"I loved you with a fire red, now it's turning blue"

Hi :D
Woot new rp~ ANYONE JOIN~

RULES
1. Obviously no dying. xD
2. Please dont fight too much, i'd rather not have any blood shed in this one. :B
3. Lais only please!

The setting is the edge of a snowy forest(wtf its almost summer xD) and the start of a large frozen arctic ocean type thing.
But mainly the rp takes place on these huuuuge floes that are strong enough for a lai to stand on :D
Like this:
http://www.timerskine.com/images/PeninsulaParkIceFloes_TJErskine.jpg
http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/thumblarge_499/12723024628w9X39.jpg

OOOOO YEAH
Im keeping my first post fairly short this time, sorry D:

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A sullen, chilly gust swept through the empty wasteland, sending soft clouds of snow rising and falling constantly.
Crunch!
A heavy paw landed on a frozen puddle, sending shards of ice into the air. With a snarl, the large male thrashed and whipped his head away, shaking off the small flecks of snow that hit him. This didnt really help though, because of all his jumping about, a large blob of snow came falling from a tree he nudged and onto his back.
Yelping with dismay and skittering a few feet away, he spat disdainfully.
'Just what I needed...' He rasped, yet his face changed from a snarl of contempt, to a softer, more playful smirk.

Quietly, or at least what the great green beast believed was quietly, Taggerung lumbered away from the frost-tinged trees, his mossy-colored fur sticking pretty badly. He walked slowly, leaving behind him massive footprints, which eventually were covered up again by the wind.
Taggerung blinked away a few snowflakes from his eyes, the green optics seemingly emitting a soft green glow. The metal mask was absolutely obnoxious in this bitter weather. He was tempted to remove it, but feared it becoming buried in snow if he was gone to long.

He shrugged. He walked on.
It wasnt too long before his claws were dipping into the frosty water's edge; The crystaline shore started to break away the further out you walked on the water, into large floes.
Caustiously, the earth Shinlai pressed a paw to the frozen surface. It didnt budge.
Figuring he was safe, he plodded out onto the rest of the ice.

((Preggo Alk! No running or fighting for her! XD ))

Alkyone trotted through the forest, relatively sheltered under the thick tree branches. The occasional snow drift would block her way, but none the less she ploughed on, green eyes scanning the area, from behind her blue and red steel mask. A brown leather bag was slung around her neck, the strap half hidden in her thick winter coat. There was a loud yelp from up ahead, making her slow in her speedy trot. She crouched low on instinct, her swollen belly and thick fur brushing the ground. She waited a moment and heard heavy footsteps bounding away. Straightening up with a grunt she continued on to the fringe of the forest.

The tree’s opened up onto a wasteland, snow falling onto the already white ground, blending the ground with the sky. Further ahead there seemed to be a lake, or at least a mass of water, that what her senses were telling her. She padded towards it, lifting her head to get a better look. She froze as a large green shape caught her attention; she listened closely, hearing nothing but the gentle tap of their claws on the ice.

She walked slowly closer, lowering her head slightly and watching them from the corner of her eye. She couldn’t afford to look threatening, or give them any reason to be wary and defensive around them. They were big, taller than herself, almost the same height as Dagda, a green colour with brown and white patches and markings, with four dark grey, almost black, horns. She reached the edge of the ice and lowered her head to drink from a gap in the ice, snorting softly as the cold water went down her throat, still warily watching them. she had needed a drink for a while, and chewing snow hadn’t helped in the slightest.

It made him somewhat dizzy, the overcast sky, and how its color matched the snow-littered earth. It seemed as if you would walk forever in the endless, chilly white desert.
Snow started to fall again, more slowly this time, as opposed to the brutal flurry that ravaged the land earlier that day. It created a thin, slushie crust on the top of the water, as large chucks of ice bobbed up and down in the gently rolling waves.

