[IC] Athalia - Ski trip

[Animelover_princess]

- Andromeda -

when Rain explained her lack of skis Andro nodded "make-es sense" internally she wasn't being as kind 'you should have figured that out, don't let a little cold beat you' she also knew that was ridiculous, her brain simply couldn't work as fast because she was so very cold.

she was both saddened and glad that Rain knew the symptoms to look out for. very soon she wouldn't self-aware enough to take care of herself. "good... you can m-make sure I don-n't do anything s-stupid" she shivered and though she hated it, she knew it was technically a good thing, as long as she kept shivering she hadn't reached severe hypothermia. once the shivering stopped, that would be a bad thing, unless Rain somehow managed to warm her up before that.

"what idea?" Andro asked, quietly. she blinked when there was suddenly a coat in front of her "wha... that's yours....y-you shoul-ld be wearing it..." her hands closed around it regardless. "wh-hat are you doing? Rain?"

she hadn't actually put the coat on yet, she looked back down at it. God she was cold, and tired. she let go of the coat, it settled into the small area between her and Rain. "I... I can't... focus" she muttered, leaning back against the seat and muttering "tired..." she reached up and brushed her hood back to settle a hand in the snakes on her head, getting no reaction from the reptiles.

[FaithsRose]

Rain felt a smile lift her lips, despite the heaviness of her eyes as she heard Andro shiver again. "Yeah...I'll make sure" She assured her, feeling as if the burden on her shoulders was growing by the second and the pressure on her emotions was increasing.

Questions, questions, questions. Rain was really struggling to keep her temper down, she knew there was a logical reason behind it but the stress of the situation was taking it's toll on her. Andro couldn't do this alone and neither could Rain, her instincts were tuned to group work not independent work.

"I don't need it, okay? It's warm, I'm trying to warm you up" She told her, looking down at the ground again as the snowfall grew heavier. They were stuck on a figurative double edged sword...Rain needed to get Andro off of the lift and into shelter as soon as possible but she also needed to warm her up and fast.

"What?" She looked down at the coat settled between them, aware that the warmth it held was seeping away.

"No, no, no" She exclaimed, picking up the coat "Come on. You need to hold on a little longer" she leant over to lay it over Andro's front, tucking it under the bar and encouraging Andro to take her hand off of the safety bar and rest in her lap.

"Listen to me, I need you to put your hands under this coat" She told her, though she'd been hesitant before if Andro lost consciousness the gig was up, so she had no choice but to be more forceful...less distant. Carefully she slid across the seat, to press her side against Andro's consciously raising her body temperature in the hopes of sharing her warmth.

"If we warm your hands up enough, I can make you feel better...at least long enough to get us off of this thing" She explained though, she questioned whether the gorgon was still able to understand her. Sliding one of her hands under the coat to hover over one of Andro's gloved hands, hopefully not close enough to cause her discomfort like last time. She reached for Andro's other hand, hesitating as her eyes focused on Andro's sunglasses.

"Just take my hand. I promise everything is going to be okay, you are going to be okay"

[Animelover_princess]

- Andromeda -

Andro groaned slightly as the coat was tucked around her. she was aware that Rain was talking and forced herself to look towards the werewolf. she caught "... a little longer" while she did not catch the rest of the sentence she made a logical step that Rain was either saying she needed just a little longer to make up a plan, or she wanted Andro to stay awake a little longer. she remembered both being said by a terrified skier when she was a kid.

"Listen to me, I need you to put your hands under this coat" Andro stared at the werewolf for a second before nodding slightly and pulling her hands under, they got a little warmer, which brought a much welcome shiver to her. then Rain was up against her side and it was like she up against a space heater. with a shudder she leaned closer, the heat was a little overwhelming to her frozen skin but she did it regardless because she was so very cold.

she didn't actually hear Rain's next sentence, she was too distracted by the heat of the werewolf. it probably wasn't much higher then human norm but Andro was cold, and was always below human norm so it felt really really good. when a hand hovered over hers she gasped lightly, not in pain, more in surprise but she smiled a little. what little of her logical brain remained active was telling her this wasn't enough and Rain needed to figure something out quickly cause Andro couldn't. she mumbled "y-you're warm... like mom" with that slight smile on her face.

she realized Rain was talking quickly enough to catch all but the first word of the next sentence "c-course... I'll be... alright" she mumbled, hand weakly grasping Rain's "I'm a-always... fine..." she looked down at the snow "what... what are you g-going to do?"

