beast's lack of hunting ability. His large frame was skinnier than it should have been at his age. The dark and cream brute needed to eat and he thought that he could find something across the river. Perhaps a carcass.

       The oversized yearling carefully placed on paw on the ice and then cautiously placed another. This cycle repeated until he placed all four of his paws onto the frozen surface. The ice hadn't cracked yet so he guessed he was okay. The giant feline took a couple more steps and he hadn't fallen in yet. He was okay, right?

       He spoke too soon.

      A loud crack was the carmine-eyed creature's only warning before the ice under him gave way to cold water. He let out a terrified yowl as he fell in. But he didn't realize that his paws soon touched something hard under him before the water could touch his neck.

OOC: Dated to December 2nd if that's alright?

Divider by BEAPANDA

[Adira]

The snow crunched under the heavy paw of a female sabre tooth as she scanned the ground for any sign of prey. She shivered at the cold despite her heavy fur coat. She wasn't a fan of winter, or snow - food was scarce and with her chestnut coloured fur with even darker stripes across her back, she didn't exactly blend in. During the other seasons when she could hide, she was a brilliant and talented hunter and she rarely went hungry. As a cub, her mother had often commended Adira's skills, though it was often at the expense of her siblings. 

The cat's stomach growled as she walked. It had been a few days since she last ate and even longer since she had something that filled her. Her usually large and muscular frame was losing its bulk. She thought about the next time she might see a deer and her belly groaned even louder. But she was in luck. As the wind drifted towards her she caught the faint scent of a deer and her ears pricked forward, yellow eyes quickly trying to pick out a brown silhouette amongst the white landscape. There! Adira threw some snow over her back to hide her a bit and crouched low as she stalked toward the animal, holding her breathe and praying that her stomach wouldn't make another noise.

Just as she readied herself to pounce, a loud splash from somewhere behind her startled both predator and prey. The deer took off running while the sabre tooth stood and cursed loudly. Another meal lost. Her attention turned to the source of the sound, yellow eyes full of frustration and hunger. She knew there was a river somewhere not very far from here - she had passed it before during her hunts. Maybe a deer fell in, she thought to herself. Or a pig. Saliva pooled at the corners of her mouth at the thought of a good meal without the work. With renewed energy the large cat hurried off in the direction of the splash. 

The sight at the river wasn't exactly what she had expected. An animal had fallen in, yes, but not the kind she could eat. Adira was certainly hungry, but she was above cannibalism. She made her way to the edge of the river bank and peered down at the huge sabre tooth in the water, unsure of what to make of him. Foolish, at the least. And he had cost her a meal.

"Hey! Do you need some help?" She asked with more than a hint of annoyance in her low voice.

[Perses]

       Perses realized soon enough that he wasn't drowning a moment after he had gotten over the shock. Red eyes opened cautiously as he looked around, seeing that the river was shallow enough to stand. His thick fur managed to keep out most of the chill that would have killed a smaller creature. A voice reached his ears and he looked up to find the source of it coming from a female sabretooth. She didn't look to happy and he looked at her like a deer in the headlights. The enormous feline realized that she had asked him a question, inquiring if he needed aid.

       The massive cat looked around for a second, looking at the ice around him. Would he be able to get out of the ice? Would it support his weight? The beast had never been caught in the ice before and lacked the knowledge of ice travel. How could she help him out? She didn't look particularly happy with him; would she help him? But hadn't she offered him aid? The beast was unsure of how to respond for a moment and seemed tongue-tied for a minute. But the cream and chocolate male found his tongue after a moment.

       "I-I d-don't r-really kn-know h-how t-to g-get o-out o-of th-the i-ice," the giant yearling said and then look around him. "Wh-What i-if i-it d-doesn't s-support m-my w-weight? Wh-What i-if th-there's d-deeper w-water u-under th-the i-ice?" The beast looked nervously around him as he worried out loud. He was trying not to freak out but it was difficult when he was in the situation he was in. His youth was apparent in his voice and he seemed like he was on the slippery slope between staying calm and freaking out. A small thought of, "What if I freeze to death?" struck the young sabretooth.

       Then the carmine-eyed creature's eyes widened as he seemed to be nervous now. He wanted to get out but was afraid of what his weight would do to the ice. His tail lashed in a frightened manner as his fur began to stand on end. Any composure that he had before had been lost as he began to whimper in fear. "C-Could y-you h-help m-me o-out p-please?" The beast didn't realize he had voiced his thoughts though they were probably late. The red-eyed beast really hoped that he would be able to get out.

Art by Black Rabbit

[Adira]

Adira rolled her eyes as the huge wet cat vomited words. She thought he looked quite pathetic sitting there in the icey water, but as much as that amused her she didn't want him to freeze. The female sabre tooth felt a pang of sympathy as the young male began to whimper and succumb to his fear. She raised a paw to shield herself from the water being splashed about by his tail. First snow and now this. 

She let out a sigh. Adira stood for a moment, looking at the ice and river bank. Eventually she lay down, grimacing as the freezing snow touched her belly, and pushed armfuls of it to the side from between the large cats. She held out her paws towards the young sabre tooth and motioned towards herself. 

