"You miss them, Vigenere?" Morgan whispered, still wrapped around his fellow Tangler. "I think that means we need to enjoy this one sunset even more." He savored the pink-orange light as they slowly moved past the hills and into mountains. He hugged tighter around his companion in preparation for what was to come.

...

Now the air was cold. The sunlight grew dimmer as mountains blocked its path, leaving both Tanglers in a less comfortable situation. Morgan focused his efforts on keeping the water warm, but found that his top half felt like it was going to freeze. To counteract this, he heated some of the water even more until a steady amount of steam floated up from its surface. The steam's warmth was enough for the time being; the samoyed kept his focus on moving their vehicle through the home stretch.

They approached a valley next, which housed a large frozen lake. "Vigenere, we're here!" he barked, swimming over to the front edge to look over the landscape. As with the mountains, everything was snowy and cold, which captivated the dog. "I've only ever read about ice that appears naturally..."

It was at that precise moment that Morgan realized he had made a mistake. "Vigenere, I'm sorry. We might not make it safely, but I'll do my best to slow us down." He never stopped to consider how he planned to land their boat; he would have to figure it out for the journey back, at least. Morgan strained himself a bit as he turned down the velocity of the boat. However, with such a sharp decrease in speed, the vehicle began to fall straight out of the sky into the side of a mountain. "Vigenere, hold onto me! I'll protect you, my-"

THUNK!

The boat hit the mountain, throwing both Tanglers into the cushiony thick snow. Morgan landed on his back, knocking the wind out of him and leaving him gasping for very cold air. Luckily, the hot water fell onto both of them as well, so they still had a good minute before the cold truly got to them. After a moment, the samoyed stood up one leg at a time, regaining his breath. "Vigenere, are you alright? I'm sorry..." He focused his breath to keep the water hot in his fur, warming himself as much as possible as he searched for his yellow comrade. The boat was in shambles, broken into several pieces off to the side.

"At least we made it..." the dog panted, looking down at the village below. "All we have to do is walk in and introduce ourselves. Hopefully our supplies are still dry enough."

Link to Snowbound thread here

Just past the crack of dawn, the samoyed left Snowbound's town after having a nice quick breakfast and some hot chocolate. He hoped that Vigenere would catch up soon enough, but he took the time he had to rebuild their boat. Thankfully, the abundance of snow made it much easier to put together; it took only a few minutes to make an even more comfortable vehicle than before. The finished product resembled a small, cozy boat with a symbol etched on its sail.

Lowering the vehicle into the snow below, the dog stepped into the warm water and let himself relax. Even if he had made it once before, using his powers for something so complicated was a bit tiring. He closed his eyes and let his mind wander; what appeared was a mental image of his favorite yellow cat, who was close enough to be on top of him. The dog felt his heart race, but instead of shaking it off as he usually would, he decided to let things play out.

...

Once the wait for Vigenere was over, Morgan invited him into the boat. He was beyond ecstatic to see his companion again, wagging his tail under the comfortable water. His smile was warmer than before, and he began to speak more smoothly than usual. "Good morning, Vigenere. Please trust me again now - we'll have a better landing this time. I can't afford to have another crash landing, anyway." Indeed, he planned to stop the boat dead in its tracks and gently float it straight down using his powers. It would not be easy, but it was definitely doable.

Morgan sighed in relief as the feline expressed his trust, smiling his usual smile with his eyes closed. He knew he had to make sure the ride back was perfect - especially after the bad news they had heard the previous night.

The newly crafted boat took off into the morning sky as soon as the Tanglers were comfortable, sailing high above the mountains. This time, the beautiful blue-pink tones came from the east; Morgan motioned for Vigenere to join him to watch. Bits of the images from earlier flashed through Morgan's mind; he felt a sudden and unusual urge to move close to his companion. The samoyed felt a warmth accumulate around his muzzle, but he did not mind. The feeling was not unfamiliar to him by now, so he felt that it was finally the right time to say something.

"Vigenere," he muttered, turning to the yellow feline. He took a breath before he spoke again. "There was something I've noticed recently. Something about the two of us." The water around them turned warmer, a steady steam rising from its hot surface. The canine leaned forward, his mouth nearing the cat's ear as he began to whisper. "When I'm close to you, Vigenere, I get a feeling I can't quite describe - but it's a good one." He gritted his teeth for a moment before he continued, the boat around them shaking a little as his heart raced.

