Normally, winter brought peace along with it for the Viper. Snow had long settled across the northern expanse of their territory, the mountains thick with layers left behind by storms. Even the southern most regions had been coated, the large lake in the kingdom frozen over. Despite the season shifting to her favorite, she found it hard to find awe in the landscape and see joy in it. Her responsibilities weighed heavy on her and worry kept her awake at night. When around others, she did her best to hide her exhaustion, instead replacing it by forcing energy into each step and action. When she was alone, each step was slow and deliberate.
The threat from Verdantis still lingered in the back of her mind, especially now more than ever with the thing roaming the lands, wherever it may be. She felt like she'd hit a dead end and frustration swelled inside her for it. Each day that passed by, each day that Her followers showed up empty pawed, it made her feel like a failure. She wondered about Verdantis day and night, fretting over whether or not they were closer to the creature than her. Hell, it was possible that Ohr already had it and the mission had already failed.
"No" she muttered to herself through gritted teeth as she worked her jaw on a large root at the base of a tall oak tree. The root held firm in its spot, despite Enya tugging and yanking, her paws splayed and dug down into the mucky soil. "I. Refuse. To Believe it." Each part of the sentence broken up by another tug. "Fucking root" she cursed as she let go of it and glared at the growth. All she wanted to do was something nice. She knew Caedwyn was absolutely miserable in the cold so she wanted to surprise him with a den in the southern region of their kingdom. It was still cold down here, but it was considerably warmer than their home near the base of the mountains. "I wish I could just burn you". Behind and around the root was the beginning of a den's entrance. The angle of the entrance was perfect. It had a nice view of the clearing which ended with the lake. Forests lined the clearing. Unfortunately for her, the root went right across the middle of the entrance. "I just might freeze you instead" she threatened before turning away with a huff. She'd worked up a thirst and wanted to get the taste of wood out of her mouth.
She worked her way down the clearing and to the edge, picking her steps carefully as she traversed the snow and ice. She had planned to work a hole into the ice to drink from, but her plan changed when movement caught her eye. Enya looked up to see Eon sliding across the ice before slipping and falling onto his face. Enya watched and winced, but remained still, not yet revealing herself to her Noble, curious what he was doing out there. She heard laughter coming from him and felt a smile come to her. He got back to his paws after some effort and once more took to sliding across the ice, only to crash into the bank of snow.
As he recovered from his tumble, Enya approached with a casual walk, a swaying tail, and a smile on her face. "Hey Eon" she called out, trying to add energy and a pep to each action to hide her own worry and fatigue. "Whatchya doin on the ice?"