The female aimlessly ran around, retracing her steps and going in circles. She was desperate.. downright afraid of being the only one left. How would she survive? Would she even try, or simply give up? Now, Czarina was usually a composed individual, but it was difficult remembering your own thoughts after tripping over your lifeless partner. Despite that, she had heard stories of these situations. One would think that she would react better, rather than running around without a destination, wasting her energy.

All at once, Rina stopped, a sudden thought entering her mind. Why hadn't the humans checked up on them? It was daylight now, so surely they would be awake? Head raised, she allowed her mind to turn, thinking of possible outcomes. There could be several reasons as to why they haven't been checked on, but that would have to wait. Her main priority were the others and their safety. Once she managed to located her team, she would revert her attention back onto the humans.

Rina disliked her thoughts being interrupted, but at that moment, she had never felt more relieved. There, in the distance, a gruff, soft voice was sounded, whom she immediately identified as Makarov. So she wasn't alone. She wasn't the only survivor.

"Thank you," she muttered to an invisible audience, her words thick with accent, even in a whisper. Her attention swirled towards his direction, relief flooding her face. "Mak," she repeated, her tone no longer panicked, and instead, grateful. Taking a step forwards, she relied on sound to guide her to him, her gait breaking out into a small run as she hurdled through the snow.

There, in the distance, a figure was spotted. Increasing her speed, Rina took in the form of.. "Kir?" She questioned, studying the male before her. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of him. Kir and Mak were alive? Oh, thank goodness! Her beloved Kir was alright! And her dearest Makarov! That was four out of twelve, including her and one.. casualty.

As he spoke, Rina ignored him, letting him speak as she continued her pace, practically ramming into him. She wrapped her head around his neck, a somewhat dog version of a human hug. "You're alive," she breathed, before her eyes grew dull. Backing away, she shook her head. "Salkov.." She dared not finish her sentence, her tone making it clear just exactly what happened to her fellow lead dog.

Without a moment of hesitation, she continued, "we must find the others. There are eight left." How she hoped that her brother was alright, and Yakaterina? Her cousin? Had anybody heard from them? Not to mention Marena, Yuda, and the remaining lot. She would have spent longer reuniting with Kir, but there were other lives on the line. She needed to know if the others were safe. They couldn't waste time. "We spread out. Not too far that we cannot see one another, but enough to do a thorough sweep." Nodding at her own words, Rina motioned towards the direction of Mak. "We go there first."

Without another word, she began to move once more, this time, her steps determined. Makarov was always a difficult individual to spot, considering his fur blended with the snow. Veering slightly to the left to spread herself out, she was still able to see Kir clearly. Rina continued, until she saw a blurry form before her. "Makarov," she greeted. It wasn't his figure that helped her locate him, it was the redness atop the snow that boldy stood out against the white. "Your paws," she pointed out, as if he didn't know himself. It was then when she felt a stinging in her own, perhaps from the night before in an attempt to escape the blizzard. Regardless, she gave him a once-over, as if assessing him. "You're not hurt badly, are you?" Like a worried mother, Rina stepped forwards to circle around him, studying his figure for any open lacerations. She still didn't know that it was Siyanna buried beneath her.

Her actions were cut short when another voice called out.

Ears standing upright on her cranium, a relieved look appeared. "Marena.. she's alive!" Czarina was tempted to break off into a run to great Marena, but to seperate wasn't the best idea. If it weren't still snowing, she would, but it was difficule to navigate when one couldn't see more than a few meters in front of them. But then again, Marena's voice.. It sounded pleading and closeby. Was she alright? Was she hurt?

Taking a moment to herself, Rina turned to Mak and Kir. If Marena was in danger, she needed to find her. Pondering on what to do, Rina had reached an outcome. "You two stay here. I'll be back within seconds." She would leave a trail of snow behind her. If the sound came any farther, she would have encouraged Marena to come to them, but alas, her bark was close. Rina was sure that she'd stumble across her in less than a minute.

Moving forwards, she glanced around. "I'm coming, Marena," she called out, her tone soft, yet firm. Indeed, there was the risk of avalanches, so they needed to be weary. She took no more than a few steps before Anatolii appeared, like an angel. "Anatolii? Oh, thank goodness," she practically cried. "That makes five of us." Five of us alive..

"There's six left then. Surely we can-" Her words quieted when Anatolii spoke of Asmik, her stomach dropping. She didn't need to double-check if Asmik was alive or not. Being half-buried confirmed it. "So that's Salkov and Asmik.." She sighed, closing her eyes for a moment to compose herself before opening them. "There are five of us left then." These situations were only told in stories. Never would Rina believe that it would happen to her team.

When Anatolii spoke of Yekaterina in an almost.. doubted form, she turned her gaze onto him, eyes hardening. "We don't speak like that. We speak with optimism. We remain positive." Turning to Mak and Kir once more, she repeated herself from earlier. "You two stay. Anatolii, you come with me to find Marena. She isn't far." The female set off, headed towards where she last heard the older female's call, expecting her brother to follow alongside of her.

When she was alone with Anatolii, she turned to him. "Yekaterina is alright. We will find her," her tone softened, the harshness in it earlier completely vanishing. While she wasn't truly optimistic herself and felt like a hypocrite, she needed to ensure that the others would remain positive. They needed to remain calm in these situations. Panic would get them nowhere. "She'll be alright," Rina repeated once more, tone softer before turning away from Anatolii and back on the path before her.

It was Belikova she saw first, and then the older female.

"Not another," she sighed, feeling her heart wrench again before turning to the team dog. "Marena," she said softly, greeting her lightly. "Is she truly..?" Eyeing Belikova, she once again didn't need to finish her sentence. Czarina could tell by the position she lay, and how her paw stuck up that Belikova was dead. She was young, too, and such a bright light. To see her like this..

