It turned out that Undari travel consisted of a great deal of walking, walking and then more walking. And also the occasionally snowball fight, as it seemed Undari weren’t predisposed to being as serious as the Delfin army. Aurem’s hair was still damp where Turuk and a few other Undari had thrown clumps of snow at his body. It seemed even though they were prisoners, they were not exempt from the games the Undari played. Although Aurem had a feeling Turuk was entirely to thank for that. Or blame, really, as Aurem sneezed, and groaned, rubbing at his nose. He was not used to the cold weather at all. After the initial beauty of the scenery wore off, Aurem only felt miserable.

Even the thick furs, and walking close to Soren didn’t do much to keep himself warm. He didn’t want to risk using magic to cloak himself from the cold yet, since other Undari walked near them. After saving Siira, it seemed that Turuk had been right though. A few Undari walked by them, and touched their chests in a motion of respect that Aurem had quickly come to recognize. They were still watched with wariness and caution by most, but those closest to Turuk seemed oddly ready to accept them into their group. Turuk had said things were changing, and Aurem was only now readily seeking out these changes in the Undari that surrounded them.

Soren shivered at his side, and groaned softly. He’d been the victim of a rather nasty hit from a snowball, courtesy of Kirma, who had panicked for hours after. Soren had been hit in the nose, and it had bled for a few minutes. Kirma had hovered around Soren for the first hour, before Turuk finally made him go away.

For now, he and Soren walked behind Turuk, and Siira padded at their side. Her pups were being carried by various members of the tribe. And although Aurem had wanted to hold the runt, Turuk said it would be too rough for him to try and carry the quickly growing pup. Though he had loathed it in the beginning, a few hours later, he could only concede that Turuk had been right. Turuk himself, instead, had promised to hold the dark pup, soothing a bit of Aurem’s concern for the pup. In the light of day, Aurem had seen the streaks in his fur were golden. They shimmered in the sun’s rays, whenever Aurem caught a glimpse, and each time he felt his chest swell with emotions. Somehow, he already loved the little pup, and longed for the day where he could name him.

Aurem grunted, though, as a wet smack and burst of cold slammed into his cheek, snapping him out of his thoughts. He heard Soren give a weak laugh, and then turned to glare, seeing Turuk with a grin, and another ball of snow in his hands. The little runt was tucked into a fur lined basket on his back, and probably fast asleep. “Rotten...” he muttered under his breath, ducking to avoid another snowball launched at him. Soren’s laugh cut off with a wet smack, and he yelped in surprise. And then laughed again, at himself.

Aurem rolled his eyes, and quickly grabbed a handful of snow. Giving Turuk a wicked grin, Aurem put a faint bit of magic into the snow, and then threw it. At their side, Siira gave an exasperated huff, but continued to pad. Aurem watched with satisfaction as the snow splatted onto Turuk’s face, landing dead center. He let out a laugh of triumph, as the confident grin was wiped off of his face. What happened instead, though, was a warm laugh that made Aurem’s heart tremble.

Turuk wiped the snow free, and then grinned, and advanced on him. Realizing his intention too late, Aurem let out a yelp, and tried to turn away, when Turuk grabbed him and pulled him into a tight bear hug. Wriggling slightly, Aurem could hardly resist, as Turuk’s weight leaned into him. He let out a startled yelp as he felt them both falling, grunting as he landed into a snow bank along the path they were walking. Cold encompassed him, as well as Turuk’s overwhelming heat, struggling for a moment, grasping at the man’s leathers.

“N-n-not fair!” He hissed up at Turuk, feeling his teeth chattering, as the snow pressed into his back. He felt, rather than heard, Turuk’s deep chuckle. The man drew back, and grinned down at him, Aurem’s heart lurching in his chest. He felt his cheeks burn, feeling the weight of the man over him.

“Aurem not fair first. Magic bad,” he gruffed down at him, though his eyes were alight with amusement. A sly smirk crept across Turuk’s features, and Aurem felt his blush deepen, as the man took his expression in. Aurem tried narrowing his eyes, showing the smugness was not welcome. Turuk chuckled deeply again, and then reached out, whisking stray locks of pale blond hair from Aurem’s face.

Aurem huffed up at Turuk, hearing laughter from the Undari outside of the little hole he and Turuk had made. He could also hear Soren’s light giggling among the laugh, making a mental note later, to tease him about he looks he’d been sneaking at Kirma. He thought no one had noticed, but Soren hadn’t mastered the art of subtlety at all. Aurem rolled his eyes up at Turuk, as the man chuckled again, and then leaned away.

