Nothing But Snow and Ice

[Relairah]

OoC: This is a private roleplay between Oki and myself for now ^-^

iC:

He wasn't sure what the hell he was doing here. Not that it really mattered on the side of warmth and such. He was a living rock. Weather didn't really affect him much. At least short term. But that didn't mean he enjoyed places like this. There wasn't much on the side of plants and growth; it was all buried under layers and layers of snow which meant some of his abilities were useless if he came across anyone in need of aid.

He trudged through the snow, having a lot of difficulty since he was constantly sinking through it. The sky was a gray color and the snow flurries fell lightly. At any moments notice, they could thicken into a storm, however, and he hoped they wouldn't.

If anyone were to encounter him, they perhaps might be most surprised, even think they were going crazy. His figure was wolf-like, though made of igneous rock smoothed over and over in layers to create the illusion of fur and body parts. There was some fur on the tips of his ears and thick tail in tufts, though small and gazing out through almond-shaped slits in his head in which dark blue orbs glowed, looking out at the world. His movements were fluid enough though a little strange and as he walked, only the wind and crunch of snow covered the sound of rock rubbing together.

He wondered if it would be smart to find some sort of shelter in this wasteland until further notice. Varick was certain if he were to encounter company, they wouldn't have the luxury of being a giant rock, unaffected by the weather. But he could be wrong... they could be someone used to this.

He continued farther, thinking to himself how he should return to the Shinkou lands. But who knew... perhaps he might have an adventure. Soon, a dark mass came into view and as he neared he saw it was a collection of stone forming a cave of sorts. Instead of going inside, he moved around it, investigating to see what might be nearby.

[Oki]

((So is Varick's appearence basically a stone statue that came to life or is more like that he looks like a real wolf and whatnot, just that everything is made of stone, just the illusion is there? And by the way, such a unique character :3))

"...Snow, snow...ice and hey look, more snow", the female mumbled to herself. Sure, she was a snow leopard and was accustomed to such weather. Her thick coat protected her for harsh, biting cold and snow. It also did a good job in camoflauge, being a light grey, almost white on her belly then slowly graduated to a soft smoky grey on top of he back. Messy spots dotted along her form, her tail and up to the back of her neck; speaking of, her tail was long, thick and bushy, appearing unproportionally big for the large feline. Large paws and paw pads kept her more towards the surface of the snow rather than sinking because of her weight. A mix of blue and silver colored her irises as they looked around her surroundings, uninteresting to her to say in the least.

Long whiskers drooped as they hung from her short muzzle, twitching here and there, feeling a cool breeze rush past her. The only thing that gave her an odd feeling was that there was seldom plant life around her; she couldn't even sense any grass under the snow she walked upon. This is when she truly felt alone. Plants were living organisms too and even though they couldn't talk, feel or anything, they still kept her company. Watching and endless of white and shades of grey pass, Remy needed to see some green and earthy colors. Hesitating to make something grow, a dark, void like shadow blotched in between all the white and grey. Trotting closer, she soon found out that it was a cave, big enough for someone to dwell in. Coming around to the side, she poked her head around the corner to peer inside. "Doesn't look like anyone lives here...maybe theres some plant life though; worth a look", she again muttered to herself. Sliding inside, she heard something from the outside, a foreign sound. Throwing herself around to look, she huggged the inside of the mouth of the cave, peering out. Ears flat against her head, she scanned the area and eventually found a wolf that blended in with the surroundings well, being mainly white with black speckles. Remy wasn't too fond of wolves, or anyone for that matter. As silent as could be, she continued to watch the wolf as it seemed as clueless as herself as to where they are.

((And happy birthday!! ^w^))

[Relairah]

He continued his movements, and finally came back to the cave opening, having found nothing of real interest to him. Well, perhaps there was something inside.

Sure enough, as he neared the interest he saw the face of a feline peering out. She seemed to be watching him. He stopped, staring back, and finally the rock seemed to shift above one of the slits, as if raising a brow. "May I enter, madam?" he asked, his voice rumbling and deep as it emitted and carried across to her.

If she allowed, he would then step into the cave, looking around briefly before moving further. "Thank you... I must say in her looks better than out there. Full of nothing but white for miles on end. I have no idea why I am even here." He glanced toward her, a smile seeming to come to his face. "I hope you don't mind... if I disturbed you."

Not really the talking type, Varick felt he was trying to make this feline feel comfortable... well at least around him. He wouldn't be surprised if she was taken aback at the fact he was a living rock, but nevertheless, it was strange for a feline and a lupine to encounter, perhaps. From that point, he waited her response.

