Bitter Wind (Baxter)

[Red Charge]

The lone, small Winter Wolf made his way back from the Equestrian continent to the Northern Barrens by ship. The crew, mostly consisting of ponies and fishy smelling hippocampi was not kind to him.

In Trottingham he was picked on at every chance, more often than once getting dragged out into an alley for a good beating. Diamond Dogs and Winter Wolves by extension were no longer able to roam free and alone. There were others besides Baxter, but they moved in tight groups and remained out of sight. For the snow colored wolf it was hard to stay hidden and even harder to avoid the ponies. Even on the ship he had no reprieve, the entire journey was agonizing, he was only allowed aboard because he was willing to scrub the decks daily and the crew tortured Baxter at every opportunity. He could only remain secure in the knowledge that soon enough he would be home, bearing the wounds of war.

But what would he tell them of Ice Fang? Of the sword? Would he be accepted into the pack again if they knew he convinced Ice Fang to abandon his contract? What happened to Ice Fang anyway? Baxter waited for several days in hopes of catching a glimpse or news of him but none came. Was he caught? Was he killed? Baxter did not know, nor was there any way for him to find out, as neither ponies nor griffons seemed to want to divulge any piece of information to him or his kind.

He often wondered what was the fate of the Dragon Emissary, was he still with the dogs? Was he killed, or thrown out of the armies? Perhaps he went back to his council to report on their progress? He caught news of the Dread Talon Clan getting involved, everyone seemed to know who they were, except him. It was often whispered on the boat that Equestria might actually fall. He heard something about the princess' hesitation to strike back combined with the Diamond Dog's unceasing offensive maneuvers. Doubts crept up to Baxter. Had he not so foolishly asked Ice Fang to flee, they could be together fighting ponies, reclaiming Diamond Dog honor. Every bad thing that happened to him would not have come to pass and more than anything Ice Fang would not be hunted for the sword...

And now he was in the Stalliongrad docks, outside the city walls, he was home again, the biting cold nipped at him, yes, it was a good sensation. The snow covering the horizon was a welcome sight to his homesick eyes, he longed to feel it beneath his paws and in his talons, he longed to blend into it and hunt again. But he heard on the way the Ice Queen had once again began invading, should he head into Stalliongrad proper and get supplies, hoping that the ponies there were less angry with him? Or should he take his chances making his way back to his pack?

[Baxter]

He had made it to Trottingham in one piece. He had made it to Stalliongrad in one piece. But he was given no respite along the way. Because of stupid Sharp and his stupid invasion, Baxter couldn't even walk down a side street in Trottingham without getting dragged into an alley and beaten. He had been completely alone and his white fur made him stick out like a sore thumb. He couldn't have drawn a better target on his back if he had tried.

He wasn't even sure how he had gotten on a ship to the Barrens. He had been permitted on board as a deck scrubber, but apparently what they really wanted was a punching bag. The crew was relentless in antagonizing him and punishing him. But he took it, if only because the icy sea seemed like a worse alternative. Barely.

But he had made it. He was finally home. Not Equestria, not Trottingham, but the Barrens, the place he belonged. The wolf wished he had never left.

There was only one thing that could have soured Baxter's return to his homeland. The music. It hadn't stopped. Of course not, why would it? The never-ending organ music had continued to play on and on and on and on in his head, never giving him a moment to be at peace with himself. The elder had to know what was causing it, and more importantly how to stop it. He had to. The alternative wasn't even an acceptable possibility.

Words were whispered about the Dread Talon Clan, whoever the heck they were, and that the Diamond Dogs might actually win the war. Screw that. All Sharp knew how to do was sit on his paws and ask changelings and dragons for help doing it. And screw the idea of him fighting ponies alongside Ice Fang. If Ice Fang had stayed, Baxter would've just ended up returning to the Barrens by himself anyway, because that's what the other wolf had wanted. Heck, Ice Fang would've ordered someone to drag Baxter here if he had even tried to stay. The archer had no regrets about what had happened. They got out of a stupid war, Ice Fang got his sword, and they both survived. Good.

Speaking of which, where was Ice Fang? Baxter had spent a few days in Trottingham, hoping to catch a glimpse of the other wolf. But no luck. Hmm. Well, Ice Fang knew how to take care of himself. And as much as Ice Fang had pondered it, the idea of Sharp sending dogs after them was stupid, especially since that sword was supposed to be Ice Fang's payment in the first place. All Baxter could assume now was that the other wolf was either ahead of him or behind him. If the pack asked why he was back so early, Baxter would tell them the truth. Ice Fang fulfilled the contract, Sharp refused to pay, so they took the sword and left. End of story. Besides, Ice Fang was either already there to tell them that or would be in a few days.

