RTYY 145 – A Cold Place to Heal and Rest
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Everything was thoroughly covered in ice, ZaiWin1Literally zai (blade) + win (chaos). realized, looking around. He had wondered about the exact extent of the area that Snow was able to freeze. Taking what he now saw into account, he’d probably be able to easily freeze the entire village of Woodbridge if he wanted to, probably even more. The problem was, as he had already guessed by the way the old man had begged him for help to leave that place, Snow had also frozen the only way out, a thick wall of ice covering the entrance of the cavern.

Placing his hand against the hard, cold surface, ZaiWin could only sigh in defeat.

Even if he had enough energy to do so, he could hardly use any fire, to begin with. Not to mention that his fire markings, if he could call them that, not only were the hardest to control, they were also a thousand times colder than the ice beneath his hand.
He still had a couple of fire crystals in his pouch, but they would never hold enough power to melt such a massive wall of ice. And the only one who could actually undo it was lying unconscious against his back. Not that he would ask him to do it, even if Snow were awake. In that sense, it was actually a blessing that Snow had passed out. Stubborn like he was, if Snow had been awake he would have undoubtedly insisted in trying to unfreeze the whole thing, and ZaiWin would have probably had to knock him out anyway, in order to prevent him from using his markings.

He could always try to whack a hole through wall, he considered, but with only his remaining strength it would probably take him an entire day, which he didn’t want to risk. There was only one solution, he quickly concluded, trying to see what would wait for him outside, through the distorting ice.

It was still daytime, even though the world looked darker than it should. Which could either mean that it was already late in the evening or that there was a storm outside. He could see black surfaces and white patches and, right in front of him, a huge black wall.

Taking into account the size of the cavern where he had found him, and the fact that it was made of black, massive stone, he concluded he must be somewhere on some mountain ridge. Which meant he had to be very careful, if he didn’t want to end up falling down some cliff, he told himself, closing his eyes, allowing the darkness around him to tell him more about that place.

There was a small ledge on the other side of that ice wall, a rocky path that slithered down the mountain. The darkness in that cavern didn’t know where it led, but that small piece of information was more than enough.

Gathering all his remaining energy and focusing as hard as he could, ZaiWin slid into the darkness and allowed himself to be propelled forward by a blast of wind, all the way from where had stood behind that ice wall, to the narrow ledge outside.

He immediately lost his balance, his vision darkening, the world around him turning upside-down. And then he was falling and tumbling, unable to hold on to Snow any longer. Something icy-cold covered his mouth and face, hands and arms, and he could no longer tell where he was, or what was happening to his own body as he rolled down some steep slope. Until suddenly everything stopped again.

It took him a while to realize that he wasn’t moving anymore. A little bit more to become aware that not only he was still breathing, he was ice-cold, his leg hurting so much that he really didn’t want to move anymore.

Blinking, ZaiWin looked up at the darkening sky above his head and something soft and cold landed on his face.

Snow … it was snowing. And the moment that word entered his head he sat up with a jump and urgently looked around.

He was half-buried in a thick layer of snow, he immediately realized, the deadly edge of the steep slope leading to a dark precipice just a few feet from where he had fallen. It was a miracle that he’d stopped tumbling down the hill before he reached it, he concluded, looking back, at the even steeper ramp above him, the traces of where he’d pass by still clearly visible on the otherwise untouched white mantle of snow that seemed to cover everything in sight.

Now panicking, he quickly looked around, searching for other traces, looking for where Snow might be, his vision darkening every so often, making everything even harder to differentiate.

It would be night soon. He had to find Snow before that, ZaiWin told himself, carefully standing up. Thankfully the snow was deep and compact enough, reaching all the way up to his knees, which prevented him from sliding any closer to the edge. On the other hand, the thick snow made walking an almost impossible task, his leg hurting every time he forced it to cut through the cold, white blanket.

He had to calm down, he thought, looking around once more. He was too tired and his emotions too rilled up, which was never a good combination. Besides, if he didn’t calm down, how was he suppose to feel him? Sure, Snow’s energy force was still distorted, and ZaiWin was so spent that he couldn’t help feeling amazed at himself for still being able to stand on his two legs and keep his eyes open. But now, no matter how distorted it was, or how corrupted it had become, there was an indisputable bond connecting them again. A bond that clearly told him that Snow was still alive, that he hadn’t fallen down that cliff, and that he was somewhere close by, in the vast whiteness in front of him.