[Oki]

This creature sure was odd; she couldn't quite put a claw on it, but the snow may be playing tricks on her eyes. Blinking, she saw the figure approaching the opening of the cave and her. Trying to make herself smaller, she began to back into the cave a little when the wolf came closer and stood before the mouth of the cave. Tail flicking, her eyes widened when the wolf asked to come inside the cave, surprised at how forward the male was. Instead of speaking, she blinked and eyed him, silently allowing him to pass into the dwelling. It really wasn't hers, after all. Meanwhile, tendrils of her magic reached out to search for any plant life, readying herself if anything were to happen. Feeling minimal presense, the closest living flora was deep into the cave, "Blast...it'll have to do."

Having a better view, the male that came into the cave appeared more...stoic and less animalistic; she couldn't feel like what she felt with other living organisms, he felt...different. He continued to speak as he padded inside; she didn't say anything, just nodded as he showed graditude and agreed with the comment about the snow. Remy's body turned a little to face the male more, but remained in her crouched position, tail flicking as she watches. Eyes casted down at his last statment for a second. He really didn't disturb him, but she did mind. Remy wasn't the one to talk to strangers openly or be around them willingly. Looking back up at him, a soft shake of her head followed, "No", she lied. The snow leopards's voice was soft and fluid. The large feline may be shy and withdrawn, but she wasn't rude. Nevertheless, she still disliked strangers. The wolf said he didn't know why he was here, she wanted to know more, "Are you a traveler then?"

[Relairah]

He observed her in her movements, ever so slight yet still made. She was wary of him, cautious. Well, that was fine. He wasn't going to harm her and she perhaps might discover that in her own time. He dipped his head slightly when she asked if he was a traveler and a smile came to his lips. "Once as a former self, yes, I was a traveling wolf. But now I have a home. I leave every now and then but not often, and certainly not often to places such as this. Not much plant-life is to my disliking."

He looked around the cave. It looked much bigger in here than it had appeared to be from the outside. Perhaps because it lead beneath ground. Or perhaps because of the heaps and heaps of snow outside. Or a mixture of both.

He looked once more toward the feline. "Forgive my rudeness," he said all of a sudden, "I am Varick."

[Oki]

Washed out ice blue eyes blankly watched the brute, lazily wondering about a few different things; trivial digressions really. The tip of her tail flicked to the sides out of habit as she watched him. He seemed so carefree and happy as he always smiled right before he spoke. Remy allowed her body to relax a little as her muscles were becoming warm from how tense she was as she listened. "Former self?..., the female wondered to herself, curious of how he knew his past lives. Or perhaps he's referring to long ago when he was younger or a different individual. However, it's been a while since she heard the word "home" spoken. She never really knew what she wanted to do: always a wanderer or maybe one to have a family of her own. The wolf's words were making Remy's thoughts take turns with every second, having her think of things that she never really desired to think about in the first place. Although, she thought that for one to take a solo trip every once in a while and to travel to a place that the traveller disliked was a little off. However, her ears perked up at his last sentance, suddenly a little more interested in the wolf.

Yawning, Remy was beginning to feel tired, though, not literally tired. As the males eyes wandered, hers did as well for a short moment, still feeling around for any other flora that may be residing inside the dark dwelling. Round ear swiveling in the direction of the male, he introduced himself as Varick. Well, it was nice to finally know his name, she just didn't know how long she would need to remember it. Nevertheless, she would try her best when she was with him. "You can call me Remy...", she said, now relaxing a little more, allowing her body to touch the floor as her front paws curled up under her chest, "I'm not much a fan of scarce plant life myself. I suppose its odd for the both of us to be found here as this location is all but a haven for flora." A soft smile played upon the felines lips, whiskers moving.

[Relairah]

His orbs settled upon her when she responded. "Well then, a pleasure to meet you, Remy." It was a unique name, he thought to himself. ((Lol so up till this point I kept thinking her name reminded me of something. And now I just figured it out. It's like the rat's name on Ratatouille xD)) "Perhaps," he said to her agreeance it was odd for them to be there, "And perhaps not. Perhaps you dont believe in chance, but I don't feel there are coincidences." Surely there was some reason it would be here of all places. In all honesty, he had been exploring the mountains to the north of the Shinkou lands and had sorta found himself here after a while.

"Well, Remy, perhaps you might join me in some exploration. I am not too keen at the moment on wandering through the snow some more, so why not see what's down here?"

With that, he would proceed toward the back of the cave, where a light glimmered against the wall. Upon further observation, they would find a tunnel of sorts which lead underground...

