The boisterous entrance of the pale-coated Bracchus had created quite a ruckus. There was a flurry of speech, a cacophony of noise that Oleander flattened her ears against her skull to muffle, retreating slightly into her hood as pleasantries were exchanged. The entrance of yet another wolf felt like the number of variables that she had to keep track of were becoming insurmountable, compounding on one another. Drinks were being bought and drank, and it was with a relief that there was one tether of a conversation that she could seize on.

Astra pauses. "There's a lot. Avalanches, falling, the sheer cold up there, lack of breathable air if we go too high... plus the usual creatures up there. I'm not too familiar with this area, so I can't say exactly what's up there, but stuff like furmus, deer, bovius, lapistrix is possible. Maybe a simbur if we get unlucky."

Now, putting that into words, Astra realizes that it didn't sound quite so bad when in her head.

Azurity wagged his tail at Vallas words. What a fun lass she was! He overheard Astra speaking about a map and leaned over, examining the route she had laid out. He nodded in approval. "This looks great! We might have to go northeast here to avoid this patch- there are nasty snowstorms that pass through."

Valla peered over Azurity's shoulder as he assessed the map. This would be a long journey. Valla hadn't adventured that deep into Icerun territory before. She nodded thoughtfully at RC's suggestion, then turned her eyes towards the other Lupin next to Astra.

Oleander listened intensely to Astra as she spoke. She had not intended to end up in Icerun in the first place, ill-equipped for the cold weather after spending so long in the warm sunlight of the Grove that she once called home. The list contained things she had hardly hear of before- avalanches, what could that be? The sheer cold, how could it possibly get colder than this?! Oh god, the air runs out? As the potential trials and tribulations continued to build up, Oleander licked her chops nervously, her jaw clicking shut audibly as she swallowed. Her eyes widened as Astra continued to provide names of creatures that they may happen upon in the cold, a shiver running up her spine as if she was already amongst the snowy peaks and... avalanches, whatever that was supposed to be.

A map was being shown and fussed over- well, it was clear that Oleander couldn't go out there on her own. There was far too much about this snowy landscape that she didn't quite understand or have a grasp of yet. It was by sheer luck that she hadn't run out of air herself, wandering amongst the blanket of white that seemed to cover every inch of the landscape.

Her former mark, Valla, was speaking to her. She turned automatically towards the sound of the voice, though it took another second for the words to process.

Another nervous lick of the chops and swallow, and she finally found her voice again to speak; "Yes, it seems that in order to make my way through Icerun, I ought to find myself a group more equipped to deal with the trials here. My name is Oleander." The name was drawn out as she spoke it, the sounds still foreign in her mouth. It was her name now, the old one burned and buried like the paths she had left behind herself when she had fled/

"Welcome to the team, Oleander!" Valla responded happily, giving a doggy grin. "Whatever your goal, traveling together is always the safest option. We can lend each other our strength." She had noticed that Oleander seemed stiff and uneasy, and frankly Valla felt a little nervous in the back of her brain too. Traveling this deep into Icerun would be an ordeal. But being scared wasn't going to make it any easier.

(imma do this last message and wait for Mysti I don’t wanna leave her behind :3)