I miss my mum.

[xi]

Your name is Vergil, and you currently miss your mother. Yawning, you rubbed at your eyes, before pushing yourself onto your paws, before flopping over back onto the ground. You are soooooo tired and hungry...!

"...Bluh."You stuck your tongue out into the cold air, before turning towards the lake right outside the cave you were currently camping in.

Oh well, might as well get some fish, you thought to yourself as you dragged your body towards the exit, wincing slightly when the sunlight hit your eyes. You scowled before slinking into the open, taking note of the snow and your beautiful, beautiful fur.

[Nine]

The newly weaned leveret bounded across the neverending wonderland of snow, a first journey to this new region. Born in Fort Kaneq, he had never stepped foot out of the foresty area before. The Arctic hare was tired, yet his mother's words urged him forward: Don't let your guard down, even if you're tired. Dangers lie in the Kingdom of Ice - what was once your friend could quickly become your enemy. This world is never a friend, only a two faced stranger.
The hare's dark eyes fixed on a lithe figure just a few hundred meters away from him, a lithe creature sitting by the lake. The small animal dared himself to move forward, before calling out, "Who are you?"
His mother did tell him not to speak to strangers, for what comes out of their mouths, apart from words, might also be death. The adolescent hare, however, was hoping for a friend and a good conversation. Surely even the most powerful being must have some form of communication and interaction; food and water was definitely a key point in survival, however for mental and emotional strength, one must socialize.

[cookiecutter]

Pawsteps on ice. Murky brown eyes blinked at the snowbanks below, a sharp contrast from the harsh whiteness all around him- slowly, carefully, each minute shift carefully calculated, he crept forward with a furrowed brow and flattened ears. A white blot lost in the blinding void of the North. His quarry can hardly hope to notice him.

They were a family of four, three kits and a mother as snowy white as he is- but they were crying, crying and wailing and crowding around their dead mother and attracting every predator around. Stupid, stupid creatures. The general rule was not to prey on your fellow creature, but if his moral standards had been any lower... they were lucky beyond measure that he wasn't going to pounce on them, usher the kits along after their mother with a snap of his jaws- as he reared up upon them, the three young scatter with squeals. A white sheet just about flopped over his head as he snarled and bared his teeth and scared the young rabbits away. A monster in appearance but not, quite, in substance. A moment of tense silence as he surveyed his surroundings-

The arctic fox bent down and made quick work of the dead mother. His name is Flake, and it's only the circle of life.
(not dead by him, no; he's in no trouble if he didn't make the kill himself. It's just a terrible waste to let the poor old thing rot here.)

As he savored the crunch of bones in his jaws, there was a movement at the corner of his eye- he swallowed the last of the rabbit, ears shooting up and body sinking into a defensive crouch. Friend, or foe?

...the creature was sort of flopping its way to the lake's edge. Very slowly. And pausing every few moments to purr and look at itself. And- wow, a rabbit. Ahem. Quick check to make sure the other rabbits were gone and the dead mother disposed of. Okay.

Well, that just about falls into the third category- idiots he'd do better without.

Slowly, Flake relaxed, an irritated huff escaping his muzzle as he straightened up and gave his tail a shake- what a way to mar the pristine landscape with such... ew. He saw no reason to approach the lynx, saw no reason to run; and so he stayed, in full view, stalking to the lake in a very offhand way to fish like a proper citizen. No suspicious activity around, none at all. Flake doubted the lynx had the brains to figure anything out, anyway. He had picked the rabbit clean, buried the remains hastily.

[xi]

"Who are you?"

You turned towards the timid voice, stopping right in front of the water. A tiny hare, nothing interesting. You proceed to ignore her, turning back to the waters instead. You could see fishes swimming around in the deep lake. Time to eat.

You dove into the lake, sending the waters splashing. You thread in the water for a while, before holding your breath and ducking your head underwater, catching a fish with your jaws. Swimming towards the surface, you dumped the fish onto the snow, before clambering up back onto ground. You grimaced, there's water on your beautiful fur now.