"Are you hurt?" She asked Marena suddenly, eyeing the female. "Kir and Mak are alright.. Salkov and Asmik didn't make it." Glancing to Belikova's body once more, she made a mental note. "Three casualties, five of us alive. We need to find Yuda, Yekaterina, Koskov, and Siyanna. They are our priority now." They would mourn later, when they were safe.

"Come, Marena," she motioned, walking up to the older female. "We left Mak and Kir behind. If we go now, we should find them. It isn't snowing hard enough to cover our trail that quickly." Blinking, Rina felt dread within her that continued to spiral. It was a mixture between sadness and worry. Regardless, everything would be alright, she was optimistic about that. The humans would come out, and they would help the team.. If they didn't leave. No, surely they wouldn't. It wasn't possible.

Just as Rina began to take a step back towards Mak and Kir, she froze, a howl sounding. "Yekatrina," she breathed, recognizing her cousin's melodic voice. Turning to Anatolii, she smiled. "I told you she'd be alright. I knew it." So, there were six alive now. All that was left was to find Yuda, Koskov, and Siyanna.

She glanced in the direction of where Yekatrina's howl sounded. It sounded far, but not too far. Rina raised her head, releasing a small version of a bark, simply to tell her cousin that she was alright and not alone. "Anatolii, you lead Marena back to the others. I'm going to go meet Yekatrina halfway." Maybe they could find the others in the process. Besides, Yekatrina's howl was loud. Surely the remaining others would be persuaded to head towards the sound. "I need you all to stay together and not move. Wait until I return with Yekatrina, and hopefully the others."

So, she left Anatolii and Marena behind, wading through the snow in hopes of locating Yekatrina. It was a tricky thing. Howls had a way of echoing around sometimes, and considering the mountains in the distance, it wouldn't be uncommon. However, she believed she was on the right path. Rina was headed in an almost diagonal direction from the others. She didn't know which direction exactly. If it was north, or east, she wasn't sure, but once the weather cleared, she was confident that she'd regain her sense of direction.

After a few minutes, the husky had to pause. She was confident that it was the right direction, but she needed to confirm it. "Yekatrina?" She called out, not too loud, but not quiet either. For all she knew, she veered off too far and was walking in the complete other direction. "Yekatrina, if you can hear me, follow my voice." Hopefully her cousin was near, and if she was, then Czarina could update her on the situation.

. . .

The wheel dog had gone right back to digging when the lead had yet to join him at his side, simply refusing to leave until he'd found his beloved alive and well. I warned her. I warned her. I warned her. She should've hidden! His movements were desperate, blood smearing in the delicate ice beneath his large build.

The approaching of pawsteps and other voices had caused his ears to angle back, only briefly flicking to acknowledge the words of his lead and the other dogs. Kir and Czarina are fine; but what of Siyanna? Yekaterina? All of the others? A low whine had bubbled up in his throat, but was unable to escape, catching in the dried walls within.

His head had snapped up from his digging when Czarina began to circle him, blackened lips curling back to reveal gleaming dentition and ears pulling themselves back to rest flat against his skull. She's on top of Siyanna! A low growl had risen from his breast, bubbling up from deep within and releasing in a nearly subvocal volume; it was soft, hardly audible, especially with the wind, but it was clear in the way blackened lips trembled.

He knew he should be happy to see the lead, and truly he was overjoyed, but he was in a mindset of nothing else matters as he focused all of his energy into the retrieval of his dear companion. He was hardly aware as she looked him over, her words hardly reaching pinned ears as he immediately returned to digging when she began to circle him, no longer standing in her place atop Siyanna's last known location.

Another voice called, one Makarov had barely processed but recognized as belonging to Marena, a dog that he greatly respected and followed around constantly while off the sled. He briefly threw a look over his shoulder, in time to see Czarina fleeing in that direction and giving him and Kir an order to stay put. Like I'd go anywhere.

His digging continued, until his paws slipped as they broke through the ice and into the hole Siyanna had been hurriedly digging for herself to shield her from the cruel storm. Ginger and white fur peeks out from bland white, and a shout--no, not a shout--a wail of grief ripped from deep within the male wheel dog.

There lies Siyanna, curled in on herself like she was preserving her warmth; her burrow wasn't deep enough, she hadn't the time to dig one properly. Her nose was tucked beneath her tail, body eerily still and expression peaceful. Had she been alive, she'd be awake now and shouting at Makarov for waking her before she was ready; she hadn't moved a muscle, not even to bury her head deeper into the fur of her tail, or to prickle her beautiful fur in resistance to the cold.

He ignored the presence of Kir and the approach of Anatolii, hardly processing the fact that the team dog had addressed him. He heard his voice, but he hadn't had it in him to listen for the words; his dear, sweet Siyanna, was dead at his paws.

Makarov ignored the cold seeping into his fur as he stepped down into the sleeping hollow of the other wheel dog, careful to not step on her body as he moved to stand behind her, lying down against her back and curling himself gently around her. She's freezing. She's so cold.. I need to warm her up.

His head bowed, tongue rasping over the soft fur lining the she-dog's head as he murmured softly to her; "wake up, my dear. Siyanna, it's time to wake up."

Rina... howl... find.. stay..

Those were the only words to reach Makarov's ears, and a desperate, icy gaze lifted from the sight before him to train on the form of Anatolii. He didn't respond; he simply didn't have it in him. But, he did have the energy to muster up a nod; stiff, hardly a dip of his chin, but a nod nonetheless to acknowledge his words.