The female rested easily beside the carcass of the caribou that they had brought down, stomach decidedly full, filling her with a warmth that she hadn't felt in a while. Sure, starvation had always been kept at bay by carcasses left by packs or other predators, or staved off with a rabbit as a snack, but a whole caribou was a luxury that packless wolves very rarely got. The large dame was determined to take advantage of such an oppartunity, filling her stomach whenever she felt that there was even a bit of room.

She had long ago decided to ignore most of Kaskae's ramblings, despite the way her ears swivelled towards him to catch every word. Her brain shuffled through the onslaught, deciding what she needed to register and what she didn't. She had other things to be worrying about, like where they would go when they had to move on. They, really, should have moved on the day beforehand, given that they'd passed through a pack territory to get to their current location and the members of said pack weren't happy, but the promise of more food had kept them stationary. It was dangerous, but they weren't even in the packs territory anymore. It would be foolish of them to continue to chase them, so she doubted that they did--but, sometimes, packs could be idiotic in the most unimaginable ways. The lack of braincells when some wolves were crowded together often astounded her in the most horrific ways.

Her brain decided to register the sound of footsteps coming her way, and she moved her head to peer at the ebony body coming towards her. She pushed herself upwards into a standing position, no longer allowing herself to lounge beside the body. She could never find it within herself to get irritated at the male, not genuinely or for long periods of time at least. She'd found him when he was young, far too young, and she'd, in those first months, often verbally berated whoever had let him leave the pack by himself. Packs were stupid, yes, but letting a wolf as young as Kaskae out on their own was one of the most ludicrous things she had ever witnessed.

So she'd kept him around, had taken him in, had begun to think of him as a little brother despite their visual differences. Kaskae was family, whether or not they shared the same DNA. Kaskae was the only pack she'd ever need.

The inch that separated their heights was barely noticable to some, nevermind that Kaskae had a good 20 pounds on her in weight. He was a male, he was bound to be built heavier and more muscular than her--in fact, she aws very tall and heavy for a female, something that she took an odd amount of pride in. She could stand next to a giant like Kaskae and not look dwarfed, which was something not many wolves could say.

In greeting, she pressed her head into his shoulder, twisting around so that her cheek pressed into him and nuzzling along his body until her nose rested just below his jaw. It was a swift, but kindhearted movement. One reserved for him. Others would never get such a kindness. Others got cold stares and walled emotions, growls and refusal of touches. Kaskae got a side of her that others never saw.

She almost regretted dragging him into a life where he was constantly moving. She knew he enjoyed it, but would he have enjoyed it so much if he hadn't joined her nomadic tendancies at such a young age?

"I say we head that way," she directed her muzzle one way, nodding. "Or that way," she nodded in a direction to the left of that. "West or northwest," she reiterated, pausing slightly to watch him eat. "To the south there's the pack territory that we went through, to head east we would have to pass through it again or take the long way, and, honestly, I don't take much fancy in backtracking, and we were generally eastward of this position about a week ago. West or northwest leads to new territory, and new places to explore."

It was sound reasoning, if she did say so herself.

A huff escaped the large male's throat as he eyed the chattering husky mix on the opposing team. "Look at him, talking up a storm. You would think he would run out of air." Chinook spoke in a calm manner, almost amusing as he watched the male on the other team. "You'd think he had better things to do than insult everybody." He wasn't surprised. There was always one of those in a team. The one that was all talk and hardly any bite. For a while, Chinook simply ignored him, until he set his sight upon Eneida.

"Don't bother responding to him," he muttered to her, eyeing the male before turning his gaze forwards. The male continued, which had managed to earn a response from Eneida. "Sir, I would suggest directing your behaviour onto somebody else, respectfully." The male grunted, his voice not angered, simply loud. He wasn't fond of these types of characters. They were all sly, cunning little snakes. He didn't need any of that on his team.