There was a distant sound, which to the male sounded a bit like footsteps, and he paused for a moment. Remaining still, he was a lot colder than when he was moving and had his blood going. Never the less, Taggerung turned his head sharply, cocking it to the side, straining his eyes, then flaring his nostrils. He grunted thoughtfully.
There was some disturbance in the cold, dead world, he couldnt tell what... but some gut feeling told him that he was not alone. A pale gray blotch was moving some ways behind him, but with the snow being swept around and his foggy breath constantly rising up in his way, it was unclear what the thing was doing. Or if it was moving at all, infact. Ignoring it for now, he shook his head, and scoffed.

Speaking of guts.
His creamy white belly rumbled noisily.
"Aw, hush you!" He griped, stomping irritably. The hefty white paws slammed down fiercly against the rough surface of the sea. Not a good idea, actually.

A soft, ominous creak erupted from under him, and the ice sheet beneath him split. It shattered into different sections, jutting out awkwardly from the black water. "Eep!" Taggerung laughed, pretending to be frightened; He leaped onto one of the larger floes, nearly toppling over into the sea, but regaining his balance eventually. His blunt claws scrapped across the glassy chunk quite loudly, and he briskly shook his fur loose of ice particles.

Drinking as much as she could from the icy water Alkyone lifted her head and gave it a shake. The snow that had been gathering on her fur was flung off with the movement. She snorted again, trying to clear the snow that had begun blocking the eye holes in her mask. She blinked fiercely as the snow began coming down harder. She heard the faint rumble of a voice and looked around in time to see the green one stomp down on the ice. There was a crack and the ice splintered.

Knowing the danger of what could happen if he fell in the water, her element came into play. The water between her and the green one froze solid. The little ice crystals spiking into the air as it snaked across the water and around the ice flow the male was on, anchoring it in place.

“Mind your step.” She said. “You wouldn’t want to fall in with this temperature.” She added.

The icy water could stun whoever fell into it, and if you became stunned when in icy water, the cold would kill you off without quick actions. She shifted from paw to paw, half wanting to go out onto the floes, half wanting to stay on safe ground. Either way, not wanting to risk damage to her unborn pup.

Lying in the snow under a huge pine tree Riya was resting till she heard the "yelp" of another creature that sounded like a rather large shinlai, so her red eyes flickered and she had been lying her a while not getting any warmer especially with her short fur. Times like this is when she wished she was a fire shinlai sighing she rose stretching all four legs had fallen asleep from hours of lying there. Standing to her full height she tried to she to where the "yelp came from but the forest was to thick and the snow had started falling slightly so it didn't make it any easier to see what was going down.

Walking between the trees in a rather odd zig zagging sort of pattern for now apparent reason just trying to have some fun while she made her way towards the icy water and other shinlai she had heard yelp. She had been at the waterside earlier but it looked so dreary looking out on the ice that is what made her not wanna stay around there for more than a drink anyway. Getting closer she saw the form of not one shinlai but two, either looked familiar at first but then the one at the shore looked more and more familiar as she closed in on the shore. In earshot of both she slowed down examining the area still just to be safe hearing one say “Mind your step.” She said. “You wouldn’t want to fall in with this temperature.” She added.


At the sound of her voice finally Riya knew who at least one of them was! Meeting her briefly one day introduced to Rondun she remembered this shinlai was Alkyone. Wanting to walk up and say hello she almost sprung up, but then remembered the other shinlai on the ice that was rather big, and sorta wanted to wait and see what his business was out there. So she sat just watching from behind. Normally she would just go right up and start talking a boat load to any new shinlai, but today she decided to just watch like she did when she was younger.

Cold. That was the only way Marrinus could describe it.

Sticking out like a sore thumb on the white expanse of ice sheet, the dark Shinlai, in all his black and blue glory, had been on the move for days. Intending to make the inconvenience of an unstable ice flow into an impromptu short cut, he had set out across the ice just as the blizzard began to close in, the snowfall and blisteringly brutal winds whiting out any view he had of his destination, leaving him to wander aimlessly across the drift.