Almost missing the man’s heat, thanks to the cold snow, Aurem frowned and then took the hand offered to him. And then he was yanked up from the snow, and rather quickly placed on his feet. “Is the pup okay?” He asked, craning his head around Turuk’s arm, as the Undari dusted snow off of Aurem’s clothing. He didn’t hear any crying from the little basket, but Turuk didn’t seem to realize his rough actions might hurt the pip.

“Pup fine. Siira’s son, is strong,” Turuk said, with that infuriating grin of confidence. Aurem gave him a flat look, but accepted his answee and shifted a hand through his hair, grimacing as he realized it had come loose from the braid. The Undari group continued to move, though, and Aurem only shook his hair loose, and idly started to braid it as they walked. Turuk walked at his side now, and Siira had taken up the other side after sniffing at the basket. With a dismissive sniff, Aurem’s last bits of worry had been swept away. Not even Turuk would get off easy if the pup had been hurt.

Aurem glanced over his shoulder, and saw Soren and Kirma walking in an awkward, but companionable silence. Snorting softly, he returned his gaze ahead. He hadn’t really thought of it, but the occasional distraction and snowball fight, really helped the journey along. He was still tired, but the energy invigorated him a bit, and made the exhaustion less prominent. He supposed with the playful distraction, they could all forget that there were hours ahead of walking for them.

And right now, the incline wasn’t even steep. Turuk had explained that they would start truly climbing the mountain within a few days, but that it was never dangerous or too steep. Not even Undari wanted to travel back so far up the mountain cliff side. Rather than living directly on the side of the mountain, it seemed the Undari’s home, or at least one village, lay nestled in a valley about halfway up. Turuk had seemed wistful, and perhaps a bit homesick, as he spoke of it. From what he had said, the village was beautiful.

They had been travelling for a few days now, and true to his word, Turuk had brought Aurem into his tent at night. But unlike the night after the birth of the pups, they didn’t sleep that close. Turuk lay curled up by Siira and the pups, to tend to any that woke in the middle of the night. Already, they were trying to sneak off and cause trouble. Their eyes hadn’t opened yet, and Turuk and Siira seemed on high alert. Aurem winced at the thought of one of the blind pups wandering the wrong way. In the cold weather, even one of the pups might not make it before they could be found.

Thankfully, Kirma’s tent was close to Turuk’s. Whether it was always so, or Turuk had made it so, Aurem didn’t know. Either way, Aurem was glad for it, because he often went to visit Soren, or vice versa. They had quickly found out that the pups enjoyed chewing on Soren’s fingers. Turuk was convinced that Soren was going to spoil the pups, though, with the way he fussed over them, and made sure each one got their fill of Siira’s milk. The Silver female dominated the others during feeding, of course, and Aurem could tell Siira was proud of her. But Siira was fair, and nipped at the silver when she got too aggressive.

But thinking of the pups brought a bit of anxiety into Aurem’s mind. He still hadn’t thought of a name yet, and though he was eager for the pups to open their eyes, he was also not prepared. Turuk said there were a few rites to go through, traditional ones, so that the tribe would accept the bonding between a wolf and a human. Aurem wasn’t sure how things would go once they reached the village. The group travelling with Turuk might have accepted him – for the most part- but there was no telling what might happen when they returned. Still, Turuk had started teaching him the Undari language at night. He could barely manage to get his tongue around even the simple words, but whenever he came close Turuk gave a grin that made all the struggles worth it. And aside from that, he enjoyed learning, and was glad to be studying something even so far away from the tower.

All anxieties aside, Aurem was glad that he wasn’t in this alone. If even half of the stories had been true about the Undari, and his life would have been hell. Still, he could have just gotten lucky, landing with Turuk. The man seemed more open minded than the others, and didn’t shy away from speaking of magic. Even Kirma seemed hesitant, occasionally glancing to their collars with an odd look. But Aurem had stopped letting it bother him. He felt bad for Soren, who still had the silencer in full effect, and could only be grateful he could feel the pulse of magic within him. He was even beginning to suspect that the only reason Turuk hadn’t freely released him, was due to the other Undari. Rather than just being open, Turuk seemed openly curious and accepting of it, often asking Aurem questions or to show him small tricks.

“Storm coming,” Turuk grunted out of nowhere, causing Aurem to jolt, as he was pulled from his thought. He blinked rapidly, and then lifted his gaze to the taller man. His deep red hair shifted slightly, as Turuk swiveled his head around. At his side, Siira let out a faint whine, and looked to the sky. Aurem followed their gaze upwards, but only saw a clear blue sky. Still, he trusted the wolf’s instinct, if not Turuk’s.

“When?”

“Tonight. We set up camp soon,” Turuk grunted, frowning. He seemed a bit disappointed that their journey would be delayed.