[FaithsRose]

Rain exhaled in relief as Andro nodded and nestled into what was left of the warmth of her coat. "Better?" She asked, as Andro leant into her and shuddered. She knew that nestling against the gorgon's side wasn't a long term solution but she was hoping it would be enough for the time being or at least until she could get them off of the lift and out of the snow. With each passing second the snowfall was growing heavier and the clouds were growing darker as if a storm was heading their way.

Rain's nose wrinkled at that before she could stop herself '...great. Is mom-zoning even a thing?' it wasn't a relevant thought and certainly had no place in their current situation but it crossed her mind all the same...shocking her in the process.

"Mmm..." She hummed, unsure what to say in response to that.

The werewolf's pulse fluctuated as Andromeda grasped her hand, it was a good sign that she still had some strength.

"Of course you are" Rain murmured, with a small shake of her head. In her experience when a woman tried to assure her that she was fine it meant quite the opposite. With Andro's cold hands tucked between hers, Rain tried to gradually raise her temperature and focus her body heat into her hands and the side pressed up against the gorgon.

"Well...I'm going to take some of your pain" She told her "Or symptoms...I'll explain it later when we're off of this thing"

As she spoke ran slid one of her hands closer to Andro's wrist, unless she pulled away sharply the werewolf pressed her fingers against the gorgon's frozen skin. This time Rain was ready for it and before the pain of the flash burn could develop she transferred it back unto herself. At the same time she tried to pull as much of Andromeda's discomfort as she could. With her arm hidden under the coat, the gorgon wouldn't be able to see the spider web of black lines tracking up it.

"Then, we're going to have to either...climb over to that support" There was a small pause as Rain took a sharp breath, starting to feel the full effect of the transference and the effort required to keep her temperature as high as possible.

"Or I'll jump down there...first, y-you can follow" Rain suppressed a shiver, and grunted softly as the black lines trailed up over her shoulder.

[Animelover_princess]

- Andromeda -

she heard Rain mention pain but didn't catch the whole thing, the 'I'll explain later' made it so it didn't really matter. then Rain's hand moved up and her addled brain thought 'is she making a move on me?' the more logical part of her brain admonished herself 'this really isn't the time' she felt the heat of Rain's hand and gasped, but it didn't hurt so she didn't pull loose.

she blinked a couple times, the dark lenses of her glasses combined with the glare of snow was exceptionally annoying "it's... s-so hard to... see" she tried pulling a hand free, intending to take her glasses off, not quite being able to understand anymore why her hands felt trapped and exceptionally warm. "my... my hands..." she muttered, glancing down.

she did however manage to catch Rain's statement about the support. "hmmmmmm m-maybe... it's far..."
at Rain's second option, Andro glanced down "that's farther... y-you could... could hurt y-yourself..." she had to blink a couple times to bring herself back into focus "jumping... bad i-idea..."
the annoying part of her brain that had tried to stay logical through all this pointed out that she wasn't necessarily in the condition to climb but she didn't have much of a choice at this point.

[FaithsRose]

Rain felt a chill run through her torso as Andro stuttered out those words and then tried to pull her hand free. If anything the werewolf's grip on her hands tightened a little more, a fresh wave of worry passed through her as she realised this to be another symptom of hypothermia. The disorientation...confusion that could follow, if her information was correct Andro could start to do a manner of strange things.

"I've got your hands" Rain murmured, flicking her hair out of her face as she did "Keeping them warm for you...don't worry" She added, before trying to focus on the transference.

Her patience was wearing thin by the time she was able to start drawing out Andro's symptoms, what aggravated her the most was that by the time she was able to pull at the fog clouding the gorgon's mind her ability was practically at its limit. The dark spider web pattern had crawled up her arm and was making its way over her shoulder, her eyes shone brighter than before and the effort of the task was becoming more obvious. Her breathing became heavier as she took on the grog of Andro's hypothermia, it was like being poisoned, the way her thoughts started to become slurred and incoherent, not to mention the heavy sensation that seemed to seep into her muscles, making her arms and legs feel like lead.

