Swish, swish, swish, came the unmistakable tail of a particular furious feline.

Oh, but she wasn't feeling fighty today. More like... confused. Polaris was temperate most of the time-- sometimes there would be highs or lows, or someone casting magic rain into the air, but other than that? Relatively even.

That was why it baffled her when she woke up to nothing but white.

Twisted didn't even know what this snow was. The... thing was soft, and pale, and a little fluffy, like the texture of a baby mouse right after you kill it. Okay, a pretty gruesome metaphor, but those are the ones she understood best. She stuck a black paw into it, and immediately drew it back, cursing. This stuff was freezing! Who's idea was this?!

'Madhukar.'

Of course, in Twisted's mind, if something bad happened it must have come from Ms. Sparkle Kitty. Still, this seemed... odd. It wasn't in Mad's inventory to create snow, just lightning and rain. This had to be the work of someone else.

Well, no amount of ranting would get it to go away, so the siamese kitten figured she might as well explore it. The frosty winds blew in from the northern wall-- was there something there? Someone? It certainly was an intriguing mystery, and one Twisted wanted to solve. Hey, maybe if it was the latter, she could beat them up afterwards for making it so god-damn snowy.

Twisted steeled herself north, adolescent body bracing to take on the wind. Where she was right now it was only the faintest of breezes, but up ahead the flurry slowly thickened into a deep blizzard. This would take a lot of luck.

Well, the first part was easy-dandy. She skipped through the snow like a bouncing baby deer, completely oblivious to the happenings-- and gembound-- around her.

@Madhukar

Yup, still here.

Yes, still unhappy about that.

The monsoon-bringer stared out into that frosty, opaque landscape. She hadn't the mind to check for anyone else's scent, it was far too cold! She wanted to push through it, though. It was just so... peculiar. This snow. Its origin. She didn't understand it. Something like the water she could make, but so much colder, so light brighter.

Ah, what the heck. Plants and bugs could wait. They'd been waiting. Madhukar was going to get to them as soon as she could, but her heart... her mind wasn't sure how long this particular curiosity would last, and her heart wanted to know why it was lasting in the first place.

She entered. Or, well, tried to.

@Twisted (visibility)

The blizzard was calmer out here, reduced to gentle breezes by sheer distance and twisting turns ahead. Twisted and Madhukar both found little difficulty in venturing into the white. Snowflakes twirled around them, moving to and fro in swirling dances.

Amidst the fat flakes, though, was something else - a light something, swirling around in the occlusion. It breezed past Twisted, further ahead, and started to drift towards Madhukar. To either cat, it was easily visible, being so large and dark at a glance.

Twisted and Madhukar may roll to catch this unidentified object, or go deeper into the snow.

@Twisted @Madhukar

Twisted decided that she liked this "snow" thing. It was soft, fluffy, and easy to pass through. And yeah, it practically froze off her paws with every step she took, but hey, by this point she was quickly growing a tolerance to pain. She'd just have to power through it if she wanted to see what was at the end.

Soft flurries of snowflakes swirled past her and settled on her fur. It wasn't as bad as rain, but the kitten still shivered when it melted down into her fluff. Still, she pressed on. It was surprisingly easy, and Twisted vaguely wondered if she was going the wrong direction. Nah, she was just awesome. Like she always was.

But then something slipped from behind the snowbanks and caught Twisted by surprise. It was light-- no, dark, and giant, but at the same time swirling through the air like a butterfly. 'What?' The black-and-white kitten stopped and stared in bafflement. No, her eyes weren't fooling her: something was definitely there, obscured partially by the blinding white. Something interesting. It drifted through the air, slowly coming towards--

"Madhukar?!"

Oh fucking-- that snob-faced, vomit-colored, sparkly wretch was here?! And she was trekking towards the same place she was? Twisted's green eyes glared straight through the swirling flakes. The monsoon-bringer only brought livid wrath (and a bit of jealousy) to her mind. Stupid, stupid, stupid--

Oh wait, that strange entity was still there, right?

Well, she was gonna get it before Mad. Just to send a message.

A quick hiss-- "It's mine!"-- and the foul-mouthed feline came sprinting forward, lanky legs aiming to barrel over the strange object. Broken tail streaming, claws slightly outstretched, and emerald eyes aiming straight for the hunt. She wasn't giving up this shot.

@Madhukar

Huh. Okay. This wasn't so bad. It was kind of nice, actually, in a weird way. Walking through this white drizzle. Strange shapes falling from above, twirling like leaves. Was this just another kind of storm? If it was, did that give Madhukar the ability to... control it, somehow? She'd never really met a pre-existing storm. She had no idea how her magic could interact with one, given the opportunity.

For a moment there, it was actually fun! Madhukar was even... smiling, a little, even though it was cold. She still hadn't realized-- but once the revelation was made, it was made, and there was no turning back. Her name, on someone else's lips. Why was that always a horrible sensation?! Maybe she should just stop giving her name away like free candy.

This one's maw though, Madhukar wished the cold would freeze shut. Something was drifting her way, she'd realized. Something coming from the direction of this imbecile who had turned out to be in front of her. Had it been walking there the whole time?! No, she would've noticed, and switched directions instantaneously. It was only here now, in front of her, catching the object drifting in the chilly air. Madhukar's smile was shattered in nanoseconds.

'It's mine!' the idiot spat, snatching it away. Oh? So... defensive, it seemed. Had a gust almost stolen its little toy? Madhukar only wished that gust had succeeded. Or maybe she wished that gust hadn't tried at all, considering the fact that if it hadn't, Madhukar wouldn't have to deal with 'Twisted's' ire. Gosh, did she really have to call it 'Twisted'? That was such a dumb name--

"Okay??" Madhukar reacted before she could stop herself. There was a surprisingly minimal amount of annoyance in her tone. Mainly confusion. Her eyes even showed... intrigue. She was wondering, and letting her wonder be known through her gaze, why exactly this object was so important to The Cat?

