RP:Cold Hands, Warm Hearts

Summary: Tiber and Lanara lead some pack members of the Amber Lunation to Frostmaw, so they can hide some caches around the area in case of an emergency. Things end up as planned, but they sure don't start out that way! There's a mishap with a bear cub that nearly has the Alpha falling off of a cliff, and the Luna nearly freezes to death in chest deep snow!

Part of the New Moon, New Motion Arc

(Post 1 of 2) The previous three days had been spent in pre-marital bliss, as Tiber and Lanara had kept themselves busy doing festive things for Samhain. They had baked apple pies, carved pumpkins into spooky lanterns, decorated the interior and exterior of their home, and they had even had some scandalous intimacy in a corn maze! The couple chose to forgo the Samhain Ball and instead had spent the evening pulling pranks on unsuspecting trick or treaters with onions and garlic dipped in caramel to mimic candy apples! The lycans rarely left each other's side, and even the scarce moments when they were apart, they were counting down the seconds until they could be together again. As the weekend came to an end, plans were made with a few members of the Alpha Lunation, so they could place a few supply caches in Frostmaw.

(Post 2 of 2) Lanara walks closely at Tiber’s side, clutching the crook of his arm, while her other hand holds tightly to a bipedal bear cub's paw. They near the base of the Xalious Mountain Pass where they are due to meet the others; Bjorn, Celeste, Violet, and Tybalt, though it seems that they have arrived first. The witch is clad in layers of clothing to protect her from the cold, knee-high insulated boots, a fur lined parka, and a backpack rests between her shoulders. “It’s smart to visit Frostmaw now, before the harsh winter arrives… I’m glad that we are bringing Aspen along! He loves playing in the snow!” The stark white cub looks up at the couple with those impossibly wide eyes, before he raises his paws and motions for Tiber to pick him up. “Oh! That reminds me!” Lana rummages in her bag for a moment, before she produces a strange leather harness, “Babe, let me put this on you, so you can give Aspen a piggy back ride to camp.” Clearly, Lana expects her fiance to wear this reverse-style bra while climbing up a treacherous mountain pass, and then walk the six miles to camp in waist high snow, with Aspen glued to his back! As the woman adjusts the straps and instructs Tiber how to pose, the rest of the group arrives, with Bjorn carrying most of their camping gear and supplies. Lana smiles at them all, though her gaze drops to the small boy almost immediately, “I figured we can stop by the Bone Cleaver so he can make any adjustments as you said the attachment is causing some friction! Celeste and you will head there, while Violet, Tiber, and I place the supply caches, and Bjorn will set up camp! We can split up in the morning again to place the remainder of the caches on our way back. Sound good, everyone?” She waits for any questions, and if there are any, she will divert her gaze to their Alpha as he’s running the show.

Tiber is also draped in a solid amount of layers. Cargo pants, hiking boots, a sweater, a flannel, and although not wearing it yet, he also brought a thick fur-lined parka. The man does not think much of Aspen as they walk to meet the others, for Lanara was keen on Aspen playing in the snow. At least Aspen liked mountains, right? Aspen looks up at Tiber with those big old eyes and Tiber is instant to carry the cub. “I hope you’re not going to be too lazy, Asp--” and then he is cut off as Lanara rummages through her bag as she remembers something. The man looks mortified as she pulls out a… bra? Tiberius glares as Lanara word-vomits about hauling a fat cub up the mountains. “I thought you said he likes the snow? Aspen has four legs and I have two on an average day,” the man starts to go on a rant, but Lanara is still insisting that the harness is strapped to him anyway. “Lana,” he calls as he moves to her will, “Lana,” and she keeps talking and insisting that eventually Tiberius Lowell is defeated and suddenly the bear is strapped to him. A big frowny rests on Tiber’s lips as the group comes up and Bjorn is cackling about Tiber wearing a bra. Eventually the jest dies down, however, as Lanara begins to go over the game plan. Everyone agrees as it seems like a simple task to do despite the thick snow. He then looks over each person before looking up the mountain. With the extra weight on Tiber’s back, he was not excited for this climb. Not at all. “We couldn’t have gotten a carriage?” Beat. “Whatever, you heard the woman, let’s go.” Then, Tiber is off in his pout. He would get over it--he would just have to adjust to the lazy bear first.