[Oki]

((Yeah, ever since I saw that movie, I took a liking to that name and always wanted to name a character of mine such. I looked it up and found its mainly a female french name, but it can be used on a male too. I also looked up what a full name would be for Remy and found that Remigia is, which is her real name))

Out of curtousy, she gave a dip of her head as he gave graditude to meeting her. She wanted to say the same back to him, but really didn't know what to think. Remy was nice in nature, just was too withdrawn from others to portray that part about her so she left it at that. Though, he did have a point. Ever since she died and a spirit, or at least she thought, brought her back to life, the idea of things being fated was an easier concept for her to grasp. "I used to, but not anymore. I believe events are fated together", she stated simply. Despite disliking areas similar to one that they were in, Remy enjoyed the snow and every once in a while would bestow a few trees upon a scarce area with the intention they will grow themselves into a forest one day. It made her warm inside and feel like she was a diciple of Mother Earth, helping things grow. Perhaps Varick might witness this act later on if he ends up sticking around.

Looking down at the maw of the cave, the snow leopard blinked then looked back up at Varick. She never really planned on exploring the cave as she took refuge from him in the first place. On the other hand, she never really had plans for the day or any day for that matter. It excited her a little to go exploring actually, she hasn't had a good adventure in a while. Without answering the male directly, Remy yawned again, showing her long feline fangs and got up to stretch. Lifting her tail end, her front two paws reched forward as a far as they could go, her claws extending and scraping against the stone floor. Standing upright, she still was smaller than the male, but longer, especially with her tail. Her mood a little brighter than before, she purred lightly, "Sure; a little adventure never hurt anyone." Big paws padded along side the wolf, a short incline of the cave that lead downwards. There seemed to be a perpetual light that was dimmly lighting the walls, showing stalactites and stalagmites all around. Her eyes slowly growing acccustomed to the dim cave, she could see it was vast inside and the walls sparkled in areas. A small metronomic drip could be heard echoing throughout the dwelling. Every now and then she would glance over to the male, still a little wary of him as they just met.

[Relairah]

OoC: Hmm, they have something in common XD Being... death and then spirit lol in her case, spirit brought her back to life, in his case his spirit possessed a rock to remain alive. How ironic.. hahahahaha

iC:

"Well then," he said in response, "it seems were are in agreement... at least on the matter of fate."

With that the conversation moved toward exploration, and he was perfectly happy with that. So, off they went down the tunnel leading deeper into the cave. He too caught the sound of dripping and he wondered what it was they might encounter.

The light grew dimmer and dimmer. As they moved, he said something now and then such as, "I have to admit it has been some time since I have ventured or explored - particularly in a cave. But then, I suppose it could be fun - and have any kind of surprise. What about you, Remy?" Or, "How odd that this would be here - seemingly in the middle of nowhere, concerning the snowy surface." And then all of a sudden in the distance was a light which as they neared seemed to cause it to grow gradually brighter again. Also, the air seemed to grow warmer. Perhaps they were significantly deep under the ground. It was hard to know for certain, especially since there was no plant life on the surface to judge the distance by. But perhaps it didn't matter.

The sound of dripping seemed to grow more frequent, even a dull rush in the distance and as they continued, the sound of flowing water would become evident. They would find themselves before an underground stream. Varick gazed at it curiously, and then around. They were in a large cavern, various stalactites and stalagmites hanging from the ceiling and decorating the walls which sparkled with light as the water moved, glistening. It was clear precious gems of some kind were embedded in their depths. Across was a raised ledge, though nothing otherwise seemed to be present, and on the far side, a dark pool of still water sat within the stone floor, a strange glow seeming to emanate either around it or from it - at a distance it was indiscernible.

Varick glanced at Remy, wondering her reaction, as he for himself was somewhat uncertain how to react. "Who knew this would be here...." he murmured softly, his voice echoing around the room - he wasn't sure what else to call it.

"I wonder if this tunnel leads anywhere else...."

[Oki]

True, they agreed on their beliefs. One less conflict she had to worry about, but then again, it also meant its something they agreed on and had in common. Though, not thinking much of it at the moment, she continued down further into the caverns with Varick, reaching deeper and deeper, following this mysterious light that illuminated their path. Curiosity hightening, the light started to creep away and soon her eyes couldn't compensate for the darkness. Taking more care into her steps, she hopped from stone to stone when the path wasn't flat. Silent but awing eyes glanced up at the ceiling every once in the while, marveling how big the place was. Interrupting her amazement, a round ear flicked towards Varick, followed by her gaze,"Hmm?...Oh, yes, it's been a while for myself to venture into a cave, especially this size. I don't think I've seen one this vast...I agree though - I think surprises are fun", she couldn't help but grin a little at her last few words. After a little while of more silence between the two, he stated something of how odd the cave is, "You have a point...Mother Nature has her ways though", she stated simply. Remy noticed that Varick was very analytical and she herself really never thought about things like that.