Chinook then turned to the lead dogs. Figures, they didn't care. If anything, that one female lead encouraged it. What did he overhear her name was? Tapeesa? "You must feel rather intimidated if you're allowing your teammate to speak poorly to my team." He knew that he wouldn't be able to reach the male, so the least he could do was try and tell the lead dogs to control him. "This is a friendly race. Is there truly a need for that?" He then turned to the second female lead dog who resembled a wolf in an eerie way. "Could you tell your team dog back there to calm down?" Shaking his head, he glanced back to Eneida. "Can I say dysfunctional?" He mumbled under his breath.

Chinook wasn't one to get mad. Annoyed, yes, but not mad. It was rare for him, which was why he was attempting to resolve this in a decent manner. "You asked me earlier what my thoughts were on the other teams. Now, I don't think I have much of one at all." Snorting his words out, he shook his head once more. "Their leading females can't control their team, that male being a prime example. It's unacceptable and unprofessional is what it is." Having a strong opinion on it, his eyes snapped onto the male once more.

"Don't listen to him, Nevada. He's starving for some type of attention, so he has to stoop low to get it." Speaking loudly enough for the male to hear, Chinook received a cold stare. Opening his mouth once more, the large male let out a small gasp. "Doofus? Are we name-calling now? Well, if I didn't have manners, I would be calling you a-" He was cut off by Eneida telling Nevada to ignore the other team. Rightfully so.

"If you had any ounce of respect, maybe she would be kind enough to tell her your name. As of now, I don't think you're very deserving of it." Tulok simply rolled his eyes. "I'm unsure if you have selective hearing or if you're just dumb, but as I mentioned before, I wasn't talking to you." Chinook released a huff of disapproval at the husky mix's response. "You're talking to my team, so therefore, you're talking to me. C'mon now, why can't we all be friends here?" Tulok only scoffed. "Hey sweets, why don't you call off your guard dog there. I'm getting bored of wasting my breath on him."

Chinook scowled. The audacity of speaking to Eneida in this manner! Especially about him when he was standing right there! "I'll have you know that she is a respectable member of this team. To speak in this way is plain rude and frankly, a good representation of your lacking intelligence." Tulok only grew amused. He was aiming to crack the female, when in reality, it looked like he was cracking the male. However, his amusement fell short when the male turned away, seemingly finished with the conversation. Well, maybe he didn't crack him. If anything, he made things worse, but it was nothing his good charms couldn't fix. "Aw, I didn't mean any of it, big guy." That only earned a look of shock from the lead male, followed by a darkened look. "Are you calling me fat?"

At this moment, Tulok was about to apologize before grinning. "If the name fits." Chinook opened his mouth, prepared to throw out some frusterated words, but closed it. This male was bringing out something within him that nobody else had ever done. He knew how to crawl under one's skin fairly well, and Chinook would have no part in it. "Pleasure speaking to you, but I am currently finished with this conversation."

Tulok only shrugged. "Good, now I can focus my attention on the main attraction," before he turned his eyes onto Eneida.

Baltic - Team 2 - Team Dog - Mentions: Briefly everyone

The tall husky wagged his tail eagerly as he stood in his sled line. He was a team dog, so he was nowhere near the front, but rather in the middle of the line. His ears swiveled as he heard both team talking among oe another, even a couple conversations between the two teams had sparked. Baltic was one of the canines who was already tugging on his harness, straining against the confines of the strong material.

It wasn't necessarily because he wanted to start racing, no, he was trying to escape the harness. Baltic had too much energy to simply wait around for the race to start. He couldn't sit still for more than a couple of minutes without getting into some trouble, especially if nothing else was occupying him. If he wasn't already in trouble, it was a sure thing that he would wind up in some in no time. He was just that guy.

Giving a playful growl to no one in particular, the husky pawed at his harness, testing it. He scowled, "Get off of me! Geez, I am not just going to stand here like a hostage! Let's go already. You know, if the plan is to race, then why haven't we moved yet?". Baltic was not a newbie at sled races, so it was obvious he wasn't actually asking the question, rather than complaining.