And now he was here, outside Stalliongrad. The snowy horizon, the welcome feeling of the cold wind almost seemed to beckon him. But not yet. Not without a weapon. Baxter turned from the docks and headed into the pony settlement, not even caring at this point how the ponies would treat him. First thing he needed to do was find a contact from his pack. Surely they had someone here. He could go back with them, wait a few days if he had to. Yes, that was the first thing. Find the contact.

[Red Charge]

Baxter entered the city to find it mostly empty. Stalliongrad was always impressive; the styles of architecture in it were wholly different from each other and represented completely different periods and styles. From the pragmatic yet decorated Equiterian design to the Equestrian artistic fashion seen largely in Canterlot and the modern Stalliongrad simplistic styles all meshed together inside the stone walls. Even the infrastructure varied wildly, from paved roads to cobblestone driveways, from wide main streets to siege defense bottlenecks, it seemed chaotic but in turn created its own uniqueness. Though the Stalliongrad crowd was always one whose interest was in simplicity and survival, they refused to tear down the older structures, respecting the prior denizens.

The Winter Wolf had to assume that most of the ponies were out fighting the Ice Queen or at least preparing for her invasion. The ponies who were in the city did not seem to mind his presence, apparently they didn't know about the situation in Equestria or otherwise, realized that they cannot generalize an entire subspecies for the actions of the invading army. Unfortunately for Baxter, bows were of little use in Stalliongrad, the winds and weather favored the strong crossbows. Not long after he began wondering the city he found a pack liasion, but not for his own pack. He recognized him as a member of a smaller pack than his, they would work together on occassion when hired to challenge the larger packs. Though he didn't really remember the wolf's name, if he ever knew it, he remembered he was an advance scout so he was a skirmisher, meaning like himself he was an archer, though far less focused on the bow than Baxter was. Being a full-time archer was rare among Winter Wolves and even those who took to the bow were often far better suited for melee.

The liasion greeted him, recognizing him from a past meeting. "Your pack hasn't sent anyone into the city for a while now." He explained to the archer, "I think the Ice Queen's forces are buffering between them and here. They're probably waiting for it to blow through." he theorized, offering the tired wolf a warm drink inside one of the establishments, in the claim that with this war, their packs will prosper from mercenary work, so he would be happy to share a warm drink, to celebrate their future wealth.

[Baxter]

The city was a lot quieter than Baxter had expected. Quieter as in there weren't that many people in sight. Seemed everyone was busy with the Ice Queen. The wolf had to wonder why she'd decided now of all times to start advancing her forces. Probably arbitrary, but the situation didn't seem like it was going to help him out any. As if the wildlife alone wasn't enough to worry about when trekking the Barrens.

At least what ponies were here weren't treating him like dirt. Maybe if they all acted like this he wouldn't hate them so much. It was nice being able to walk down a street without having to worry about getting dragged into an alley. The archer wasn't able to find a liaison from his own pack, but he did find one from another pack, one his own had worked alongside on several occasions. And the other wolf was even friendly. Maybe his luck was already starting to turn around.

Or not. Baxter swore under his breath when the liaison told him the situation with his pack, pinching the bridge of his snout in frustration. Fantastic, the Ice Queen's forces had cut them off from the city. Which not only made it impossible for Baxter to contact them, but also made trying to return to them near-suicide. "Thanks," the winter wolf sighed, letting go of his snout. "A drink would do me wonders right now."

"I just hope the Ice Queen's forces... move I guess. I'd like to get back to my pack sooner rather than later. Something I need to get taken care of." Baxter stated, muttering the last sentence. "Don't suppose you have a better guess then I do on how long that's gonna be."

[Red Charge]

The other winter wolf shrugged, he had no idea. He was staying in town in wait for the innevitable offer to fight for Stalliongrad. He said someone ought to be either here or at the pony entrenchment in the barrens to wait for a contract. He said that he was most likely to find someone from his pack there, since they were far more gung ho about combat than his pack were. After he finished his drink the wolf took himself out, leaving Baxter alone again.

If they were fighting the Ice Queen, it was likely that his pack might be destroyed. The last time the Ice Queen invaded she wiped out almost all of Stalliongrad with survivors he could count on one hand. He also came to realize there were a lot of private army ponies around digging in old Equiterian ruins and around the Northern Crater. It was a tricky situation but Stalliongrad offered little to a Winter Wolf with no money or weapons to hunt with. Perhaps going to the pony entrenchments was the best idea at the moment.

