Guardian quest (Multi- fandom AU)

chapter 2 (Winter Mist's POV)

Winter Mist belongs to me

Imp, May, and Aleyda belong to Petpyves

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"Hey! Mist, slow down!" Winter Mist drew to a halt as Aleyda's voice rang through the forest. Glancing behind her, the she- wolf could see her companions struggling through the thorns and undergrowth a short distance away. Mist growled softly to herself and sat down to wait for the others to catch up. Moments later, a sharp yowl pierced the air and Mist heard May call her name. "What now?" The white reaper muttered to herself, trotting easily through the dense ferns toward May's voice. It had been a week and a half since they had left the she- cat's home in search of her missing kin, and so far, their journey had been easy. Until we got to this forest at least. Mist thought to herself. Reaching May's side, Winter Mist found herself looking down a huge hole in the ground... with Imp at the bottom. The red- pelted tomcat looked up at Mist, an embarrassed grin plastered on his face, "Uh- hi... Mist," he mewed awkwardly, "Would you... mind getting me out of this hole? ...Please?" Mist raised an eyebrow, amusement flickering through her, "Well, how'd you get there in the first place, Furbrain?" "He tripped on a branch and fell in," May replied with a chuckle. Mist snorted, shaking her head, "Well, unless you want to get squashed, you'd better get out of the way, Imp." Crouching, Mist lowered herself into the hole and grabbed Imp's scruff in her mouth, flipping him onto her back when he proved to heavy to carry. "Now hang on kitty, it's going to get rough," Winter Mist flinched when she felt Imp's claws sink deep into her pelt. "Don't call me kitty." Leaping, Mist managed to dig her forepaws into the grass at the top and raked her hind paws against the side of the hole, unfortunately she had to drop back down to the bottom. Turning, the she- wolf strode to the other end of the hole and charged back, springing high into the air, she managed to catch a large branch in her jaws and hoisted herself, and a rather disheveled- looking Imp, out of the hole. "Don't fall in another hole Imperia, I'm not getting you again." Mist muttered, shaking dirt out of her pelt and ears. "Yeah, okay," Imp replied, grooming the dirt out of his own pelt.

A while later, Aleyda, Imp, May, and Winter Mist found themselves standing on the edge of the forest, staring at the massive, snow- covered mountains looming above them. "Are you sure we have to climb that mountain?" May mewed softly from where she stood at Mist's side. Looking down at the young tabby she- cat, the reaper nodded. "Yes. That is where the scent- trail leads, so unless you want to head back home, that's where we're going." Out of the corner of her eye, Winter Mist saw May glance questioningly at Imp and Aleyda, who both shrugged. Curling her lip, Mist stalked away from them, nose to the ground as she tracked the scent of May's two kits, clear despite the frost covering the ground. She was so focused on the scent trail in fact, that she completely failed to notice that she was about to fall into a lake, until Imp practically yowled in her ear. Startled, Mist jerked her head around, "What on earth is wrong with you-?!!" She began furiously, "Lake." Imp interrupted, pointing a paw at the large expanse of water. Mist glanced briefly at the lake, "I can handle lakes thank you very much." she growled tartly. "Unlike some people." Padding to the water's edge, Mist reached forward until her paw hovered just above the surface, conscious of her companions peering over her shoulder. As a pale blue energy appeared and began swirling around her paw, the wolf felt energy blaze through her, and the moment her pad touched the surface of the lake, the water closest to it froze into thick ice. Mist twitched her ears in amusement when she heard Aleyda squeak in surprise, then placed her other paw on the water and turned it to ice as well. Once she knew that it was thick enough, the she- wolf stepped onto the ice and calmly padded away from the lakeshore, a trail of frozen water growing behind her. Stopping, the snowy reaper glanced over her shoulder at May, Imp, and Aleyda, still waiting on the lakeshore, "Well?" she barked, "What're you waiting for? A ride?" May and Aleyda exchanged uneasy glances, and Imp nervously shifted his paws, tail flicking, "Are- are you sure it's safe?" he called hesitantly. Winter Mist opened her jaws to reply, closing them with a snap when a sudden, powerful scent hit her nose, faintly, she could hear branches snapping and plants rustling, as if something large was pushing through the forest toward them, panic flared inside the she- wolf as she whipped around and streaked back toward the lakeshore, her claws digging into the ice, tail streaming behind her. Forcing her legs to move faster, Mist howled an alarm to her companions, eyes wide, she knew what was coming, and the three of them needed to get off the shore immediately. Mist leapt onto the shore at the same instant that a colossal black bear erupted from the forest, teeth and claws bared, it's small, blood red eyes fixed directly on Mist and her companions.