[Nine]

Over two hundred and eighty kilograms of polar bear tread on the snow, pressing pawprints into the soft white ground. The creature was hungry; he hadn't eaten for days, his ribs starting to press against his thick white fur. He prowled through the forest, mimicking the actions of a lynx or fox, before finally arriving at a clearing with a half frozen lake in the middle."Bluh." he heard a creature murmur, then a more youthful voice announcing it's presence - "Who are you?" weakened by the cold winter, yet a strong will was clearly present in the three words it said. Taillefer moved his head a fraction of a right angle, trying to locate where the conversation (one sided or not) was coming from. He noted the presence of a small hare or rabbit, looking up at a lynx who simply ignored the creature and dove into the lake. The bear pawed closer before putting a front paw into the lake - icy cold, however clearly there were many fish swimming in it. The white animal towered over the lake, his face a reflection in the water, as he watched a lynx emerge from the water. "That was impressive," he complimented, taking in every physical feature the lynx possessed - from the cold golden glare he gave the hare, the ring of black fur around his neck, the hints of white among his mostly grey fur. His eyes, despite burning the same color as the sun, possessed the coldness of winter. He did a mental inventory; he had a big part of his ego and confidence to lose; the very stride of the lynx had revealed his egocentric nature. Just like his brother.

[cookiecutter]

He perches by the water's edge and stares out at the glassy surface of the lake, scanning for fish. Hmm, not this area, diving out would scare them away first; if he shifts himself around to-

Now, what's that over there?

Flake pauses and flicks a quizzical ear in the direction of the two creatures, glancing over to see the lynx pointedly ignore the rabbit and dive into the lake. He knows the type- stuck up, pampered, probably strongest of the litter. The kind that respond to things below them on the food-chain with the cold shoulder, because they're technically not allowed to eat the rabbits and lemmings and whatnot that get on their nerves. (pity, that.)

He's dusted his own shoulder with powdered ice several times, and smirked in their faces as the cold flakes fall over their eyes. But in his book, there is nothing wrong with hypocrisy, nothing wrong with pretending to be kind to a creature whose brethren he had just eaten. It's really just stomping a certain lynx's face into the snow just to see the stupid thing squirm, but he's knows all too well- packaging is everything.

"Don't mind him, I think there's just a spot of snow in his ears." Flake pads over, casual nonchalance radiating off every swish of his tail, a condescending curl on his muzzle (packaging is everything.) "-wait, actually I think he was fishing for you as a gesture of solidarity! Aren't you, hmm~?"

He eyes the fish with a sly flash of his teeth, and reaches out his paw to swipe it from the snow.

[xi]

"That was impressive."

You looked up from your catch, and there it was, a polar bear. He was big. Your eyes scanned him from the top to the bottom. His fur was not as beautiful as yours, so it didn't matter much.

You started to scrap off the scales of the fish, when you suddenly realised, it was missing. OKAY, WHO TOOK MY FISH. You let out a small growl, your eyes zooming in on the Arctic Fox who HAD SWIPED YOUR FISH. You wanted to flail badly, and throw a tantrum.

Instead, you cleared your throat.

"...Can I have my fish back."You addressed him, refraining the urge to pout and pounce on him so you can tickle the bloody thief to submission.

[Nine]

