[Dawnhawk]

It was hopeless. Everything was. She was aimless.
Why, in the name of the Holy Triumvirate, would she want to go and stumble about these snowy mountains? It was just a huge waste of her time; a broken heart will freeze over in the cold.
Back home, it was beautiful. Eighty degrees. Sunny. Here... well, it's a completely different story. She was up to her ankles in snow, shivering like she'd never felt the warmth of day. And as she got closer to the top of the mountain, the night would just become colder, more harsh.
And soon, she would start doing insane things, like talking to inanimate objects.
Igleh looked down at a small, bare sapling poking through the snow at her paws. "Aah, what is going to happen? What do I do now? Tell me, please!"
Whoops. Scratch that last bit.

[Shadow]

Here he was, going towards the shrine. He'd never been here before, but he'd heard stories. From the others that he lived with, he had heard stories that they'd found an object of interest, or maybe met someone they knew. It was good to come to the shrine and pay respects, though, no matter what the reason. He needed to get out today, but coming here might have been a bad idea. It was so darn cold.

Or maybe it was a good idea after all. Was that another kuhna? Yes, it was, and a pretty female kuhna at that! At this point, he changed his mind-- it had been a good idea after all!

"Hey there gorgeous~" He called as he approached her.

[Dawnhawk]

Igleh jumped. The sapling... had it talked back?! A second late, she realized that that wasn't a proper response at all, and whipped around, long fur rippling. Her shoulders tensed, her eyes tightened infinitesimally... Then relaxed all at once as she realized what it was.
A Preluhna. Not a sapling.
More of a threat, less of an oddity.
"Huh... Gorgeous... I wish." she muttered, ears flattening sadly. Images flashed in her mind: soft black fur, elegant spiderweb stripes. Tinged with sadness and regret. Warm white fur, blue and red streaks, and a strong, protective embrace... She didn't want to think about him. Tibet... he wasn't a good choice. He was unhealthy.
Focus on the present. Right now, right now, right now, right now.
The snow might have been cold, but the stone-iced flesh of her heart beat colder.

[Shadow]

Sunstorm paused for a moment. Her ears flattened; was she upset with him? Was she a threat to him? As she responded, he realized that he probably wouldn't be attacked; the way she flattened her ears was in more of a sad way than a defensive way, it seemed.

She wished? A lot of people had a low self-confidence, he guessed. "No, of course you're beautiful!" He said. "You need more confidence," he added.

"So, what is someone as pretty as you doing in a place like this?" He asked. Perhaps she was going to pray to the Holy Triumvirate, or maybe she was like him, and just had needed to get out of the house. Maybe she'd been looking for an adventure, or maybe meeting someone?

[Dawnhawk]

"I don't know what I'm doing."
She confessed slowly, ignoring the remark about her confidence, not really bothering to calculate the risks. If this Preluhna was going to kill her, there was nothing that she could do, anyway. He might as well know what she was up to. But just stating things made Igleh feel like a villain in a melodrama, spoiling her own plan to the hero.
She passed a critical eye over the male. He didn't look like much of a hero.
Igleh allowed a small tremor to pass down her back. Past experiences had taught her to never judge someone at first glance.
She tried, she truly did, to refrain, but she couldn't. Because, as painful as it was, she wanted him to be her hero.
[(Gah, my short posts >.< Hopefully things will warm up soon)]

[Shadow]

"I don't know what I'm doing here either," Sunstorm said. As she looked him over, he put his ears back, trying to show that he didn't mean any harm. She still seemed unsure of him, just as he was unsure of what she was like. He had definitely expected a different personality from such a pretty kuhna-- maybe more, for lack of a better word, happy?

But there was a punishment for making generalizations. Typically, generalizations of Sunstorm were correct-- he was a preluhna, a species famous for being very peaceful. He was not one who was likely to kill anything or anybody, except maybe for food if he had to.

"It's really cold out, isn't it?" He said, trying to make small talk. There were just certain statements that people had trouble responding to, and he felt that what he had said just now would not lead to much conversation.