[Baxter]

Baxter watched the other wolf leave, his shoulders slouching as the door closed behind him. So maybe someone from his pack was at the pony entrenchment looking for a contract. Maybe. It was possible, but not likely.

The archer took a long gulp of his drink, staring into nothing for a few seconds afterwards. Ultimately this was a waiting game, waiting until the Ice Queen's forces moved and he had a clear path to his pack. How long would that take, until the entire ordeal was finished?

The wolf took another gulp, now staring at the liquid remaining in the mug. If a packmate was here, he could wait until the assault was done and he or she was done with their contract. And if Baxter and his pack-mate were alive by the end of it, and if their pack wasn't obliterated, he wouldn't be traveling back alone. And even if the rest of their pack was obliterated, at least he'd be with someone he knew. Maybe he could even get a contract for himself. Perhaps it was time to accept what he was, and leave the dogs to writhe in their own dirt.

Yeah. He'd check out the pony entrenchment, see if he could find a pack-mate, and either way see if he could get himself a contract. But not right now. Right now he wanted to walk around Stalliongrad a bit more. Not that he was expecting to find anything interesting, but he just felt like going for a walk. Besides, Stalliongrad was pretty nice. He wanted to appreciate being home for a bit before jumping into a contract. And it wasn't like he was rushed for time or anything.

[Red Charge]

The city, as before, was practically empty. Partly because all of the able soldiers were out fortifying their positions to face the Ice Queen's forces, leaving behind only a small force to protect the city and partly because the city was just empty. Baxter knew what happened to Stalliongrad last time the Ice Queen invaded, pack stories say that the Ice Queen wiped out the entire city. This time it seemed the ponies were smart enough to keep the ponies in the city to a minimum, no dense population centers meant the chances of them being wiped out again to decrease. This time however, there was no Field Marshal to come save them, at least not while the war was going on in Equestria.

Having nothing to really do and no money to get by with, Baxter made his way to the pony entrenchments. Along the way he encountered several monsters, ones he was not used to seeing so openly searching for prey, but fortunately for him he went by unnoticed, thanks to his natural camoflauge and his knowledge of the land. The barrens were as desolate as always, the wind was freezing and Baxter lacked in warm clothing. This meant that he spent most of his time dug in snow shelters or caves, trying to heat up by barely lit campfires. Even Winter Wolves had their limit when it came to cold, however Baxter soon found the experience to be strengthening, without noticing it, his breath was steadily becoming colder regardless to the weather outside. He knew that powerful Winter Wolves were able to breathe icy breaths, it is something they inherited from their animal ancestors, but he never believed he himself would be able to do such a thing.

Perhaps his time with Ice Fang did allow him to grow, at least in that regard. At some point it just begs the question, what good would an ice breath be against an ice minion? Probably not much.

[Baxter]

Stalliongrad was, as Baxter had mostly expected, practically empty. Everyone must've been at the entrenchment, waiting for the Ice Queen to attack. But that was okay. Baxter had only wanted to walk around a bit, and it was peaceful enough. Looking around at the different architecture helped clear his mind a little. After a while, though, the exercise had run its course, and the archer set off to start his trek to the pony entrenchments.

The journey there certainly wasn't a picnic, but the wolf couldn't say it wasn't what he expected. The only thing he really hadn't expected was spotting monsters that never made so much of an open effort to find food. Maybe the Ice Queen's forces had displaced them. Far-fetched, but it was the only answer he could think of. The environment was unforgiving, and Baxter found himself spending more time trying to keep warm than actually moving. But he had just come from a continent where it seemed every dog, pony, and dragon wanted him dead. The idea of complaining was laughable.

Baxter also noticed his breath starting to get colder and colder, eventually realizing why. Winter wolves, the strong and experienced ones at least, could use such an ability to their advantage, usually in combat. He had no idea how he of all wolves had developed such an ability, especially considering how pathetic a winter wolf he had proven himself to be. It was also ironic that he had just returned to the place where it would be the least useful. But again, he wasn't going to complain.

The archer looked into the fire he had made, reciting the two priorities he now had. "Find someone from the pack, get a contract." Surely he could do at least one of those things. He had no control over whether someone from his pack would be at the pony entrenchment, but surely the ponies needed all the help they could get. He was far from 'Grade A' material when it came to winter wolves, and he had no weapon of his own. He needed to keep his expectations realistic, start small if he had to.