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Wynn looked at the ovine-themed socks, sucking gently at his lips in thought. He glanced once, twice, between the offered socks and the tourist before he quietly accepted them. Wynn had to acknowledge that the tourist was doing all he could be helpful and his bitter attitude probably wasn't helping. He whispered a small thank you, took the socks and quietly fitted them over his gloved hands. Slowly, he began to feel an improvement, and he hoped that his fingers wouldn't catch frostbite or that he would come down with hypothermia. the best thing to have done is make a fire, but there was a dim chance that it was going to happen. All they could do was get him dry and as warm as they could, which they did their best of. The cold and spirits would decide the rest. With that worry looming over his shoulders, he still wouldn't take off his gloves though. Only Cane knew out of this group, and Wynn didn't want anyone else to find out.

So, with his freezing hands covered with socks, Wynn quietly surrendered his backpack to the kind tourist and started pressing on through the snow, following the river. He tottered forward on his own two legs and wrapped his arms around him tight, shivering violently despite the rest of the group's best efforts.

You travel along the river until you find a larger body of water. There is ice here too, but the water appears to be much shallower, so perhaps it's safer to- Is that a bear over towards the far end of the lake? Why yes. Yes it is! Do you risk it?

Wynn, taking heed of Cane's quiet warning paused his step, trying his best to stop his chattering teeth. Yes, just like the other native pointed out, there was a lumbering bulk of dark fur, a mere smudge on the opposite side of the lake, passing along the opposite edge of the lake. The Inuk stopped in his tracks, his amber eyes widening at the sight of the bear, one of the strongest of the animal spirits. Almost instinctively, Wynn started running the procedure of hunting bears through his mind, the carving of ribs, hiding them in meat, and waiting for the bear to lumber by, devour it, and walk to its death. However, as the reality of their fate gripped him, he realized that this was no hunt. This was survival.

"B-bear is st-strong," he muttered quietly, in agreement with Cane who was then standing near to him, "B-but bear is shy. If we don't smell of food. He won't come. Right, brother, he's scared of us like we are scared of him. It's safe." He almost completely forgot about his freezing limbs and trembling mumble, until Cane motioned them to the shallow water ahead.

The Inuk turned his eye to the water, the frozen ice. It was shallow here, Cane was right, probably the safest vantage point that they had come across so far. However, Wynn looked at the ice as if it was insulting him, belittling him, or as if it had betrayed him. The ice hadn't let him cross last time, by the will of the spirits or other, and Wynn wondered if it would bear him now. Fear rattled in his chest, the incident still too recent for him to forget the terrible cold, but deep inside him, there was something else. There was firm resolve and determination, hatred almost, that drove anger. Wynn set his trembling lips into a determined frown.

Damn it all, he was going to cross this ice, whether or not he slipped in again. He would prove it wrong, prove that he was strong now, at the height of his fear, his own form of a counterattack.

Wynn nodded to Cane and started slowly for the ice with faltering steps. He took a careful step and tested it. It seemed thick enough. Well, now that they didn't have the ropes secured around their waists, it was wet or dry, but either way, Wynn was determined to make it across.

Cane, for once, frowned at Scyeth and shook his head, slowly. "Okay. Better plan. I go first." Slow, calm steps brought him to the edge and he stopped Wynn with a careful hand. "Come back, brother. I do this differently."

Cane was a big guy. If he crossed, the others would be fine. The water wasn't going quickly, not like in the deep areas, and he could see the rocks underneath. It was going to be cold, but. Well.

One large foot stomped down, hard, with conviction, and he crushed a hole in the ice, sinking his heavily booted foot into the water. It wasn't deep at all, here. His youth had taught him to walk on wet rocks, and this, for him was familiar. The thick boots stopped him from feeling immediate cold or wetness. This was good.

Still, half of his attention was on the bear. It didn't seem to care about them, so far.