"Don't mind him, I think there's just a spot of snow in his ears." The fox said, "-wait, actually I think he was fishing for you as a gesture of solidarity! Aren't you, hmm~?" he then snatched up the fish that the lynx had abandoned before dipping into the lake to catch another. The hare was slightly confused by these words, however more than happy to not have been ignored just like how the lynx did. "Uhh, yes!" he exclaimed, trying not to sound too false yet injecting enthusiasm into his words. His eyes scanned beyond the fox; a polar bear was just a few pawsteps away from the dead fish. "That was impressive." The bear's voice was rather soft, as if not confident of his own words.
Taillefer was aware of a hint of lethargy in the lynx's voice, then realized a smaller creature had been conversing with a nearby fox. His heart started to pump a little faster, for the hare - there was a possibility of an early death, what with foxes and other carnivorous creatures that walked the Earth. He kept an eye on the hare for a few heartbeats before turning to the lake, pawing at the water a few times unsuccessfully before a fish flopped out, gasping for air and shocked by the change in temperature. The bear quickly punctured it's small body with his teeth, clamping the creature between his jaws and then dumping the body on the ground and tore out the flesh. As he licked the blood off his mouth, guilt began to set in as it always did after capturing and killing prey. He was hungry, but the guilty feeling that bubbled at the pit of his stomach instead of hunger had put him off killing another fish. He looked over at the fox, who stole the remains of the fish the lynx had left. "Share?" he offered, after deciding that the fox seemed and okay creature. Part of the reason for his offer was to reduce the number of deaths in a day, the other reason was for his fear of the rabbit's life being taken for lunch.

[cookiecutter]

A shadow fell over him; Flake tensed, imperceptibly, slowly turning his head sideways to investigate the approaching polar bear. The bear didn't seem threatening, and therefore was not a threat for now. Besides, Flake was busy...teaching a certain lynx a lesson. 'That was impressive' is simply detracting from the syllabus. The fish in his paw, Flake donned an expression of mock surprise and carefully, pointedly executed his next move. Tilting his head and looking the lynx in the eyes, locking two honeyed gazes as warm as ice-

"I'm sorry?" He dropped the fish by the hare.

"I thought you wanted to give the poor hare something nice, as we all know plants are a rarity here and the poor thing looks like it's starving-" They were all pretty hungry, the cruel North allows for no pleasure that isn't earned- "unless; my, were you actually ignoring the young hare's gesture of friendship?"

(yes. the lynx obviously was. Calling out such a thing and making the wording so stinging was exactly the kind of pastime that he quite liked.)

[xi]

"...Go away."You replied to that stinging remark, before turning around, shaking the water OFF YOUR FUR AND INTO HIS FACE. Yes, that was the perfect revenge, now his fur is wet, and yours is NOT. Well, now that was solved, your stomach decided to growl at the most beautiful moment.

Turning red, you quickly dove into the water, grabbing a poor fish out from the waters yet again, before tossing it to the surface, hitting the fox in the face.

JUSTICE.

Swiping another fish in the waters, you climbed onto the surface yet again, repeating the actions to get the water off your fur, before starting your feast on the fish.

[cookiecutter]

He blinked and lowered his head, shaking off droplets of freezing moisture from his snout. In the biting air, the wetness sizzled tracks down his fur, which was kind of annoying- but that's it. Just annoying. Arctic foxes had thick fur for a reason; Flake daintily wiped the water from his eyes with a paw with an indignant huff.

The urge to snap at the lynx was strong, but he wasn't going to rise to it- nothing good ever came of trying to talk sense into stupid creatures, so. The urge to do something else, however...

Dark eyes tracked the lynx as it dived back into the water, and he leaned away from the spray it kicked up- but the next moment, something shimmering and wet was flying through the air at his face-

Gcccrrrrrrrr- surprise and Flake made no good combination, and the next noise out of his muzzle was an angry, threatened hiss as he reared up and smashed the fish to the ground with a paw. His thick coat halfway through fluffing up, Flake stared at the dead fish impaled on his claws and forced himself to relax again- his gaze flickered back again to the lynx, and without skipping a beat the vulpine curls his lip back into a feral grin.

"Thank you for the fish! You're certainly a very charitable creature. Oh- you've got something on your fur there-"

He scooped a pawful of snow and flung it back at the lynx, before sedately sitting down and sinking his teeth into the fish. "Now we all have something to eat! Great."

The last sentence was purely formality towards the polar bear- better to extend the friendly greeting first and get the massive thing on his side. Polar bears were, after all, the reigning species here.