It was too much to take on and with a gasp she jolted her hand back just enough to break the contact between them.

"I'm a werewolf" She grumbled at Andro, releasing the gorgon's hands and pulling her arms out from under the coat. Revealing the pattern of dark veins tracking their way up her right arm. She could only hope she'd taken enough of Andro's hypothermia to clear the other girls head...at least long enough for her to comprehend what was going to happen next.

"We're made of sturdy s-stuff" Rain involuntary shivered, looking down at her arm as her healing kicked in and attacked the nasty stuff she'd pulled into her system.

"When I-I hit the floor...I'll shout for y-you. Then you'll need to d-drop down" Rain explained trying to keep her explanation as short as possible.

Not wanting to waste a second of Andro's time, she shuffled away from the gorgon to grip the safety bar. She'd considered just snapping the safety bar away, but she was worried that Andro would fall before she was ready for her. Turning her head Rain noticed that the seat they were on had a bar running across the top of it, in a rounded rectangle, with just enough space for Andro to hold onto.

"Hold on to this" She ordered tapping the bar and even going as far as reaching for Andro's hand and placing it on the bar. "Whatever you do, do not let go, until I call" She told her, hoping that the gorgon was going to follow her advise, because in the next instant, she'd started wriggling around to get her leg up into the seat which caused the lift to wobble with her. Once her leg was up she put her foot against the bar, held on herself and pushed.

With a groan the bar gave out and sprung open with a lock crack, causing the lift to tilt forward a smidgen. Almost as soon as it sprung free, Rain had slid off of the lift and was plummeting towards the ground. Leaving Andro to hold on for dear life...

It wasn't easy to tell how much time had passed but through the blurry thrash of snow, Rain's voice traveled up to Andro, hailing her down. If the gorgon looked over the edge it might have been possible to see the blue smudge of Rain's hair, whipping around below.

[Animelover_princess]

- Andromeda -

Andro realized it was getting easier to focus, not by much but enough that she realized Rain was clearly doing something to her, she didn't feel quite as cold either, maybe Rain was taking that too. then she heard Rain gasp and the werewolf let go of her hands and Andro let out a tiny whimper as cold washed over them.
she didn't reached back out again, at this point she could understand that it probably wasn't a good idea. she could hear the shiver in Rain's voice and knew what she'd expected, Rain had taken some of her pain or whatever, she'd heard that werewolves had powers like that.

she looked up at werewolf "I-I don't... I still d-don't think this i-is a go...good idea... but fine" Rain shifted away and Andro barely held back another whimper as chill attacked her side and she shivered. her mind was clouding over again but she was aware enough that when Rain pointed to the bar and told her to hold on she nodded and let Rain move her hands. she held on, as well as she could anyway.

she watched Rain mess with the bar until it came loose and Andro barely stopped herself from sliding off as Rain went over. she watched until she disappeared into the snow-filled sky. Andro couldn't even see the ground anymore. her grip was loosening and she was freezing, without the werewolf up there with her it was even worse then before. she thought she heard Rain call, she wasn't sure but she it seemed like it and she was tired and her hand didn't want to hold on, so she let go. she slid off and gravity took hold. she was sure there was a way to fall that would make it hurt less when she landed but she was too tired to care, she just prayed Rain would catch her. she felt like she was turning to ice as the cold wind blasted around her as she fell.

[FaithsRose]

Down on the snow covered ground, Rain had managed to claw her way up and out of the snow after sinking into it on her landing. Her legs hadn't appreciated the hefty drop but they'd recovered well. Knowing that time was of the essence, she shifted slightly and looked back up at the lift, watching it sway back and forth above her...the wind had caused her to land further afield, but she was able to drag herself closer to the lift and shout up to Andro.

She shouldn't have been but she was surprised by how quickly Andro slid off of the lift, what caught her off guard about it was the way she'd slid off and the way she was now plummeting towards the ground twisting and turning like a rag doll.

'Damn it!' She didn't have the breath to even hiss those words as she sunk into a crouch before propelling herself into the air. The snow beneath her feet moved as she jumped, depriving her of optimum power but she'd known that would be the case.

A few metres above the snow, Rain's warm form enveloped the falling gorgon. Unfortunately the initial bump was a little hard as the wind had forced Rain to jump across to catch her rather than up. Wrapping her arms around Andro, Rain used her momentum to twist them in the air so that she was the one that connected with snow and the gorgon landed on top of her, hopefully taking less damage.

