As her eyes adjusted to the blindingly white landscape, Ida noticed that the other wolf was much smaller than she'd initially thought. She lacked any sort of chitin and was instead glowing, unlike any she'd seen before. It put her on edge- what was she? Still, the strange girl had asked a question, and Ida was far too disoriented to snark back with anything clever,
"Scrappy lil' asshole. Fat, blue wings; Y'don't look like..." she trailed off, slowly taking her beady eyes off the stranger and again taking in her alien surroundings. "Hell, nothin looks like it was." Shit, was she dreaming? Did she die? That horrible crack echoed through her memories, and she nearly toppled over raising a paw to bat clumsily at the back of her skull. She didn't feel any blood, hell, it didn't hurt at all. Now that she was paying attention, nothing hurt; it was as if she'd never been fighting. The dog let out a disbelieving laugh, pulling her paw down and examining the scarred, albeit unharmed flesh.
For once in her life, she was at a loss for words. Her ears twitched at the sound of the other wolf's voice, though it took a moment for her to process them as she was still wrestling with the idea of what the hell had just happened. Apparently, the stranger didn't know either.
"Huh," with the other wolf now busy fussing with her fur, Ida's own bristling pelt finally settled. She didn't seem like a threat; no scars, no mandibles, and nothing besides caution in response to her own snapping. Hot water bubbled and steam billowed into the sky from the geyser closest to them, and Ida's ears prickled with embarrassment at how hard she jumped at the sudden sound.
"Yuh woke up in that!?" how was she not dead? Ida had never heard of such a place, and following the horizon line to see even more of those strange, steaming pools made unease roil in her belly. It looked like hell- a stark contrast from the peaceful snowbank she'd awoken in. She curled her lip at the sight, but the stranger's words caused her attention to snap back towards her instead.
"Course I know my name," she huffed, "it's Ida," with that, she lowered herself into a full stretch and grunted as her bones audibly popped, neck cracking as she fought the stiffness creeping through her muscles from the cold snow. Once she'd sufficiently loosened herself, she stepped around Maureen and began plodding through the snow away from the alien hot-springs. She needed to figure out what the hell was going on, but only made it a few lengths away before her ears pricked again at the sound of Maureen's barking behind her. She paused, one broad paw still raised in the air in preparation to step as she thought about her offer. She was silent for a few moments, but she thought again of that fresh elk she'd never get to sink her fangs into and snorted in acquiescence.
"Yeah. I could eat," she said, not bothering to turn around before continuing to plod forward further into the snowy taiga. It couldn't hurt to travel with the little wolf, Ida had nothing to lose besides her pride. She snuffled at the air, but all she caught was the scent of fresh snow and pine. "So...you ain't from here either?"
"Scrappy lil' asshole. Fat, blue wings; Y'don't look like..." she trailed off, slowly taking her beady eyes off the stranger and again taking in her alien surroundings. "Hell, nothin looks like it was." Shit, was she dreaming? Did she die? That horrible crack echoed through her memories, and she nearly toppled over raising a paw to bat clumsily at the back of her skull. She didn't feel any blood, hell, it didn't hurt at all. Now that she was paying attention, nothing hurt; it was as if she'd never been fighting. The dog let out a disbelieving laugh, pulling her paw down and examining the scarred, albeit unharmed flesh.
For once in her life, she was at a loss for words. Her ears twitched at the sound of the other wolf's voice, though it took a moment for her to process them as she was still wrestling with the idea of what the hell had just happened. Apparently, the stranger didn't know either.
"Huh," with the other wolf now busy fussing with her fur, Ida's own bristling pelt finally settled. She didn't seem like a threat; no scars, no mandibles, and nothing besides caution in response to her own snapping. Hot water bubbled and steam billowed into the sky from the geyser closest to them, and Ida's ears prickled with embarrassment at how hard she jumped at the sudden sound.
"Yuh woke up in that!?" how was she not dead? Ida had never heard of such a place, and following the horizon line to see even more of those strange, steaming pools made unease roil in her belly. It looked like hell- a stark contrast from the peaceful snowbank she'd awoken in. She curled her lip at the sight, but the stranger's words caused her attention to snap back towards her instead.
"Course I know my name," she huffed, "it's Ida," with that, she lowered herself into a full stretch and grunted as her bones audibly popped, neck cracking as she fought the stiffness creeping through her muscles from the cold snow. Once she'd sufficiently loosened herself, she stepped around Maureen and began plodding through the snow away from the alien hot-springs. She needed to figure out what the hell was going on, but only made it a few lengths away before her ears pricked again at the sound of Maureen's barking behind her. She paused, one broad paw still raised in the air in preparation to step as she thought about her offer. She was silent for a few moments, but she thought again of that fresh elk she'd never get to sink her fangs into and snorted in acquiescence.
"Yeah. I could eat," she said, not bothering to turn around before continuing to plod forward further into the snowy taiga. It couldn't hurt to travel with the little wolf, Ida had nothing to lose besides her pride. She snuffled at the air, but all she caught was the scent of fresh snow and pine. "So...you ain't from here either?"