It didn't matter in the end, Madhukar still wanted absolutely every excuse not to deal with this thing again, but it was fun to know that her enemy appeared to have a weakness of a sort. Well, now that she knew, she could be off, fulfilling her wanderlust and not bothering with the muck in the gutters ('Twisted').

She backed up, turned tail, and stalked off in an attempt to explore the snow further.

Twisted snagged the floating object clean out of the air and landed just as easily and smoothly. It was a feather some foot or two long, with a soft, square-ended vane. The base of it was a charcoal grey, and it faded to a warm sanguine with a shimmering gold edge. Quite a find, indeed...

-
Madhukar strode deeper into the whirling storm and found herself near-immediately caked in snow; and, inadvertently following in the footsteps of something. Two sets of tracks stretched ahead in, fairly deep and compressed - as if made by something(s?) heavy. The wind was too gentle to disturb them too much, so they were relatively clear.

Either set was perfectly in line with the other, like it were a single creature or one following after the other. One pair of footprints was broad and flat-seeming, almost like a five-toed dinosaur's. The other had a semicircular bottom, a large space, and five small divots where toes may have been.

-
If Madhukar or Twisted wish to go deeper, they must roll a 9 or higher to combat the wind.

@Twisted @Madhukar

She caught it! She caught it! And the thing Twisted caught was a... a feather. Oh. It was longer than her entire kitten body, a deep gray with golden tips. Was there a bird here? Were there even birds this large? Her head shot up and scanned the snowy air warily. There didn't seem to be any. Weird.

Oh wait, Madhukar was going ahead, wasn't she? Aw, come on! She was supposed to be impressed--- er, or jealous! Envious! But she was leaving without even a glare? What a bummer.

The siamese mix trotted forward, the feather shaft neatly held between her teeth. Her pawsteps were certain and her tail was held high-- well, as high as she could raise it. "Hey-- hey! Look at this feather," Twisted called forth. Her voice was still arrogant, but by this point she was a bit more interested in showing it off than starting another fight. She held it high, shaking it between her teeth a bit to get rid of the snow. "--'s big."

The snow was getting deep all around Twisted, and the kitten found herself falling into the footsteps of something greater. Big, flat divots in the snow, as if something had just been travelling this way. It, along with another set of alien prints, continued on to the north like an ominous trail. That was pretty interesting. What-- or who-- had come here?

Still, she had a reputation to maintain. With a harsh swish of her tail, Twisted splashed a little plume of snow towards the torbie. Just to annoy her. She challenged: "Hey, sparkles. Wanna bet I can reach the end of this before you?" Twisted shook the snow off her fur, and then sprinted forward without waiting for a reply. She stumbled a bit with a little "Eep!", but immediately picked herself on and kept powering forward. She wasn't going to show struggle in front of her enemy.

@Madhukar

It seemed wandering away from The Cat was the right decision, even though her pelt screamed that it wasn't. She was now completely swamped by snow, but she had found something interesting indeed! Far more interesting than whatever toy The Cat was so protective of.

Just as she was about to go off investigating, there was a call. A call for Madhukar's attention that was confusing, to say the very least. What on earth was Twisted's DEAL?! First The Cat had insulted Madhukar, repeatedly, seemingly without end. Then it had beaten her up and lauded itself for an undeserved victory! And now it was asking for her attention? To look at the toy it had been so violently insistent on trying to keep away not even 5 seconds ago? What kinda complex did this thing have?!?

Luckily for Madhukar, she'd found something that was still far more interesting than 'Twisted' or its little toy. Something she could be distracted by, enough to not have to respond. Unfortunately, because the idiot had followed after her, it had now found it too. And it wanted to challenge her. Again. Madhukar's fur bristled at the feeling of snow flung at her. She could tear this 'Cat' to shreds if she so desired, summon a storm of lightning to fry its little face off.

But... eh.

She didn't even glance at The Cat or its 'big feather', didn't even say a word as she began trekking after the prints, trying to follow them.

She absolutely wouldn't succeed, but honestly, she would be fine as long as she got away from 'Twisted'.

@Twisted

No sooner than the race had started, it was already over. The wind practically scooped its way underneath Madhukar's body and flung her through the air. It was a rather comedic sight: the torbie tumbling past Twisted immediately after the challenge was made. It was back to the starting block with her.

Now, it was Twisted's turn to face the wind. She traipsed over the tracks Madhukar'd passed before, and delved deeper.

Where the torbie had the benefit of age and a bit of growth on her, Twisted did not. The wind slammed into her with relentlessly increasing intensity.

-
If Twisted wishes to continue, she must roll a 10 or higher.
Madhukar may simply roll to start again.

@Twisted @Madhukar

The cat pounded forward, feeling the snow and wind smack into her fur. Twisted was not a feline built for cold temperatures, and she winced as the cold bit at her paws with each step. Thankfully enough, those funny tracks provided slight protection from the storm, so she fell into their steps and powered on.

She hadn't heard Madhukar behind her this entire time. Weird. Still, she had a reputation to maintain. Even if this "reputation" was completely incoherent and bizarre to anyone but herself. Twisted kept her black head high, her crooked tail raised proudly, and powered on to the other side. She'd win this race, even if she wasn't sure Maddy was even partaking in it.

But alas, she was not strong enough for winter. The ground quickly became slick with ice, hisses penetrating the air as she struggled to maintain secure footing. A paw slipped and the kitten fell, completely vulnerable to the high wind and streaking blizzard.

Looks like neither of them were fit to finish this race.

@Madhukar VERY LATE AND LAZY REPLY I AM SO SORRY ;_;