The fall began to pick up once more as he cautiously treaded his way around cracks and weakening points in the surface of the sheet. Squinting, his eyes appearing like small silver orbs on a dark base, Marrinus tried to peer through the falling snow to ensure he remained on course.

He shivered. It had been a week since he had last eaten. The icy flakes falling onto his back, into his face and matting against his sides felt like led weights as they settled on his near emaciated frame. No matter how lightly the wind blew now, the more they accumulated, the colder and stiffer his limbs became.

He growled in frustration, he should have just taken the long way around. Attempting to cross the sheet without figuring the ever changing weather into the equation had been a miscalculation on his part and it had cost him a few days’ trek. Were he on land, he could have made a dug out in the snow to weather out the storm, a task near impossible on the unstable ice flow.

The Shinlai paused as he closed in on the patch of land. He was not alone on the ice sheet. Eyeing the green and purple Shinlai with a wary unease, he knew he was in no condition for confrontation. If anything happened and he was caught out in the open, he could consider himself royally screwed. “What luck,” he muttered bitterly.

As he stood there, clapsing his light claws onto the side of the floe harshly, he noticed something odd about the water. It had seeminly frozen in an instant, as if it had been frozen the whole time. Taggerung wondered, maybe he was starting to get dizzy and daydream things up, for he had, in fact, not eaten all day.

“Mind your step. You wouldn’t want to fall in with this temperature.”

He realized the presence of another Shinlai then, a female, with purpley-blue fur, standing on the bank not so far from himself. 'A water Shinlai, eh?' He thought to himself. The mossy green Tagger figured it was her who had frozen the water, and he suddenly froze also. He didnt particularly feel comfortable, out on such dangerous terrain, with a Shinlai who had basicly her element engulfing her, and he had little to no means of using his earth abilities. He would have to rely on brute strength, should a confrontation arise, and judging by how easily the sheet of ice crumbled under his juvenile stomping earlier, it obviously wasnt a very safe way of defending himself, which basicly defeats the purpose of defending himself at all.

He angled his head to where his large, masked face was peering at Alkyone from over is shoulder. For a brief moment, the earth Shinlai just looked at her. He could make out a red feather dangling from the water Shinlai's horns, which curved wickedly towards her face. Her mask had elegant spikes that also curved down and forward, and it was painted a vibrant blue and rich red. All eight of her exotic eyes shone brilliantly, like emeralds against her mask.
A slight grin graced his features, and he dipped his head quickly in respect.

"Yes, of course, miss. Thank you."

He didnt dwell quickly on the fact that she was right, but he did take note of the fact that if he had fallen, he could have quickly and easily sucumbed to the murky, frost-bound depths.

He turned back, and continued moving.
He was definitely not liking his situation right now, despite his somewhat cheerful greeting.
Not only he so easy to pick out, with his green-gray fur and height, but the other Lai was in complete control of the ocean. Though he didnt usually rely on the Earth anyway, it was very clear that this was no time to make enemies. Which, unfortunately for Taggerung, seemed to be one of his most valued hobbies. Trying his best to hold back his notorious tongue, he simply continued to cautiosly pick his way from floe to floe.
Raising one of his paws, he closed his eyes and scratched away some of the snow mounding up in the holes of his mask, and gently rubbed it away from his sensitive dailans. Then he crouched, shifted his muscles and leapt onto a few more chunks of ice, being more careful this time, as they sank a bit deeper under his weight.

Ugh.
He looked over his shoulder again, and still saw the outline of the female. The air about him began to mingle with the scent of others of his kind, more heavily now than ever.
Out of the mist another silvery figure strode up from the woods, but remained there for a long time.

"WOAH!-"
He rapsed, quickly stoping and scrambling across the ice backwards. He looked up to distinguish what he had nearly ran into.
A tall, basicly the same height of himself, save for a few inches, black Shinlai. His mane was almost blue in color, and it swept forward, making long bangs that sprawled over his slightly sun-bleached mask.
And to tell you the truth, Taggerung didnt like the sinister vibe that came from this guy.