His wandering gaze halted on a small, dark lump that looked very much like a small rock, if only it didn’t move every time the cold, cutting wind, blew. And so he quickly made his way towards it, dragging himself on his belly over the snow, since there was no way he could cut a path and walk all the way up there.

He knew he had found him even before he had reached him, the sight of his silver hair gently floating in the wind making his heart beat faster. Still, he could only really relax when he was finally able to touch him, rolling him over, urgently making sure that he hadn’t been hurt. At least he couldn’t find any traces of blood, ZaiWin concluded with a sigh of relief that immediately transformed into a thick white cloud in front of his lips.

Feeling a bit more centered, he looked around once more.

They had fallen from a considerable height, but all the traces they’d left behind would soon be gone, erased by the snow that kept constantly falling. And yet he still felt that they were too close to the cavern for comfort. On the other hand, it would be night soon, and he didn’t feel confident enough to keep on walking in the dark, much less carrying Snow on his back. All he could see were high, jagged mountains, made of massive dark stone, covered in cold white snow. And he was sure that the temperature would fall considerably, once the night came. He had to find a place where they could take shelter and rest, he quickly decided, and his gaze fell on a small crack on the stone wall, not very far from where they were. If only they would both fit in there ... If only he could reach it …

Grabbing Snow by one arm, ZaiWim pulled him over his back again and focus on two simple things, reaching that small crack and breathing.

Once he finally reached it, he had to put Snow down and get down on his hands and knees, so he could crawl through the narrow opening. Luckily, even though the space inside was so low that he couldn’t sit up without hitting his head on the harsh, stone above, it was still wide enough for two people to lie down. Also, the ground beneath him, although hard and cold, at least wasn’t wet or covered with snow. And so ZaiWin quickly decided that, taking into account their present circumstances, that place would have to do.

Still kneeling on the hard stone floor, ZaiWin grabbed Snow by his shoulders he dragged him inside, sighing in relief when he too was finally allowed to lie down as well. He could finally stop forcing his depleted body to stand and move around.

With a second thought, he reached inside his pouch and took out one of the three remaining red crystals, placing it just above their heads. He wished he could use more, aware that the warmth of just one crystal would hardly be enough to fight off the biting cold. But he was sure he would need the other two later on, when the fire energy kept inside that one was completely spent.

Holding Snow’s arm he turned him on his side, making sure to carefully straighten his head so it wouldn’t be bent in some strange way. Then he untied the cloak from around his neck, using it as a blanket to cover the both of them. It was obviously wet and cold, but it would soon dry a bit, and it would become warmer as it absorbed his own body heat. They would both needed it, once the temperatures dropped, he knew.

Holding Snow’s ice-cold hands in his, ZaiWin tried to warm them a bit.

He would probably be fine, ZaiWin considered, looking at his sleeping face. The bearers of elemental daitai always held a natural resistance to their own elements. So, if anyone was at risk to freeze to death that person was probably him, he thought, lightly touching Snow’s face, the skin beneath his fingers cold and soft. With a second thought, he buried his fingers in his hair, the familiar feeling allowing him to relax, and pulled him closer, fitting Snow's head just below his chin, a sense of relief spreading through his entire body at the feeling of his rhythmic, warm breath against his chest.

He had managed to get him back, and he was still alive, still breathing. That was all he needed to know.

Closing his eyes, ZaiWin allowed his mind to relax and focus. He had work to do before he could rest. If he allowed himself to sleep without taking care of all the corrupted energy he’d absorbed just moments ago the one who probably wouldn’t wake up was him. And dying, right now, was completely out of the question!

Don't know if you guys noticed it, but Snow is really lucky that ZaiWin is the one with him. No one else could do what he's doing to save him ?? This was something I only realized when I got to actually writing this. Like, it wasn't planned in advance at all. I was writing and suddenly was like, wow! He's really lucky. I don't know how I would have saved him if this was someone else. They do belong together! ?

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