Another huff left his muzzle as he shook his pelt, a fine mix of white and black with unique undertones of subtle brown, causing the metal rings to gently clang and ring as he did so. "You know, I think I might as well just start us off, yeah? Anyone? Anyone?" He peered around at his team, not really talking to anyone in particular. Without another word, he put his back into it, lunging and heaving forward with all his might. Although he was putting in as much effort as he could, without the help of anyone else, it was no use. All he was probably managing was pulling whoever was behind him an inch or two forward, probably irritating them.

Releasing an exhausted huff of disappointment, the husky stopped, narrowing his eyes before he decided to busy himself some other way. His auburn eyes settled on the dogs of the other team, inspecting them in not the most inconspicuous way. He hollered at them, "Hey! You guys! Be ready to eat my snow!" Baltic barked, before murmuring to the dog beside him, "Yeah, that'll teach 'em..."

Larska - Team 1 - Swing - Mentions: Tulok, Tapeesa

The husky perked her ears as she heard the voice of Tulok, one of her many friends. However, Tulok was a bit more of a friend to her. She would consider him a closer friend of hers. When Tulok spoke to her, addressing her by her nickname, she offered a warm smile. When he claimed she was his favorite, she wagged her tail a couple swings, giving a gentle purr "Oh, you better not forget me, Tulok." The husky had turned a little sultry for a moment, before perking back into her usual tone.

It had been the first interaction she had with someone for a bit too long for her liking. Larska liked attention, no matter from who or for what reason. Anything to make her feel seen. To make her feel important. Thus, she had responded in such a way to perhaps pull in the attention from Tulok. When he commented on her pelt, she chuckled. "I hope you're focusing on the path rather than my fur. Or else, we might have some problems..." She paused, glancing to the other team when he asked about them.

The team was definitely a formidable opponent, but Larska had faith in her team as well. "Smoke them? Of course. I have complete faith in us." A smirk played on her muzzle, "Unless you get disracted by something, that is." Her eyes quickly flickered from Tulok to Tapeesa as she adressed Tulok.

Tapeesa never failed to prove herself to be cunning and resourceful and ambitious.

Larska chuckled as she watched Tulok do what he did best: mess an flirt with others without remorse. Larska was also a victim of his charms. But their relationship was just a bit different. They were genuine friends. Larska was not just another toy for him to occasionally pick up before running off to find another one. Or at least she hoped.

Baltic - Team 2 - Team Dog - Mentions: Chinook, Eneida, Tulok

Baltic had been watching the interaction between Chinook, Eneida, and the black and white husky from the opposing team, Tulok. It had done nothing but fire him up even more. A smirk had rested on his muzzle as he watched his two team leaders deal with the mutt. Although Baltic was nothing but trouble and easy to rile up, he was definitely the one you want around when you're about to get into a fight. No other dog will hype someone else up more than Baltic would.

Right before he was about to jump in and open his maw, Eneida turned to him. Now, Eneida was the lead for a reason. While she was usually calm and collected, she was able to turn aggressive, too. And while Baltic was rebellious and daring, he didn't necessarily want a correction from the lead dog. He lowered his head a tad, bringing his gaze lower and off from Tulok before mumbling "Fine, fine." His wagging tail had slowed to a calm sway as he flicked his ears and sat back down. Although it seemed like the husky had backed down rather easily and submitted, he didn't do it completely.

He threw a single look towards the other team, hearing Eneida claim that the male was getting under their skin and failing miserably. With a haughty huff, the husky nodded. "You're right... He's not getting to us. Yeah.. Yeah, he won't have any attention unless we give it to him." He had to keep some of his pride, right? With newfound confidence, Baltic straightened up his sitting stance, squaring his shoulders as he now turned a complete 180 degrees, facing the complete opposite direction of the other team, almost tangling himself up within the sled harness. Now twisted in his harness and the sled straps, his legs were tightly squeezed close to him awkwardly. Even though Baltic was well aware of his situation, he made no adjustments. The top priority was getting that stupid mutt to shut up, and this was how he planned to do it. Yeah... he wanted to sit this way anyway.

As much as Baltic could be annoying and stubborn, it wasn't hard to manipulate or persuade him, especially if one convinced him that another option was better. He was honestly harmless in the scheme of things, as long as someone had their eye on him. It was when he goes unchecked is when the real trouble begins.