Lanara melts as Tiber is quick to pick up the little bear, because he clearly accepts the man as his father, and he coo’s and cuddles closer. Once the straps are secured and Aspen is shifted to Tiber’s back, Lana gives the cub a peck on his cheek, and wonders why Bjorn cannot stop laughing. The man is full on pointing and cackling, as though he’s never seen his Alpha in a brassiere with a bear attached to his back! “I can’t get over this! First the Backside Boy joins us and now -THIS- is happening?!” Thankfully, they begin to make their way up the mountain pass, and Lana carefully steps over roots and debris. The path grows narrow and steep as they advance up the mountain and so they have to walk in single file and proceed with extra caution. Tiberius is in the front with Lanara at his back, the two women tread behind her, and in the rear is Bjorn who has hoisted Tybalt onto his shoulders so the youngster doesn’t plunge to his death. Apparently Lana forgot to mention one dire detail about Aspen… He’s -terrified- of heights! Naturally, it’s as they are nearly to the peak, that the cub makes a strange noise and wraps his furry paws around Tiber’s head, covering the males eyes. Tybalt sees this from the back of the line and excitedly calls out, “PEEK A BOO!” and does the same thing to poor Bjorn, who stumbles forward and falls to his knees. The trio of women stop and look back to make sure their packmates are alright, because falling down from this height could be deadly. Lana hasn’t yet noticed that Aspen is practically blinding her fiance, as she has her hood up and has been watching where her footfalls land.

Tiber ignores Bjorn’s comments as he knows if he lets the commentary get to him, Bjorn will be ending up carrying the bear. As they all trek, Tiber is determined to get up the mountain, although the extra weight makes him a little tired. “Holy hell…” amber eyes look where the path begins to narrow, and the man has to stay focused in order to keep his balance although weary. The footing comes easy as the man looks down, but when two paws wrap around the man’s eyes. “Oh, no, no, Aspen, no.” Tiber sways slightly and loses his footing and stumbles forward. In the background, Violet hollers, “Tiber!” which surely would give Lanara a sign to look up for a moment to not trip over Tiber and Aspen. The angle that the bear and the man fall has the two looking straight down the cliffside. Rocks tumble down from their fall, but they just barely made the cut for not slipping down the mountain. Tiber shakily breathes as he stares face down towards the possible death sentence he almost had with the bear on his back. “Holy, sh..” he cannot even finish the curse as he is just happy he did not fall down the mountain. The man stands slowly, carefully and Aspen is wiggling like crazy on the man’s back. “Aspen, Aspen!” The man pulls tightly against the straps to make sure the bear is close to him to keep the furball from wiggling so much, and he begins briskly walking forward to get the two off the dang narrow part of the mountain. This would be the last time Tiberius Lowell would be climbing this mountain for a while. Lanara owed him big time. Maybe a massage. Maybe a free dinner. Maybe some dang love coupons or something.

(Post 1 of 2) Lanara is glancing down the path at Bjorn and Tybalt when Violet’s wide-eyed gaze and shout have her turning around so abruptly that she nearly falls on top of the man and bear cub that are practically teetering over the edge of the cliff. Aspen is whining and wriggling, his sharp claws digging into Tiber’s coat, as he helplessly tries to scramble out of the makeshift harness. Lana mutters in sylvan and instantly a gush of air is pushed upwards and back, so that Tiber may gain better traction and safely stand up. “Babe… Are you okay?” Lana extends a hand, but the lycan is proudly continuing his march up the mountain, with Aspen firmly pressed against his back. The witch sighs and glances at the others, making sure all are safe, before they continue their ascent.