"Hehe, didnt see ye there," blurted Tagger, steping to the side awkwardly, as he balanced his paws and body on two different floes at the same time to get out of the menacing-looking male's way. This wasnt easy, let me tell you.
From the side, he looked famished, his ribs protruded from his jet black fur, and his skin clung to them tightly.

"Yes, of course, miss. Thank you." He said with a slight smile and nod of his head.

She nodded back, a faint smile on her lips too. “You’re welcome.” She carefully shifted so she was sitting down, landing with a slight thump, before easing herself so she was laying on her side.

The green one started moving out across the ice again, he seemed eager to move away, but cautious of the ice now. He stopped briefly, rubbing at his mask, glancing back at her again. She tilted her head to one side still watching him, not out of rudeness. Out of curiosity, he was a Shinlai she didn’t recognise and she was interested. Normally she would have trotted after him, asking questions and finding out who he was. She looked down at her belly and sighed. It was big. “I hope you not this much of a drag when your born.” She said.

She paused listening. “Whoever’s in the forest, you may as well come out.” She stated calmly. She had heard them approach, but hadn’t heard them leave or move. So she took an educated guess that they were still there.

Still half watching the green one, she narrowed her eyes as he stopped again, close to a black shape, sticking out against the white. She gave her head a slight shake. Her eyesight wasn’t that good when looking at things far away. She blamed her six eyes.

Rayner's blue form appeared not far from the others. He had been traveling for a few days without much to eat, and was hungry, as he suspected many Shinlai were around this time. Luckily he did fairly well with this sort of weather. His silky fur was thick and well insulated, his paws were hard from a childhood spent amongst ragged boulders, and his ability to use the element of air was useful for circulating the harsh winds and snow around himself.
But none of this made walking through the snow any easier, and the fur around his legs was stiff and frozen, so that he stumbled along awkwardly.

He let out a breath, watching the mist rise away from his mouth. Such unpleasant weather, he would rather hide in a cave.
Luckily there appeared to be something worth his attention nearby, an assortment of somewhat scattered Shinlai. He was perched on large rock, but considered moving closer. But Rayner was so comfotable... Up on the rock he didn't have to wade through snow and sludge. However, the comfort wouldn't last forever, he couldn't control the wind around him continuously, that would get exhausting, so what harm could a bit of added discomfort do?

He grunted unhappily and stepped down, dragging his feet through the snow as he slowly trudged towards them.

He stiffened as the greenish Shinlai meandered toward him, gazing distractedly behind him at the purple female on the shore as he walked.

“What is this guy doing?” Marrinus curled his lip and held his ground. His eyes narrowed as the Shinlai drew nearer, seemingly unaware of his presence. Perhaps it was the blanket of falling snow or the general atmosphere of the landscape itself, as impractical and ironic as that might sound, the Shinlai was off in his own nostalgic zone and Marrinus was growing irritated.

His tolerance level peaked once the Shinlai was right on top of him. Marrinus bared his teeth and growled sharply.

"WOAH!-" The impeding Shinlai exclaimed, skidding back on the ice with a start.

Marrinus uncurled his lip and rose to his full height, sending the male a cold stare.

Slightly taller than Marrinus by a matter of inches, the Shinlai had an earthen tone to his spotted coloration, a set of bright green eyes lightly contrasting the subtle neutrality of his red mask.

"Hehe, didnt see ye there," The male eased back on the parting sheets of ice and circled around the Dark Shinlai cautiously, eyeing his sunken ribs observationally.

“Obviously,” Marrinus sneered, shifting uncomfortably at the noticeable weakness, “Try to watch where you’re going.” He noted the mischievous air to the male’s demeanor and gazed back at him with a knowing smile in his eyes, adding, “Best not to wander too far out in this weather."

“Obviously. Try to watch where you’re going," The black one sneered. He shifted slightly, and Taggerung reared back to rest his paws all on one single floe, that way he wouldnt fall in if they drifted apart.

