[Gift] Lost in the Snow

Rivule raised her eyes toward the horizon yet where she longed to see the steelblue sky of Roenden only dark heavy clouds met her gaze. She frowned lightly knowing that it would only be a matter of time until a heavy blizzard would set upon the landscape once again, turning the forests, mountains and valleys into snow mazes once again where everything looked the same.

A sigh escaped the chaser as she looked down into the valley from out of the cave she had sought refuge in for the night. The last embers of the campfire that had kept her warm at night still flickered behind her as the fire fought a losing battle against the cold, thats when her eyes picked up movement in said valley at first it had been hard for her to spot the tyrian due to their coat that made them near indistinguishable from the snow surrounding them if it werent for their dark grey tail that looked like one huge feather that they were dragging behind them. With Rivules eyes set on the tyrian discovering the rest of the group wasnt hard for her, accompanying the tyrian were two reoseans, pullers by the looks of it though at this distance it was a bit hard to tell for her, one of the pullers coat was shades of grey and their fur thicker making them have an easier time dealing with the chilly temperatures of the snow tundra, the other a puller whose pelt had shades of crimson on it, broken up by a large white patches.

Intrigued the chaser decided to move closer and perhaps despite the reputation she carried help this group of strangers. after all- the snowstorms in Roenden were not only quite severe, they also lasted for a long time so having company whilst Rivule allowed nature to rage on was a thought she welcomed.

The group that Rivule had spotted consisted of the 3 Reoseans Ferro, Chiyo and Piers. Three inhabitants of the icy lands of Roenden who had met up on coincidence as they had prepared to undertake their journey trials in the town over. yet on their last stop between actually undertaking the quite lethal march if preparations were lacking and the last town where they planned to stop one last time at, to gather provisions before heading off on their quest, had seen the 3 get lost amidst the mountains of snow that caked the environments, obscuring defining features.

As the group trudged forth, only the crunching sound of the party stepping on snow kept them company, that was until Chiyo spoke up adressing Piers directly.
"I'm unsure if its a wise decision to keep on like we are." a worried glance at the immaculate snow before them followed, indicating that yes they hadnt walked down this path before, yet Chiyo himself couldnt deny he was starting to feel a sense of unease set in as he was finding it harder and harder to calm his mind which had been screaming that they were lost at him for the past hour.

Piers grumbled in response, perhaps a bit stubborn to admit defeat or too scared of what it would mean for the group if Chiyo was right, yet he considered the other pullers troubling realisation and was about to relent before Ferro butted in.

"I could offer to survey from above, see if I spot any settlements in the surrounding area-" they stated matter of factly to which Piers nodded.

"If you could help us reorient ourselves then that would be much appreciated." not a moment after the dark coated puller finished the sentence a heavy gust had the two pullers shield their eyes as the snow around them got tossed into the air by the tyrian. Even if the tyrian was small compared to their kind, their wings which allowed them to gain altitude still packed quite a punch, something the freshly fallen snow didnt stand a chance against.

Chiyos and Piers eyes followed Ferro as they soared higher and higher into the sky which they had only now started to realise was overcast by such dark grey clouds that new heavy snowfall was imminent.
Ferro perhaps managed to circle 3 times overhead before the first thick snowflakes started to fall down, forcing the tyrian to land once again as it was too exhausting to fly in these weather conditions not to mention that with snowflakes this big seeing anything from up above was anything but a fair challenge.

As Ferro landed she looked at her newfound friends with worry in her eyes.
"I wasnt able to spot anything with this sudden onsetting heavy snowfall."

A chuckle, lacking any warmth reached the groups ears, Chiyo couldnt help but startle as this new voice spoke up, sending a shiver down her spine. "Its good then that I spotted you." In tune with the voice the wind picked up, turning the snowfall into a full on blizzard, voilently hurling the snowflakes around the reoseans with such ferocity that seeing anything out to 30 feet in front of them was near impossible. Yet from the blizzard emerged Rivule a knowing yet cold smile on her face as she approached the group, wasting little to no time to introduce herself.

"Im Valeria." stated Rivule offering the group her alias. "I dont mean to just assume things, however it looks like staying out in this blizzard might not be a good idea for you lot. Especially without shelter. Come- I found a cave the night prior where we can rest and chat as we wait for this dreadful weather to pass. How I see it you have little other options."

Piers did not like this strangers attitude, but rather than wasting time by arguing they kept quiet, making a mental note of following this chaser closely enough to keep up with her, yet keep enough distance that if the Chaser tried anything that they would be a safe distance. Not giving the group much time to question the in the groups eyes her sudden appearance, Rivule began to head off already, having the group scramble to keep pace with her, yet Ferro and Chiyo managed to pick up on Piers contempt about this benevolent chaser that had just appeared out of nowhere and as such they kept close to the fluffy coated puller, with the two walking on either side of piers. What made following Rivule even harder was her almost entirely white coat which only her blue long feline tail that followed her allowed her to stand out against the snow, Ferro tried to help by raising one of her wings into the air as she walked to use as a snowshield, but with the winds so frequently changing the direction they were blowing from it did little to help the snowflakes being whipped around the group of four from still managing to obstruct the tyrians vision.

Rivule walked up the mountain she had descended not even 20 minutes ago to meet up with this group of reoseans at a comfortable pace for her, yet the group was struggling contrary to popular belief that the chaser should have been at a disadvantage against the deep snow due to her short legs, yet she managed to make it look almost effortlessly. Chiyo knew then that whilst all of them seemed to be from around here that this stranger was far more accustomed to the harsh and dangerous weather than even she was and she grew up in Roenden.

Marching on admist the unrelenting storm exhaustion was starting to set in for Ferro who had to work even harder to make progress against the harsh winds that threatened to push her back or knock her over if one hit her wings at the right angle with just the right amount of force that she couldnt catch her balance again. Piers noticed and quietly moved to walk behind Ferro, pushing his head against her back to allow her a better fighting chance against the currents.

"There- see that wasnt so hard right. Come right in. You lot are in luck that I already gathered firewood for the night." said the small chaser, stepping into the cave opening that was already familiar to the small chaser.

Ferro didnt think twice about it, her body screaming for shelter from the winds and a bit of rest and with a shared glance and a nod both Chiyo and Piers followed closely after Ferro.

They were glad for the shelter provided, yet the two werent naive and were going to keep their eyes on this strangely forthcoming reosean to gauge what their motivation would be. After all the snow was easier shaken out of their pelts than the mistrust that had started to form in their minds.