(Post 2 of 2) About thirty minutes later they have crossed over into Frostmaw, and everyone is shivering and knee-deep in the snow. Lana pulls out a few maps in case anyone gets lost in a snow squall, and she points to a few markers; The Bone Cleaver, Camp, and a few red x’s that show where the caches will be hidden. “Okay. Bjorn, why don’t you take Aspen? He can play in the snow while you set up the tents and make camp.” The man scoffs and shakes his head, but then relents, “Fine. I’ll take your pet, but I’m not wearing that stupid bra.” Celeste and Tybalt take some trail mix, a flask of warming ale, and a map, and make their way eastbound. Lana decides now is a good time to pounce on her fiance, so she jumps into Tiber’s hopefully waiting arms, and presses a kiss to his lips, “You climbed -another- mountain for me! Well… For all of us, really. I totally owe you for carrying Aspen… Maybe later, things can get -hot- and we can try to melt some of this snow.” She nuzzles her cold nose against his equally cold nose, before she pulls back and laughs at Violet’s snarky comment, “Gee. Get a room, guys. Come on, we have 3 cache’s to plant… I don’t think it’s a great idea to leave Bjorn unsupervised for too long.”

Tiber is definitely bitter Tiber in his moody silence--it was better than bursting out, right? He continues that brave face until they cross over to Frostmaw. By that time, he is too tired to be too upset by the episode of almost falling off a cliff. At least Lana used her gust of wind because Tiber was able to gain balance back. As Lanara addresses Bjorn, Tiber grins, “Oh, yes, you are wearing the bra. And, really, that’s an order,” Tiber unclips the harness before letting Aspen down on the ground. “Here, I’ll help,” and despite the reluctance from the dark haired man, he somehow ends up with the bra strapped to him with the bear. “Thanks, wifey.” He teases Bjorn who looks flustered with embarrassment and frustration before storming off. Celeste and Tybalt take their leave, and then Lanara is waiting with a kiss which surely eases the man. “Hm, how much in total is that? I think for every mountain I climb, I get a fantasy. Maybe a foot rub… Or… well, melting snow is nice,” he smiles as the witch uplifts his downer mood before he realizes Violet is still there. “Oh, yeah, uh, sorry,” he clears his throat. “Let’s go.” The man looks over Lanara’s shoulder to the map to look at the red x’s. “Looks like we need to travel further west.” Then, he holds Lanara’s hand as they trudge through the snow to their three destinations.

Lanara laughs so hard that her cheeks hurt, as Bjorn trudges off in the lacy black bra, with a bouncing bear cub on his back. Aspen is delighted that they are in his natural habitat, and more so that he’s no longer walking up that steep mountain! Celeste and Tybalt have vanished from sight, their footprints covered in a fresh blanket of snow, and Violet is tapping her foot in impatience. Lana’s hand is taken by Tiber, and she smiles, “Ooh a fantasy for each mountain? Babe… You’re up to six? Seven, I think?” She’s already thinking about all the naughty possibilities, but her sensual thoughts soon turn to thoughts of fear as the knee-deep snow is now higher than her waist. It’s difficult to walk, let alone fantasize, and at some point she latched onto the teenager and is now holding both Tiber and Violet’s hands. The temperature seems to plummet as they get closer to their destination, and Lana is forced to stop as the snow has frozen her lower body, and her teeth are chattering so much that she cannot cast a spell for warmth. “Go on. I’ll wait here.” She urges Violet to go with Tiber, as it’s not that much further, and she swears she will stay put, “I’ll wait until you come back, then we can head southwest, where it should be a few degrees warmer.” Shivering, the witch hugs herself and remains rooted in place, her mocha skin looking a tad pale.

