The quiet cold

Walk | Talk



She dreamed of the perfect snowflake, dancing and fluttering about her. Always out of reach of her quizzical nose, teasing her as it dipped forward, almost close enough to touch, and then it was gone again, leaving her nose touching empty air. She had at first felt a strange sense of nothingness, but as the dream progressed it took on a darker undertone. The seemingly harmless snowflake darted in, taping her on the inner muscle of her thigh, the tip of her paw. Everywhere it touched brought sudden and sharp pain. It crawled up her limbs and she yelped,

Shocked awake, eyes widening in alarm as she stared face to face with her rescuer. She possessed her mental functions now, through apparently not her voice. "Uhh" was the inarticulate word that escaped her. She realised then that the waking world didn't save her from the pain that had started in her dreams. She hoped back and forth, warmth had returned to her limbs with a fire of pins and needles. She stomped her paws on the ground, working through the feeling.

Once she was done she turned her eyes back to the kind stranger, embarrassment in the cool tones of her gaze. "Thank you. It's not every day my folly leads me so close to disaster. But it's not every day I meet a kind stranger, either. So I suppose your kindness balanced out my foolishness" a hint of a smile returned to her lips, and she arched her neck forward, sniffing. "Is that boneset? Good thinking. Your... a healer too?" She paused thoughtfully. "I'm twice blessed today it seems." And doubly surprised, too. Finding herbs in the snow was no small feat, and what was before her smelt fresh. The seasoned healer had brought her just what she needed, clearly having no problem navigating the land that was so new to the younger girl.