One thing after another. Maybe some divine force was against them... First the storm, then mist, then that dratted river, now an ice lake with a bloody bear on it!! This time, Rufus wasn't having it, he wouldn't let the two reckless brothers put themselves, and the group in danger. Already Cane was crunching his way through the ice and the crack of his boot smashing the surface echoed across the frozen expanse like the crash of a gunshot. Before the pair could take another step further Rufus was standing, arms crossed, next to Scyeth. "Stop you two." He snapped, hands on hips, attempting to summon all the adult authority that he could muster. "I'm afraid I agree with Scyeth here." He put a hand to the blond's shoulder, both supporting the injured boy and using the movement to emphasise his alligence with what the teen had suggested. "We shouldn't do anything until we've got a plan. We've got to be sensible. This place has already proved dangerous, it crippled Syceth's ankle and Wynn nearly froze to death."

He paused for thought, breath rising in clouds. What were the options. Crossing the ice was a short cut and near eliminated the chance of the bear being very interested. ((Although if the beast did take an interest.. would it move faster on ice than them??)) Crossing around the edge stopped them from falling into the ice, plus it saved Cane from totally soaking his feet - he'd loose his toes to frostbite if he wasn't careful. But going by land meant they were more likely to pass near the bear..

"What do you say guys? Weigh up the risks at least. I can't let you go charging in gun-ho like last time."

Setting his pale lips into a frown, Wynn struggled to speak. At first the words didn't come, frozen in the Inuk's throat, before he choked them out in a soft tone, "W-wet," the young chocolate hued boy stammered as he gestured to himself and Cane. Then he lifted his arm slowly to the setting sun in the west. It was getting darker. In fact, if Wynn held up his hand to the sky and measured, there was only about an hour or so left of daylight, before the land slipped into the cold grips of night. Around them, long shadows traced false paths along the snow covered ground and the sky in the east grew more and more purple.

"Night c-comes. Wet, C-cane and I, then you and Scy. We will f-f-f-f-freeze. Need shelter. Fire. Something. B-b-b-before night falls. Frost will b-bite if w-w-we d-don't find Tower soon. Stay away from b-bear. We m-m-must keep m-m-moving. Cross the ice, he-h-here." As Wynn spoke he wrapped his arms tightly around him, tucking his gloved and sock covered hands underneath his arms and close to his chest. The longer they stayed standing around here, the colder Wynn and the others were going to get. Without moving, Wynn wasn't creating enough warmth and he feared that the sweat he had underneath his layers of clothing, would freeze up if he didn't keep his body warm and his heart pumping. He gave another violent shiver, his breath fogging up in white cotton puffs of steam. His hair was stiff, unnaturally so, framing his face like dark chocolate wire. "M-m-must move."

The snappish retort startled him and he took a step backwards. He hadn't meant to undermine the boy's judgement, he simply wanted to make it clear that this time they shouldn't be jumping into a situation that could land them in a trouble like last time they'd rushed into things. Trying to pacify the teenager he folded his arms, almost sullenly giving in to what the brothers were saying. "If you're sure this will be fine." The sooner that they reached the damned place the happier Rufus would be... This journey had sapped the motivation right out of him, he wasn't even sure that reaching their destination would be rewarding enough to reimburse the struggle they'd faced to get there..

The tint of the setting sun on the snow and Wynn's ominous words started to gnaw at the pits of his stomach, alongside the fact the two teens had shot down his plea to think about alternate solutions. Taking a deep breath he followed Cane onto the ice. However, fearing frostbite he did not follow in the hollows that Cane had made in the ice.

The leap of nerves in his gut unbalanced him and almost instantly his foot slid on the iced surface. Not even the spiked soles of his shoes had much effect.. "What's the best way to avoid falling flat on my face?" He queried, trying to make the tone of conversation light again before lurching forward; refusing to allow his early slip to deter him. Although, if he was having trouble, what would it be like for the injured Sceyth. "To save time I could carry you..? If they really were close to the tower, perhaps he could deal with the water in his shoes... The boots were apparently semi-water proof, according to the man in the shop where Rufus had purchased them..