Tiber (1 of 3):: Tiber can barely get his mind off of the possibilities of when he gets to some place private with the Kelvarian, but then the snow gets tougher to trek through. Violet gladly keeps Lanara’s hand as Violet is taller than Lanara. Not by too much, but the snow at least is not to the woman’s waist. Violet had been all legs. A solid five foot, seven inches. Once Lanara stops, however, Tiber looks concerned. Despite the chill, Lanara’s lips look like they are turning a purple shade, so Tiber shrugs off his own parka where now he just has the flannel and a sweater. The parka is way longer to hopefully warm Lanara’s legs if it were to be zipped. “Stay here, we will be fast. Think warm thoughts.” The man would sacrifice his warmth. He could make it, right? He made it with a baby bear on his back and survived a narrow path. He could do this. He places a fast kiss against the woman’s lips before trudging forward through the snow. Before Violet leaves Lanara, as well, she takes off the knit hat she was wearing to put it on Lanara’s head. “Put both of your hoods up too, ‘kay?” Violet smirks before she is trailing behind the blonde man. The two packmates continue on in, at first, silence before Violet speaks up for them.

Tiber (2 of 3):: “This will be cake, y’know. Lanara is in good hands. We will be fast. We won’t let her freeze over. That’s what mates do. And by mates, I mean, friends,” Violet starts, which makes Tiber’s amber eyes shift down to look at the edgy, silver-haired girl. Amber eyes meet amber eyes. “I’m guessing you weren’t alone before,” Tiber observes easily. Violet walks and talks. Her breath falters through the cold and endurance she has to keep with the Alpha. “I used to run with a bunch of mates back in the day. Ran away from home. Never looked back. My parents always thought I was a screw up just because school wasn’t my thing. Too many catty girls that deserved a few punches in the lip.” The stubborn girl’s minor reflection brings a smile to Tiberius’ face. “Yeah, I had myself a few of those,” he tacks on. The two eventually see the cave up in the distance and the man points, “There. That’s the spot.” Beat. “So, you ran away, huh?” Violet nods. “Yeah, well, sometimes I regret it, but I found a couple people to help me out. To have my back when I had nothing. We’d steal to get by. We only stole from people who deserved it. Low lives. Mostly ships that were up to no good with the slave trade or just… well, greedy pirates. I lived in Rynvale and Cenril for a while.” The girl shrugged and Tiber looked amused because he, too, lived in Cenril for a while. The two had quite a bit in common. “One day, however, we tried to steal from the wrong dude. Alastor. He got me, and my friends? Brie and Kylan? I don’t know where they went. I don’t know if they died or if they got away? Either way, I ended up in that basement.” She shrugs.

Tiber (3 of 3):: Tiber looks down at Violet with a line on his face. “I hope your friends are okay. Just know that… we are here, and who knows, maybe you can see your parents again. It’s never too late for forgiveness, and that doesn’t mean you have to go back home.” The two enter the cave and the man moves to place the cache under some big rocks. “I know. You make me feel comfortable enough to make my own decisions, and I want to stay.” She concludes through the cave echo. The man nods. “Done and done. Let’s get back to Lanara before her legs freeze off.” The man smirks and the two trek back through the snow. Eventually they come into Lanara’s view. The two are back in one piece, but is she?

(Post 1 of 2) Lanara shakes her head, defiant to the core, as she doesn’t want Tiber’s coat or Violet’s hat. She sent them onwards because she’s too short and too cold to go any further. As they leave her line of vision she remains in the same spot, because she physically cannot break free of the snow. A violent gust of wind rushes against her frame and her eyes sting as unbidden tears slide onto her cheeks. She’s not crying, it’s merely the fierce chill in the air causing her eyes to leak, but before long the tears are frozen on her cheeks and chin. Lana still shivers, despite the extra layers of protection, and she is suddenly feeling overly fatigued. It’s a struggle to keep her eyes open, her face hurts from wind burn, and the snowfall now reaches her chest. She’s going to die out here, she thinks, before those big brown eyes close and her head lolls to the side. Exhaustion - 1. Lanara Banks - 0.