[Dawnhawk]

Igleh looked directly into the Preluhna's eyes: they were gold, like hers, only creamier, more subtly gold. She found herself warming to the friendliness she saw there, slowly, like snow melting into the soil. All of the snow here would remain for quite some time, she was sure; the SleepyHollow was suddenly glad that her pelt had thickened the longer she strayed away from home.
She pushed the thought aside and padded a few steps through the snow, heading upward. The Kuhna turned her head and peeked rather shyly at this possible companion, willing him to follow.
Then, out of nowhere, the corners of her mouth turned up, almost imperceptibly."My name is Igleh," she mewed softly. "SleepyHollow Kuhna. I... don't mind the cold. See, it's not so bad, when you're not alone."
Not wanting to force him into indroducing himself, she scuffled the snow with a forepaw and closed her eyes as it crunched between her claws. Maybe this would turn out to be okay.

[Shadow]

Sunstorm was glad to have found someone here; she was right-- having someone here with you made the cold feel a lot warmer. As she moved away, he followed her hesitantly, not sure if she wanted him to come along with her wherever she was going. He didn't want to seem like a stalker.

"It's nice to meet you, Igleh," he said. "My name is Sunstorm. I'm a Preluhna." She could probably tell that he was a Preluhna, because of his appearence, but it was only polite to introduce himself by giving his species, because hadn't she done the same?

((Sorry for the delay and the short post. D:))

[Dawnhawk]

(That's okay c: My posts have been really short, too :/)
The Kuhna smiled. This Sunstorm was a persistent one, wasn't he? She wasn't sure what tipped her off to this, but he just kind of seemed like someone who wouldn't give up easily. It was... cute, in a way. She was... well, not happy that he had followed her, because she wasn't sure exactly what either of them were up to, but she felt like it was a good thing. Like perhaps he would fix at least a part of the hole in her chest, like the cold had done when it congealed the blood at the edges.
Igleh looked down at the patch of grey fur that actually covered her chest. There was no blood. Only ice and snow.
Distracted, she turned her head back to the Preluhna. "Hey.. Would you happen to know where we're headed? Because I surely don't..."

[Shadow]

"To be honest, I have no idea," Sunstorm replied, trying not to show that he was a little bit embarassed (he didn't want to seem stalkerish). "Do you want to head up to the shrine? It'll be a little nicer up there, and warmer because the wind isn't quite as strong inside," he added. He leaned in the direction of the shrine, hoping that she'd agree. He sure was cold, but being with someone else was better than being in this weather alone.

He began to think of more conversation topics, to be used later. It seemed silly now, but it wouldn't be if there were any awkward silences. They didn't know each other beyond their names and species, so asking about her personal life, or her life at home, was not a good idea right now. Talking about himself was always something to resort to, but he'd prefer not to, as most girls didn't seem impressed by this.

((:O I think I might be starting to write a little more, maybe? I think my muse is starting to recover from its sickness anyhow. Sorry for the delay again, too. xD))

[Dawnhawk]

The SleepyHollow sighed wearily, bowing her head. "Yeah. Anything to escape from... Never mind. That was stupid of me."
Igleh flicked her ears, slightly irritated at herself. Really, did it have to be so difficult to exchange a few sentences with a relative stranger? She needed to get over herself, breach this divide between "Igleh" and "the rest of the world". And here he was, presenting himself so openly, the perfect chance: Sunstorm.
Just... look at him a bit harder. Open your eyes wider. Breathe deeper? You're going to pass out if you keep panting like that...
The Kuhna swiveled her head in order to look at the Preluhna, but found herself unable to make eye contact. Don't... don't you be ridiculous! It's not like he's the freaking reincarnation of Xai're or something. He's a Preluhna; Sunstorm. Friendly, she had to remind herself.
"Yes, yes, okay, into the shrine!"
Igleh tried to inject a little eagerness into her voice, but it came over as nervous instead. Ah, yes: Igleh can go from 'depressed' to 'stupid' in 3.5.
[Yup wow. Queer post is queer? But I'm glad to hear that your muse is feeling better~!]

[Shadow]

Sunstorm was slightly curious-- what had she been wanting to escape from? He decided not to ask, as it seemed that she hadn't wanted to say anything further than that. She seemed to be irritated, not with him (he didn't think), maybe with herself. She must have said too much, so he didn't ask any further.

