The troupe of nine seemingly mismatched adventurers trudged on through the cold winds and harsh landscapes of snow covered mountains. Any adornments they wore to maintain a semblance of warmth was in vain as the biting cold made short work of getting into every tiny gap and whisking the warmth away to the winds. Some, such as Lantana and Torook - a pair of Saltwater Tsabhua - were grounded and forced to maintain contact with the harsh mountains and trudge through the deep snows. Whereas others, such as Voltaire, Nutmeg and Kran'dok had the gift of flight and were able to minimise their contact to the snow, however the hazardous winds ensured that such opportunities were fleeting at best.
Voltaire, a large Tark'ee, kept his wings closed as tight as he could in addition to a heavy cloak draped around himself as he kept his mate warmly tucked. Villie, a Tropical Kise, was utterly out of her element up in the Frigid Mountains where her Nordic cousins hailed from - a far cry from the coastal regions she typically called home.
Voltaire had enlisted help from his clanmates, Lantana and Torook, to aid him in his rescue mission of Villie after having received emergency correspondence - how she got so far up into the mountains was beyond him at the moment, but whilst she was unconscious and resting, he would not obtain answers to his questions.

They had stumbled upon a strange and diverse group of travelling dragons whom were seemingly more prepared than the Xunari were for such a journey and agreed to help find a safe shelter from the storms since the dragons were apparently also foreigners to the lands and were mapping out new areas. The luck made Voltaire relieved, but seemed to only create immense anxiety for Torook who grumbled his displeasure at the idea of being lost enough that a group of explorers found them.

Most of the troupe were lost in their own thoughts as if trying to will their bodies into maintaining warmth, however Nutmeg was flying on ahead to scout. Surprisingly, the long and furred dragon appeared to be the least bothered by the weather, only wearing some form of protection on their paws. Also perplexing was her ability to glide through the air in a way which seemed to defy gravity, as if the physical attraction to the ground was a mere suggestion.
Phasma could not help but admire the long furred dragon, feeling ill equipped to be exploring the Frigid Mountains and unable to fly due to the frost paining her membranous wings. Not a lock of fur adorned her body as she and her friends relied heavily on their clothing to ward off the freeze around them.

"Must be nice..." Torook grumbled, shaking off the snow which had started accumulating on his back before it could melt into his pelt.
"What is that?" Lantana asked between her own shivers, not looking up as she focussed purely on one foot in front of the other.
"To be able to fly." He responded, gesturing roughly up at Nutmeg who was approaching the troupe from the air. Lantana did not waste any effort nor energy to respond to Torook's complaints. If anything, she felt angry at him for disturbing her when she was already so miserable herself.
"STOP!" Nutmeg called out as she raced down to within earshot of Nadir whom was leading the group - the rest unable to hear her call above the howling winds. "Stop! There is unstable ground ahead!" The panic in her voice managed to carry, causing Nadir to slow to a halt followed closely by Voltaire and Kran'dok.
"What is the matter?" Kran'dok called up to Nutmeg as she slowed to a halt next to Nadir.
"There is a lot of ice movement up ahead. I believe it to be a frozen river which has broken away. It seems to dangerous to go on ahead this way." Nutmeg lowered herself and stood in the snow with her fellow travellers so she could better be heard.
"I do not understand..." Voltaire began, panicked as he started to feel Villie shiver on his back despite his covering her. "We do not have much more time."
"I understand, but..."
"Stop this." Gideon growled as he finally approached, having brought up the rear. "We do not have a choice. Nutmeg - was there a way around safely that you could see from above?"
Nutmeg merely shook her head, averting her eyes before giving a quiet "no".
"Right, then we have to cross the frozen river." Gideon looked around at the group to see what they had available. "Many of you can fly, but many of us cannot." he thought out loud.
Torook was about to call out in protest, however a shove from Lantana shut him up quickly.
"Maybe we should approach the river, see for ourselves." Phasma interjected. No one said anything in response as they all thought. Eventually, Voltaire spoke up once more.
"Yes, probably for the best. We certainly cannot stay here."

As the troupe moved once more, the sound of creaking ice crashing into one another filled the air - impressively loud over the winds whipping around them. Once at a closer location, Lantana pointed out a set of large boulders which sat in the river which could be traversed; however the ice crashing into and around these rocks would prove to be quite the hazard. Torook began to shake his head but encouragement helped him find his resolve. Voltaire opted to go first, wishing to be over the river as soon as possible so they could get Villie somewhere safe. He was unable to use his wings for fear of dropping his passenger so leaped from rock to rock as the rest looked on with held breaths. After what seemed like a long time, Voltaire had made it across but called Nutmeg down to him.
She glided down to his side, where no one else could hear what was said, but she quickly came back across to the rest of the troupe.
"Voltaire has warned that there are some rocks which are unstable and should be traversed with care. Do not hurry across."
Acknowledging the hints, Torook approached, quickly followed by Nadir and Lantana. One by one, they managed to safely but barely make their way over the raging rapids to the other side - Lantana bleeding from an ice sheet which slid through her leg and wounding her.
Phasma and Kran'dok opted to fly over, not willing to risk falling into the icy waters, as Gideon took up the rear and made his way over.
From the air, Kran'dok could see an opening in the snow - dark set against the glaring whites and greys around them.
"There is something ahead! Possibly shelter" Kran'dok called down, bellowing her voice to be heard above the winds. She flew on ahead to check out her discovery as the others below began to trudge through the snows again. On her return she gave a triumphant call, suddenly warm with excitement and able to fly despite her freezing wings. The mood shifted in the troupe as they picked up the pace to follow the direction Kran'dok had gone.
Nutmeg continued to stay above and guide them - however Phasma also flew on ahead as she was unwilling to remain in the cold any longer.

Eventually, Lantana and Torook made their way into the cavern, the entrance of which had been begun to be cleared by the dragons who flew on ahead in preparation for their arrival. Shaking off the snow at the door, they were quickly followed by Voltaire, Nadir and Gideon who all exhaled a sigh of relief as they were finally sheltered from the blistering winds.
"Well, we might be here for quite some time until the storm passes." Voltaire began, looking around at the group around him "I suggest we may as well get comfortable."