"I shall," Taggerung replied, as he eased to the back edge of the floe he was standing on, apparent that he didnt want much to do with the ominous Marrinus, much less get on his bad side. Though he had sent the earth Lai a couple of cold glares and growls, he didnt seem like he would attack so quick.
Kicking a bit of the loose snow out from under him, Tagger tried to get into a comfortable sitting position on the large, loose fragment of ice, though no matter how he sat he couldnt quite keep from freezing his tail off.

“Best not to wander too far out in this weather."
He thought he detected a gleam of satisfaction in the other male's eyes, and smiled as well.

"Aha, yes, well... I suppose how much you are willing to risk out on the ice depends on your means of business."
Not really intending to pry, but Taggerung still managed to let his curiousity slide out of his mouth.
"Where are you headed, if you dont mind me asking, that is?"

Tags wasnt quite sure how Marrinus would react to such a question, as his first impression of Tagger hadnt been exactly... spectacular. But anyway, he let his naturally curiosity get the best of him, which needless to say has got him into trouble a couple of times before.

With the snow falling down making the view of the shinlai on the ice rather hard Riya scooted a bit closer then seeing the form of a darkly colored shinlai vaguely familiar, but with the snow coming down she would have to go out there for a much better view.

“Whoever’s in the forest, you may as well come out.” She stated calmly.

"Oh great now I have been acknowleged" she thought. She then rose and made her way towards Alkyone because it was silly to sit behind anyway with the more shinlai coming popping up from what it seemed like no where. "Sorry to just sit back, but I wanted to make sure that no one here was really a threat, as I am not really in the mood for fights today you see?" she said as she sat next to Alk. Then looking up at the shinlai on the lake she was interested in meeting them as well because what else than meeting new shinlai to spice up this ice terrain, and since one looked familer all the more she wanted to walk on over. Sighing she let looked back at Alkyone and said "So what are you doing here on this cold day?"

"Aha, yes, well... I suppose how much you are willing to risk out on the ice depends on your means of business," the male stated before boldly adding, "Where are you headed, if you dont mind me asking, that is?"

Marrinus stared at him blankly, his head angled back to look the Shinlai in the eye. He preferred to keep a low profile in certain situations and the fact that he had little to no knowledge of the Shinlai he was speaking to made him uneasy. He could tell that this was no Daila operative he was dealing with. There was no amount of the selfishly groomed, fluffed up class, and egotism that came with that type of persona to this Lai’s juvenile ignorance. All the same, if this was a Darkblood addressing him for information, the Dark Shinlai was certainly not the one to recruit him and did not know his standing amongst the others back in Velocifiero.

Just WHO the Shinlai before him thought he was and on what grounds his green bulk stood to question his intentions left Marrinus outraged. “Your affiliation?” he asked crossly.

“Your affiliation?”
Marrinus stated, a hint of malice laced in his tone.

The world about them was brutally quiet, the only sound was the occasional lapping of the waves against the ice and shore, rolling gently, over and over, until they finally have into a tiny crash at the beach.
A crooked smile creeped across Taggerung's white-and-green maw, and he stood there grinning like an idiot for at least one minute before he replied.

Finally, after scraping his paw against the frosted ground nervously, glancing to his sides hastily, the earth Shinlai said, "I am loyal to Darius Kordeth and the Darkbloods."

Marrinus didnt appear to be the Daila-luvin' kind of guy. Taggerung did want to take any chances though, so he remained silent until the dark one spoke up.

"Sorry to just sit back, but I wanted to make sure that no one here was really a threat, as I am not really in the mood for fights today you see? So what are you doing here on this cold day?" Footsteps sounded and a creamy brown female sat down next to her. A black and white mask, with the light symbol painted on it, framed an exotic set of bright red eyes. Although bright and rather intimidating, her red eyes seemed soft and caring too.

Alkyone tilted her head to one side as she inspected her. “Riya, your name is Riya, right?” She enquired. “I am uninterested in fights today too. Not up to doing much at all in fact.” She said with a slight smile. “And I enjoy the cold, I find it much more tolerable than heat.” She added. “What about you?” She asked looking around at Riya. She heard an exasperated sigh and looked around to see a blue Shinlai not far off.