"Okay, let's go," he said in response, a little unsure. Was she still nervous? Even so, he was happy that she had decided to come with him, that she had agreed with him to come into the shrine. He wondered if he had interpreted her emotions correctly-- sometimes the tone of someone's voice could be decieving.

He began slowly to walk towards the shrine. The snow was deep (from his perspective, anyway; he wasn't really used to walking in weather like this). He didn't mind the cold too much, especially since he had someone with him.

[Dawnhawk]

(._.  I'm soooo sorry that I've kept you waiting so long! I had the stomach flu awful, and it made my head pound just to look at my screen, so yeah. ;A; But we're getting somewhere! <:D)

The Kuhna gave her ears a final flick and moved closer to Sunstorm. She could almost feel the sensation of fur brushing fur, and the warmth flowing from his body was comforting. Although the atmosphere was still tense, she felt a little bit brighter. Perhaps it was the arrival of a destination that had brought on this change in attitude; it was something to look forward to other than her personal abyss.

"I like to get away from the guys at my pen, because none of them understand how I feel. It's like they;ve watched my life unfold on the screen of a TV only to laugh at it, and laugh at my pride. And even if they did ask me about myself, they'd brush it off and say I was exaggerating. "Oh, Iggy, it couldn't possibly be that bad, toughen up!" That's what they tell me. I don't like that name. Iggy.
But it's different out here! Because I can tell things my way, without some third-pary hard-head butting in, thinking he knows my life better than I do."

Igleh spoke rather softly, getting used to the taste of the thoughts which had simmered so long on the tip of her tongue. But she spoke with feeling, tossing her head and even clenching her claws a little. The whole time, she kept her eyes on a safe, lifeless middleground. When she stopped talking, she tried to make eye contact with Sunstorm, for some reason. Maybe she just wanted to make sure that he was still there, to see him close-up through lying eyes swimming with tears...

[Shadow]

(Nah, don't worry about it. I seem to have made you wait for a while too-- I'm past my usual four-day wait. D: On the other hand, I seem to be writing more than usual as well.)

Sunstorm felt Igleh move closer to him as they walked, and he could almost feel their fur brushing. What did he feel, exactly? It was a strange sensation, rather, possibly a feeling of closeness to another being, for lack of a better way to say it. It would be more difficult for their body heat to escape now, for it to be stolen from them by the freezing air.

He listened as she talked, nodding. There wasn't much that he could say-- he had never really had experiences like the ones she had. "That's horrible," he said. There was no way they knew what she'd been through, without experiencing what she had, first hand.

"And why do they seem to think it'd okay to call you Iggy when you haven't given them permission to?" He asked, still trying to let her know that he was there, and that he could relate to her. "I've had people call me 'Sunny.' I don't really care much for that nickname."

He allowed her to make eye contact with him, not looking away when she looked towards him. The expression in his eyes was hard to discern. Maybe it was just an expression of understanding, or one of caring.

[Dawnhawk]

Igleh shivered as a cold wind ruffled her fur on one side, pressing closer to Sunstorm.
"Why... did they call me that? I think that it's just something they do to make me feel less than them. Like, if they call me something demeaning, I will eventually just shrink down and die. And they laugh every time they say it. "Ahahah, Iggy, ahahaha." I don't think it would be so bad if they would stop laughing like that. But maybe the Holy Spirit will be able to help?"

She closed her eyes for a moment, concentrating on moving her paws forever forward, trying to let them guide her to the shrine. It seemed a little childish, but she could care less. Sunstorm was becoming more and more of a friend to her as she opened up.
And, to tell the truth, she was a little nervous about going to this shrine and praying directly to a god. She had known what she was going to ask for quite some time, but she had never been able to tell if it was really going to work out the way she desperately needed it to. The only way she would ever find out would be actually traveling there and asking, so... That was what she was set upon doing.

"How about... I will tell you the biggest reason why I am here, but first you have to tell me why you came."

The SleepyHollow hadn't had somebody to talk to like this in years. So very long ago, there would have been that other Kuhna... but they would probably never be able to relate to each other again. The rift between them had grown too large, and it had changed both of their personalities as time went on.
And the one whose name she had taken on as her own... was never coming back.