The quiet cold

Walk | Talk



The lethargy set in quickly, her head felt sluggish and old as she struggled to think beyond her crisis. She was cold, in the middle of nowhere. She knew there was a lake behind her, beyond that, she didn’t know the territory. The snow continued to fall, and the chill flakes against her damp coat began to feel warm. That was a very bad sign. She knew that, and she knew she should feel fear, but her thoughts were slow and unresponsive. She was warm and tired. She needed simply close her eyes, and everything would be okay…

A perfect snowflake fell, dancing across the air, to land on the nose of the wolf. Her pale blue eyes looked upon it, marvelling at its beauty upon the dark form of her snout. Before it had a chance to melt, a dark shape echo through the flake, and her eyes struggle to focus beyond what was immediately before her. What was that shape? Before she it could definite fully in her vision, she felt pressure on her side, something was pushing her. No, she was warm and sleepy, couldn’t they just leave her be?

The voice spoke, and the calm tones of the strange broke the spell of the cold, she blinked quickly, the movement shocking after the stillness of her body. Help, yes, she needed help. “T-thank you” she rasped, and let the woman take most of her weight, scarcely helping the stranger as she towed her forward. She hoped this wolf knew where they were going, because Riva was clueless.

The shape of a den at the base of an oak tree solidified before her, and then they were inside. She fell in a heavy heap on the den floor, wet snow falling off her in cold clumps, and she stiff body barely responded as she tried to move herself into a tight ball. The stranger seemed to know what she was doing, and curled her own body around her. Already she could feel the weight and warmth of the woman, and feeling began to creep back into her limbs. With feeling, came the terrible cold. A ferocious shiver wracked her body, and she gasped softly. She bore through it, and when it passed she began the slow, but important job of cleaning herself. She tried not to take too much of the liquid inside of herself, licking it and spitting it out. She didn’t want to lower her core temperature, but so long as she remained soaked, warming would be difficult. She washed the snow off her herself, section by section, appreciating the warmth of the woman beside her.

When at last she was done, exhaustion over took her. “My.. hero” she rasped, a wry smile on her lips, before unconsciousness tugged her under.