In the tension that followed, the Earth Shinlai smiled meekly, shifting nervously on the ice. He flicked his gaze in each direction before answering, "I am loyal to Darius Kordeth and the Darkbloods."

“Huh,” Marrinus huffed. He blinked as he noticed the male’s drop in confidence and with a brief glance through the snow towards shore, he smirked and continued, “I guess that isn’t too hard to believe.” He looked the Shinlai over as he said, “I’ve been sent on recon with orders to survey the local Shinlai population in this region. Bitterly freezing as it damn well may be.”

He snarled lightly at the shoddiness of the mission itself. While it’s imperative that for the ideals of the organization to succeed, minor or harsh tasks must be fulfilled alongside the important and equally as challenging ones, the thought of receiving the short end of the stick in missions, when he was perfectly capable of doing more, gave him a sour taste in his mouth, and Marrinus loathed it. “Someone will be getting an earful when I get back,” he thought irritably.

(Sorry for the late response guys D: and lol run-on sentence in the last paragraph!~)

“Riya, your name is Riya, right?”

"That would be correct! And I believe you are Alkyone?" she said while looking her over with seeing the swollen belly and could only assume she was pregnant as she had once experienced herself. “I am uninterested in fights today too. Not up to doing much at all in fact.” "I am guess this would be because you have a young pup on the way?" as she pointed her snout in the direction of Alk's belly. “And I enjoy the cold, I find it much more tolerable than heat.” "Well with all that fur on you I can see why, but I on the other hand with short fur do not find the cold quite as tolerable." shuffling her paws around in the snow she made a small ball while speaking. “What about you?” "Oh I like to wander around from time to time, and today this is where I ended up so nothing special about my visit here, though I do think walking on the floes would be rather fun." she said looking towards them past the other shinlai out there.

Then as Alkyone turned her head she did the same seeing a smaller blue shinlai approach, but maybe he looked small being father away.

Rayner's form bobbed about as the snow melted and re-froze around his feet, creating rather uncomfortable blocks of ice stuck to his fur. He stumbled along towards the other Shinlai, and felt his skin grow hot with embarrassment (I can never remember how to spell that word). In an ideal world, he would have preferred to stay hidden in such a situation, but using his element to avoid getting snow blown into his face for the past few hours had tired him out. He didn't even consider cloaking himself, and it took until he was fairly close to really make out the shapes of the Shinlai.

Carefully, he skirted well around Marrinus and Taggerung. They looked like the type he made a special effort not to annoy. Not that he would have avoided them under normal circumstances, but Rayner was in no mood for trouble. Instead he headed towards Riya and Alkyone. Every Shinlai in the direct area was at least a foot taller than he, but at least they seemed less guarded. "How can you stand it out here?" He called out, forgetting his normal greetings as he neared, blinking snow out of his eyes.

“I’ve been sent on recon with orders to survey the local Shinlai population in this region. Bitterly freezing as it damn well may be,” He said, eyes shifting up and down as he carefully inspected the mottled green, white and brown one.

"Oh, really?" Taggerung perked up, his interest suddenly enraptured by this mysterious Shinlai. Perhaps he wasnt your average Darkblood? Either way, he didnt seem too happy about it. Tagr hardly caught the snarl under his breath, but chose to ignore it anyway.
He hopped casually onto a different floe that was a few strides away, as his had begun to melt away considerably. Being extra cautious this time, he focused harder on landing on all four paws insdead of tipping the floe in a discombobulated, giddy heap.

"At first I found it hard to believe anyone would want to inhabit this horrendous wasteland, contrariwise, everytime I turn around it appears to be more lively than before."
He jerked his head in the direction behind him.

"If im not mistaken, theres a small group back there."

"I am guess this would be because you have a young pup on the way?" Riya said indicating her large belly.

Alkyone nodded enthusiastically. “I’m not far off having it now, few weeks, maybe a month?” She said resting her head on her paws.