One thing that struck her a little odd was that the air got significantly warmer; usually caves got freezing, well should be below freezing with the climate above the surface. The dripping she heard earlier was becomeing louder, then deep in the background, she heard something like rolling water, as if there was an underground stream. Which was entirely possible, but she never saw one before and quickened her pace just a little. Reaching a large clearing in the cavern, the sounds she was hearing earlier was apparent as there was an underground stream and pool off in the distance. The water had this quirky bioluminescence to it; either that, or it was the surrounding ground. That glow seemed to reflect off the countless crystals and gems that peeked past the surface of the rock on the walls, ceiling and even the floor. Everything was so pretty and perfect in itself. She continued to stare, trying to take everything in as quickly as she could, yet savor it.

Purring softly as a response to Varicks verbal wonder, she soon hopped down and quickly padded over to the stream. Curious, she wondered if there were any fish in it or any living thing for that matter, though she didn't feel any plant life in it. She didn't feel much plant life for that matter; what she felt before seemed to dwindle some. It made sense though, plants needed sunlight to live and obviously there wasn't any sun down here. If anything, there might be some fungus. Slowly dipping her paw into the water, it surprised her it wasn't cold - it was quite warm actually. "It's warm!", she spoke louder than she has yet demonstrated, but it was still quiet to avoid loud echos. She looked over at Varick then back at the water, "Wonder whats making it glow like that...", she wondered aloud.

[Relairah]

At first, he was somewhat hesitant to move forward, as if he did it would vanish. But at her exclamation, he moved to also investigate, and though he could not feel as one with flesh, he could sense the warmth. Oh, the water wasn't just warm in temperature. "I am not sure," he murmured softly in response to her pondering.

He glanced around, yet this seemed to be in fact where the glow originated. Yet perhaps there was something deep within the murky depths unseen to their eyes. He wasn't planning on jumping right in though... and being feline... well he wasn't sure Remy would either.

"It almost reminds me of the Mizu Lake," he muttered to himself, more thinking aloud than anything.

He moved toward the ledge toward the near wall, inspecting it out of curiosity. But he found nothing particularly interesting, at least at first. He glanced once more toward Remy. "Well, I must say I enjoy this cavern much more than outside." His eyes seemed to glimmer and a chuckle rumbled deeply in his throat.

[Oki]

Lifting her paw out of the lukewarm water, her paw shook the water away, then she proceded to lick it clean. Tasting the water, it tasted much cleaner than any water she has before. It slight awe, she stood back up and faced Varick, "It's very clean as well." Remy then turned back to the small stream and continued to stare into the water, unable to judge its depth and really wasn't going to jump in to find out.

At the same time, she pondered. She could sense plant life, but then again, how can any form of plant grow down here where there is no sun or any light for that matter, besides the bioluminesence of the water. Washed ice blue eyes stared at the water, then around the cavern some more. But what was it that Varick was speaking about? "Mizu Lake? I take it a lake of your home lands?"

Meanwhile, waiting if he was going to answer, Remy wandered away from the stream to a dark side of the walls. Curious, it seemed to be another opening or at least a dipression in the wall itself. Feeling close to a the wall though, her nose bumped against something rather soft. A squeak followed and something jumped at her. More and more squeaks followed by the flapping of small wings and she seemed to have woken a large group of bats. All flying out at her, Remy yelped and jumped bakwards and ran away as fast as she could. Tail 3 times as large as it orignally was, her fur standing on end, the snow leopard hid behind a stalagmite as the bats cleared.

[Relairah]

He wondered to himself when she mentioned the water's cleanliness. Perhaps because it's source was an underground spring? He knew such a source was usually quite pure. Yet he found himself so curious and while he stood now away from the pool, he partially wanted to go back.

When Remy questioned his out-loud thought he nodded, looking at her. "A lake of my current home, yes." The Shinkou and Akeru packlands weren't his home land per say.. but then the term could have different meanings. He observed as she began investigating the cave as he had been and it seemed she discovered something in the wall. His rocky brows furrowed as the squeak followed her further exploration with her nose and suddenly the cave was filled with bats. Well, how ironic that happened after he said he liked the cave.

He suddenly found himself unable to see in the flurry of wings and black creatures and stumbled, trying to get somewhere clear of them. He wasn't sure where he was going, just trying to get clear of the wings.