(Post 2 of 2) As the snow continues to fall and Tiber and Violet are making their way back to the area where they left their packmate, they will be shocked to see that Lanara is no longer in the snowbank that she had been in earlier. All of the snow seems to have been melted down to grass and it’s now a small clearing, and at the center of the clearing is a pair of majestic winter wolves, each lying on a side of the witch and keeping her warm. The mated pair looks up at Tiber and recognizes the man’s scent from the woman, but the male still growls in precaution, because they didn’t want to just abandon the one they had rescued. Lana opens her eyes at the growl and sits up, patting both wolves on the head and shows them thanks, before they run off into the storm. “I made some friends… They found me unconscious and helped dig me out enough, so I could cast some magic. And they remained until you guys came back… How did it go?” Refreshed, she pushes herself to her feet and returns the coat to her lover, and the hat to the teen, “Ready to get the next two done?” She hopes that Celeste and Tybalt are alright, and that Bjorn hasn’t decided to cook Aspen for dinner.

Tiber does not see Lanara right away in the clearing. “Where--” there is a moment of sheer panic that washes over the man as he leaves Violet behind. The alert on Tiber’s face makes it clear that Violet should be running too. The man strides his best through the snow--his legs numb and his facial hair covered in snow. The wind bites against his face. “Lana, Lana,” and as he runs closer, he comes to a stop where the snow has melted. Lanara lies between two wolves. The man is puzzled, but then almost territorial in that moment, but the itch of possession stops as he realizes that the two wolves are keeping Lanara… warm. Alive. The man’s facial hair is covered in snow, and as the wolves get up, he reaches out to embrace the witch quickly. “Gods, don’t scare me like that, Lana,” he breathes. He pulls back, looks over her, and gladly accepts the coat back, but he does keep Lanara at his side on the trek to the next couple caches. “It went well. We got the cache hidden. Violet actually used to live close to where I did. Small land.” He smirks. “Let’s just get this done and get you back to camp to warm you up.” The trio then turns to make it to their next destinations as the group travels north and then back around to head towards the camp direction. The last cache is hidden close to camp, so it was an easy drop off. The group then locates the map to make it back to camp. When the trio arrives, they are covered in snow. Celeste and Tybalt are already near the fire while Bjorn already has hot supper ready: soup and sandwiches. "Can I please be done with this mountain? Tell your sister and your sisters boy toy to move down the hill already so we never have an excuse to be up here again," the Catalian groans to the Kelvarian. What a trip.

Lanara softly smiles at Tiber’s worried expression, because she’s touched by his concern, but also because he looks adorable with the redness in his cheeks and those amber eyes all wide with wonder. “I’m okay… You can’t fall off of any cliffs and I can’t freeze to death, deal?” She cups his cheek with her palm and gives him a reassuring kiss, before they continue with their mission. Along the way, Lana and Violet make small talk and she learns a little of the teens tale, but it seems old news to Tiber so she assumes this is what they discussed when they were alone. “We are your family now, Violet.” The women share a smile and as their hands brush against each other, they link their pinkies, as though forging a new sisterly bond. When they finally arrive at camp, Bjorn manages to have dinner prepared, but he managed -not- to set up the tents. The man throws his hands up, “Look. I was playing with the cub, and the next thing I know? He was trying to -bury- me ALIVE, in the freaking snow! He hid my gloves someplace, and when I yelled at him, he threw a snowball at my head!” Everyone laughs, and Lana locks eyes with Tiber as she tilts her head in the direction of the shallow cave where they will be spending the night, “Want to help me set things up?” As they enter the cave she lowers her voice and tugs him into the darkness, “You better start thinking on which fantasy you are cashing in tonight, Lowell. After we both cheated death, I think we deserve it.” The rest of the evening passes by without any more catastrophic events and everyone heads to bed for some much needed rest, except for the Alpha and Luna, of course. They get -some- sleep, but not much!