"How can you stand it out here?" A disgruntled sounding voice called out.

‘Rayner. Air Shinlai. I remember you.’ Alkyone recalled, almost instantly. “I can stand it because I’ve lived in it most my life.” Alkyone called back, not even raising her head. “Hello again Rayner.” She added with a smile.

She grunted and shifted around trying to find a comfortable position to lie. Back at her home cave she and Dagda had collected as many blankets and pillow as they could, since meeting Mel’s troupe. Here, in the snow, there was a lot less padding. She eyed her stomach, Dagda had determined that there was only one pup, and if Alkyone focused enough, she could feel it shift and move occasionally. And kick, she had often jerked awake during the night to feel the pup move around and kick out.

"Oh, really?" the Earth Shinlai brightened, shifting cautiously as he slowly transferred his weight to the next floe. He mused, "At first I found it hard to believe anyone would want to inhabit this horrendous wasteland, contrariwise, every time I turn around it appears to be more lively than before,” jerking his head towards the gathering Shinlai on shore, he added, "If im not mistaken, theres a small group back there."

“Yes,” Marrinus zeroed in on the now three Shinlai conversing in the snow. Noting the bright purple and solid blue colorations on two of them, he briefly recognized the newcomer and the Water Shinlai from a small clearing he had skirted around a while back.

Easing his way onto another floe, he too adjusted his footing atop the ice, itching to get back on land. He returned his attention to the Earth Shinlai, “I’m about to head to shore, I’m afraid my sea legs aren’t quite cutting it,” he said, gesturing out with one paw at the snow covered beach, “Care to join?” he paused, adding, “Oh, and I didn’t quite catch your name.”

"Yes," he stated. Taggerung patiently waited as Marrinus turned his attention to the cluster of Shinlai at the shore. Then, flickering his silvery optics back at Tagger, he spoke. “I’m about to head to shore, I’m afraid my sea legs aren’t quite cutting it,” and he raised a paw, gesturing towards the snow-blanketed shore.

As he slipped his way onto a different section of the ice, he called back, “Care to join?”
A toothy grin split across Taggerung's face, part of it disappearing underneath his mask, and he chuckled lightly. "Sure," he chirped, trotting to catch up with the advisor.

He paused as Taggerung filed behind him, adding, “Oh, and I didn’t quite catch your name.”
"Oh, of course, how silly of me. I am Taggerung, or Tagger, if you'd prefer." Dipping his head, he waited for Marri to keep on moving. The though of getting back to solid ground- earth -made him very eager to get a move on. It may be slower going through the thickening snow, but it was well worth it in his view.
Equally as curious as to what this Lai was refered to as, Tags piped up, "You?"

Rayner shook out his thick blue fur and, still shifting his uncomfortabely heavy feet, came to a stop close to the females. “I can stand it because I’ve lived in it most my life.” One of them responded, then added “Hello again Rayner.”
He looked up, suddenly realizing who had been talking. "Oh, it's you!" He exclaimed, "Hello again to you as well Alkyone. I should have recognized you sooner."
He felt a little bad for not having noticed that, Alkyone's purple and white fur mixed with her red and blue mask were hard to mistake. He had realized that she did look somewhat uncomfortable, and it took him a moment to realize why. She was expecting a pup, he had been too distracted last time to notice, and briefly wondered where Dagda was. No doubt the pup was his, but the large earth Shinlai didn't appear to be anywhere nearby.

He turned his head to look at the other Shinlai. This one was smaller than Alkyone, but not by much. Rayner definately didn't recognize her, with light brown and black fur, a black and white mask, and sharp red eyes. He had never encountered a Shinlai with red eyes before, much less an exotic with them. Were it not for the fact that she seemed to be friendly, and Alkyone obviously trusted her, he would have been startled. But instead of letting on that he thought this was odd, Rayner nodded politely and offered a "Hello".

((can Rysh and Hallow join?))

I'm okay with that!
*shoves Rysh at Rayner*