"I like you a lot... You know that, right?"

Morgan felt a surge of a subtle yet persistent comfort and happiness. It was the same thing he felt when they bathed together, when they watched the sunset together, and even when they slept. It was a feeling like no other. Catching his breath, the samoyed found himself hugging his companion for stability. "I don't know if you feel the same way... but I just want to tell you that I'll always protect you." He leaned back until he was muzzle-to-muzzle with the slightly smaller male, staring deep into his eyes. "I'm yours, if you'll trust me."

"This journey... I'm so happy that I could join you for it, Vigenere."

Morgan was indeed worried about what his companion would say, holding his breath without realizing it. Once the answer came, the samoyed sighed with a widening smile. He knew he was ready for whatever would come next. "Vigenere... I'm glad."

What came next was a surprise: the cat's suggestion to "go out", to which the dog's eyes widened. Although he did not quite know what Vigenere meant by the phrase, he could still sense the feline through his aura. It was clear that he was hiding nothing - the warmth he seemed to be giving off perfectly matched Morgan's. The dog's fear melted away, replaced entirely by an internal fuzziness. Unbeknownst to the pair, the boat began to sink, slowly falling as Morgan's concentration faltered.

Instead, the samoyed was focused only on the Tangler in front of him. He felt like he could lose himself in Vigenere's eyes; it took some of his willpower to finally speak. "Of course, Vigenere." With his heart beating as hard as ever, he leaned forward, pressing his muzzle up against the cat's and beginning to lick rhythmically. A happy sigh escaped his smiling maw, and he let his eyes fall shut in relaxation.

Morgan melted inside at the sound of his partner's purring. Between licks, he whispered, "I missed that noise..." It spurred him on to lick faster, passion increasing with each one. The samoyed shifted back as he felt the other male rest against him, hoisting him up onto his belly as he fell onto his back in the shallow water. Once the feline was on top of him, he tried his best to give a tight and loving bearhug.

The canine's breathing grew more erratic as thoughts flew through his mind, the intimacy of the situation getting to him. "Vigenere," he mumbled, stopping his licking at last to stare into his eyes. The dog's heart pounded as he hugged tighter than before; his grip strengthened for just a moment before he let himself relax fully. "I... Mmm..."

...

It took far too long for the joyful samoyed to realize the vehicle was falling toward the surface below. His eyes widened as he found himself unable to move for fear of throwing his companion off the edge. He turned and opened up a small window for himself, some water spilling out the hole as he looked for a good landing point. As luck would have it, the couple seemed to be flying above the same flower field they had visited just a day before. "Just stay close to me, my Vigenere." He gave his partner a quick lick on the forehead before holding him tight against his warm chest, taking deep breaths to keep the boat afloat.

Morgan's focus finally shifted from his feelings to his landing plan. As he closed his eyes, he found himself able to see all the water in the vicinity: tiny flowers, the boat around them, and most importantly, the pond in which they bathed before. His breaths turned sharp as he turned down the high speed of the vehicle, simultaneously keeping it safely out of free-fall.

Once the boat was slow enough, the samoyed let it hover downward toward his target with calm breaths. "Just... a little... more... now." He tried his best to curl up around Vigenere as he let them drop; they hit the water hard, but not from high enough that it would be painful. The samoyed let all the water and ice melt into itself as he let go of his yellow companion with a sigh. "We're nearly there, my Vigenere. I hope you're doing alright."

In an effort to recuperate from the stress, Morgan heated the water around them once more. "We won't be here long. I just thought it'd be nice to rest together again..." Steam began to rise from the still surface, and the canine gave a wink before stepping out for a moment to look for something. He came back after a short few seconds with some tulips in his maw, which he brought to Vigenere with a samoyed smile. "For you."

He inched closer until they were touching once more, and then made a sound as if to clear his throat. "Vigenere, I have one more question for you. I'm sorry if this isn't a good time." He had to force himself not to look away, keeping his gaze as steady as he could on the feline. "What did that strange cat from the Ascendants mean when he spoke to me?" His breathing stopped as he waited in pure unadulterated suspense.