Suddenly, he lost his footing!

He heard a splash and then he was falling. The funny thing was that he kept on falling. At first, he knew it was water he was falling through as he could see the murky depths, the light dis-figuration and could hear the muffled sound of bubbles floating to the surface above him. But then it seemed as though the moisture grew thinner and cooler until he saw that he was surrounded by the white vapor of a cloud and then the blue of a clear sky. And the ground was quickly approaching!

His eyes glowed stronger and brighter, a blue glowing outline coming to his figure and it slowed his fall until he was levitating only a few inches above the earth. The glow softened and faded until his paws touched the earth. He had been looking down up to this point, but now he looked up at the sky. There! He saw a particularly round cloud, through which he could see a rippling figure of the cave though it was slowly fading.

Oh great... it became clear to him he had stepped through a portal of some kind. That explained the glow, and everything else strange about the pool. But... where was he?

[Oki]

Body spasming with quick shivers from fright, Remy finally ungripped her paws from around the stalagmite and lowered herself onto the ground after the bats were gone. She calmed down her hyperventilation with some deep breaths and told her body to stop shaking. Heart finally stopped trying to rip out of her chest, the leopard shook out her fur and sat, curling her tail around herself to smooth out the poofy fur. Before the raid of bats, Remy acknowledged Varick's answer to her question about Mizu Lake. Though, when he said 'current', she assumed that wherever this Mizu Lake was, he wasn't born there. Speaking of which, he didn't look like any other wolf she has seen before nor feel like any living being for that matter.

Finally finshed and has completely calmed herself down, she felt as if there was something missing. "Varick?...Varick?", she whipped her head around to look, but couldn't find him and he wasn't responding. Noticing that there weren't any cave-ins or holes, her eyes turned to the water. The underground stream didn't seemed disturbed, but then, Remy could hear bubbles. Popping on top of a rippling surface of the small pool, she instantly thought that he was drowning."Varick!", she called out, tail poofing all over again, she bounded over to it and peered into the bioluminating pool of water looking for him. Very reluctant to jump in after, she didn't want him drowning and dying either. Figiting, she watched the bubbles stop coming to the surface.

"Dammit!", she cursed to herself, fearing the worst. Sucking in as much air as possible, she leaped in and dove downwards. Strange though, the water seemed different, thinner almost than normal water as she got deeper. It got brighter and brighter as well. Feeling her lungs starting to burn, she felt she was about to die as well, and just about when Remy was going to use her abilities to get her out, the water became so thin, it was as if it was a thick fog. Deeper she went, the fog became breathable and Remy was relieved and astounded at the same time. The fog became mist and then it was as if she was in a cloud. Weightless for a moment, passing through this cloud like "water", her mind had no idea what to think. A white light surrounded her as she continued to descend, just like when she entered the spirit realm, well at least she thought, and then she had the odd sense she was falling. Opening her eyes, they blinked, adjusting to the light difference. The next thing she knew, Remy was falling towards a grassy field. Soon her body and the ground were to meet and she didn't know what to do. Letting out a terrified scream, Remy curled into a ball just as she was about to hit the ground. But wait, she started to slow down. Peeking an eye open, she noticed her body levitated just a few inches above the ground. Slowly stepping down and eventually on all fours, she had no idea what was going on and was utterly speechless. Meanwhile Remy looked around and wondered where she was.

"Varick!", she called out to him as she found him, glad to see him alive. Prancing over to him, she smiled, probably the widest she has in a very long time, "Boy, am I glad to see you....Any idea what just happened though?", she asked in a very concerned and bewildered tone.

[Relairah]

He looked at the sound of a scream, seeing Remy falling from the sky, but then a light surrounded her and she was fine. It seemed a spirit of some kind was protecting her... She called his name and a smile formed on his rocky lips. "Oh! Remy... I'm glad to see you also." He paused when she asked what had happened. He wasn't sure if she meant how they got here... or what had just happened with her. He assumed the former for now and decided if she meant the latter, she could ask it specifically. "Well, I couldn't see with the torrent of bats and I stumbled and fell through the pool. I think you already knew that much. As for the pool... I believe it is a portal through which we entered this place... or world. I'm not sure exactly what or where it is though."

He hadn't ever seen it before. Or maybe he had. He couldn't remember for certain. In any case, the air was warm and comforting and they were surrounded by tall green grass and wildflowers. In the distance was a tall tree and in another direction loomed the shadows of mountains against the skies.

"Shall we try to get back? Or perhaps we are here for a reason..."