[xi]

Vergil shifted quickly to avoid the pile of snow aimed for his beautiful fur, but alas, it hit him. His ears twitched again in annoyance. He quickly shook his the snow off, making sure that it would hit the fox in the face.

Plopping down onto the ground, he smirked at the Arctic Fox, before taking a bite out of his fish.

"The name's Vergil. I go by 'Alxisc'."You say this loudly, obviously addressing this to every single one of the creatures in your presence. You finished up the fish in a few bites and tossed the remains aside before starting to clean yourself up.

[cookiecutter]

The snow was shaken off from a face a second time, landing harmlessly on the snow. Flake bit back an exasperated sigh, muffling his tirade of insults by the succulent fish- ooh, there were so many things he wanted to spit in that disgusting creatures face, and then claw it in between the lynx's eyes for good measure- but no. Self control. The fish were plump this season, and for the moment Flake let the strong taste of his meal flood his senses. Quite delightful.

"That's a nice name;" Flake commented idly, not bothering to conceal the disinterested roll of his eyes- seriously, did he look like he cared? He licked his lips and took another bite out of the fish, looking from polar bear to hare. Waiting for a response, because he sure wasn't giving his own until it became required.

Vergil threw the remains of the fish carelessly aside. Flake stopped himself from issuing a displeased hiss- there were still some edible parts,you didn't dispose of your rubbish like that unless you were looking for trouble, idiot- But still, his nose wrinkled in obvious distaste. Stupid lynx with his stupid mannerisms. He hoped that disgusting pelt ended up hanging on some polar bear's cave.

[Nine]

"I'm sorry? I thought you wanted to give the poor hare something nice, as we all know plants are a rarity here and the poor thing looks like it's starving," the fox had said, dropping the fish by Seymour as if nothing had happened; his actions were casual, yet somehow wary of the lynx's actions. Seymour was just about to retort, to defend himself by reminding these seemingly stupid creatures that he was in fact a herbivore, however he kept silent. "Go away." The lynx's voice was cold; Seymour watched as he scooped the fish from the water; what lucky creatures they were - food was more readily available for them. "Thank you for the fish! You're certainly a very charitable creature. Oh- you've got something on your fur there-" The fox had swiped a pawful of snow from the ground and threw it at the lynx before sitting down. A smirk flashed across the fox's eyes. "Now we all have something to eat! Great."
"The name's Vergil. I go by 'Alxisc'." The manner in which the lynx spoke was loud, obviously giving some form of warning to all three creatures. He finished up the remains of the fish, the arctic fox commenting sarcastically in the background. "That's a nice name."
The fox had hissed, taking back Seymour quite a bit. He seemed friendly enough, however it was the second time he made such an unfriendly sound in a single conversation that he feared he might be what he ate next due to his size. He took a step back, the polar bear allowing himself a stifled laugh. Oh, these creatures were stupid, fighting like children. Quite bravely, he lumbered over to the lynx, trying to appear self confident. "What a large ego packed in such a tiny body," the words rolled off his tongue, slightly tinged bitter specially for that lynx.

[xi]

Licking at his paw for a moment, the lynx's eyes started to shut. Ah, he was tired. Then again, his eyes were always half-hooded, and he was always sleeping. Watching the fox carefully for a moment, he let out a sigh.

This is why he did not really like having company around.

It was not like he hated others or anything, in fact, he loved company a whole lot! It's just that.. some creatures obviously assume that he was a spoilt brat. Well, he is technically a spoilt brat, but he wants to make friends too, to learn more. But he was too lazy and tired to do so.

Glancing away from the fox, he started to dig a whole, before pushing the bones of his meal into the hole, covering it once he was done. He was tired, and he really, really missed his mother. His mother was warm, and in this cold kingdom, there was nothing, not one thing that was as warm as his mother.

He started to leave the small crew, heading towards his current place of residence, the cave that he was sleeping in.