"Grab on. Try and spread your weight if you can and I'll pull you on up." 

Truthfully she wasn't sure if she would be able to pull him up. He was massive! And she was already weakened from her lack of food. But it couldn't hurt to try, and if he stayed in the water he would either freeze to death or be found by some other predator. She had witnessed both situations happen before, and it wasn't something she really wanted to see again, especially when he was so young. 

She tried to force a reassuring smile, but stopped when she realised it probably wasn't going to make him feel safer.

[Perses]

       Perses was happy to see that she was going to help him and he did feel sorry for accidentally splashing her with water. His ears flattened and he looked a bit guilty and he tried to control his water-logged tail the best he could. It was difficult but he was able to keep it as still as possible. The beast was trying to calm his nerves and hopefully he had read her intentions correctly. She wanted to help him, right? That's what the yearling thought she was trying to do.

       The giant feline was confused as she began to get onto her belly and then began shovel snow with her paws. It took a second for him to realize that she was trying to help him as she extended a paw. He stared at her paw for a second until she told him to grab on. However the young male was unsure of what it meant to "spread his weight". He thought for a second.

       The ice didn't support all of the cream and brown brute's weight but if he could make his weight be less on one piece, maybe it could support his weight. He was nervous but if the ice could support her weight, maybe it could support parts of his.

       The Siamese-pointed sabre did understand that he had to be careful as he was much larger than the female. He didn't want to pull her in, especially because she was trying to help him. He had already accidentally splashed her with water and he didn't want to do anything else to her. The oversized youngster did want to get out though.

       The carmine-eyed creature carefully grasped her paw and the reared up onto his hind legs just enough to get his forepaws above water. He carefully placed on paw onto the ice and then with her help, he stretched out enough so there was space for him to be able to safely place his hind paws onto the ice. He let go of her paw and then as carefully as he could while spreading his weight across all four paws, the red-eyed male padded across the ice until he came upon the riverbank.

       "Th-Thank y-you s-so m-much."

OOC: Minor assumptions made! Please let me know if I should edit!

Art by Black Rabbit

[Adira]

The cream cat seemed slightly confused at Adira's words, but eventually took her paw. She could feel his strength in his grip and thought for a moment that she could be pulled in with him, but she quickly pushed that idea to the side and moved her weight to her back end, anchoring her to the edge of the ice. As the large sabre tooth slowly made his way off the frozen river, Adira let out a small sigh of relief that she wasn't  pulled in. That would have been the last thing she needed today. She briefly glanced into the ice, hoping to see a flicker of movement of fins, but she didn't spot anything. Her stomach rumbled once again and she drew her attention away from the water. 

With the young sabre tooth safely on solid ground, Adira sat back up and brushed off the snow from her belly. He thanked her, and she simply nodded while looking past him at the icey water and snow covered riverbank. 

"Any time. So, how did you manage ending up in there anyway? Decided to take a swim?" A puff of air came from her nostrils as she made her little quip. "Not exactly the right weather for that though, is it?" The chestnut-coloured female tilted her head slightly to the side and arched an eyebrow at the soaking wet male.

[Perses]

       Perses's head tilted as he was confused by her question. What part of her believed that he would willing to jump into freezing, icy waters for a swim in the middle of winter? He soon realized that she was joking and his head returned to its normal position. He didn't understand such jokes but found humor in it soon enough and a small chuckle echoed through his chest. He looked at her for a second before he spoke, I-I'm n-not t-to g-good a-at f-figuring o-out h-how th-thick th-the i-ice i-is, the beast said with complete honesty and looked away shyly.

       The oversized felines paused for a second and then the gears in his head were turning as he put two and two together with their circumstances. He had been heading over the ice to find food but he was a rubbish hunter. But perhaps with the two of them, they could work together. A lightbulb seemed to go off in his head as the giant sabretooth looked back at the female that had helped him. Maybe he could help her.

       I-If y-you're h-hungry, m-maybe w-we c-could w-work t-together? the crimson-eyed cat asked. He paused and then added, T-To h-hunt, if his intentions weren't clear.

OOC:
Sorry for the wait! I will be more prompt!

Divider by MissToxicSlime

[Adira]

Adira was taken aback at the young cat's proposal. She hadn't hunted alongside anyone in a long time, and honestly she preferred it that way - hunting alone meant she didn't have other felines getting in her way, and that had worked quite well for her...until this winter. She knew she was hungry, starving even, but wouldn't this inexperienced young sabre just be a dead weight on her tail? The chestnut sabre-tooth narrowed her yellow eyes at the boy in front of her. 

"And how", she said, the joking tone gone from her voice, "would you be of any help if you're going to keep falling in rivers? Can you hunt at all?" He didn't appear to be particularly quick-witted, that was for sure. But hopefully he was quick at other things. Her tail flicked impatiently in the snow behind her. 

...

OOC:

Sorry it's so short this time, I'll try to have the next one be longer!