"Okay...that one hurt" Rain groaned, unsure what had hurt more...scraping her back across the snow or the weight on her chest. Not that Andromeda was heavy but rather Rain's chest was...delicate.

"Andro?"

It took her a few minutes to realise that Andro was a lot worse than she had been up on the lift. A fresh spark of panic flared in Rain's chest as she sat upright, pulling Andro up with her and holding her tightly against her chest.

"Hey, Andro? Hey, talk to me" She encouraged, resting Andro's head back against her shoulder and ignoring the cold dampness sinking into her trousers. "Come on..."

Consciously raising her body temperature again, she even tried to direct it all towards her front, willing her heat to cross over to Andro. If only these things could happen through thought alone...

"Stay with me" Rain murmured "Don't give up yet" reaching up she pressed her fingers against Andro's cheek, pulling the same trick she had before though this time she let some of the pain her touch caused to flood Andro's system only if the gorgon hadn't responded to her before hand.

With severe hypothermia setting in, she needed a sign that Andro was still with her. Her pulse was so weak, Rain could barely hear it beneath the rhythmic thud of her own, she wasn't even sure if she could hear her breathing beneath the whistle of the wind as the storm moved closer and the snowfall whipped around them faster, edging its way towards being a blizzard.

[Animelover_princess]

- Andromeda -

a thud jarred Andro back to reality. she was lying against something warm, and it moved beneath her. she felt slight vibrations in whatever she was against. she couldn't quite understand what they meant. God was she cold, why was she so cold? and why was everything so dark? 'I think my eyes are closed' she thought 'when'd that happen?'
she heard something, she was pretty sure it was her name, but she didn't have the energy to respond. it seemed to get warmer again, but not enough, it was like she was made of ice.

a light stab of pain and heat made her eyes flutter open and her breath hitched. her eyes weakly looked up to see the werewolf looming over her. so that's what she was leaning against. she looked worried, she wondered why. 'you're dying dumbass' she thought suddenly 'no wonder she's worried' with a little groan and a whole lot of effort, Andro managed to pull her head up to get a better look at her companion's face and muttered "Rain... thanks..." she felt heavy and tired but she managed to dredge up what energy she had "we have to... to get out of here..."

[FaithsRose]

Rain exhaled in relief as Andromeda opened her eyes, she kept her fingertips against the gorgon's cheek, transferring over what she could. The black lines seemed to slide up her fingertips, tracking across the veins in the back of her hand as the poison made its way through her bloodstream.

She inclined her head in acknowledgement of Andro's thanks, dropping her eyes from the sunglasses down to inspect the rest of the gorgon's snow suited body. It'd been close but it looked as if they'd both managed to make it with only minor injuries, the cut on Rain's back had already closed leaving nothing but a smear of blood and a thin pink line in its wake. And the few burns she'd gathered from the snow were well on their way to healing, unfortunately they were taking longer because she was pulling more things to heal into her system.

A shiver ran through her as the wind whipped against her back, grazing her raw skin as it whistled past them.

"Yes, captain obvious...we do" Rain murmured in response, her lips lifting in an amused manner. It wasn't the time for light hearted jests but their situation was becoming so dire, she couldn't see it doing any harm.

"Can you move?" She asked Andro, already figuring the answer wouldn't be positive after how much it seemed to have taken for Andromeda to lift her head a moment ago.

"I can carry you...but not this way" Rain added, hoping that Andro was still capable of understanding her. "What's that damn human word for it?" She mumbled under her breath, her brow furrowing as she tried to remember it.

"Can't sodding remember...what I need you to do, is unzip the front of your coat in a minute and then put your arms around my neck okay?" The werewolf tested, she wondered if it was worth explaining herself but decided that the less talk she threw at Andro the better. She'd do it her way for now and simply show Andro what she meant.

Rain begun to shuffle, pulling her legs up towards her body without breaking the contact between herself and the gorgon, she wanted to drain away as much of the hypothermia as possible before doing so...unfortunately by now it's severity was far beyond Rain's ability. Even if she did take as much as she possibly could, the chances were it would only scratch the surface, maybe make Andromeda a little aware at least. The only thing it definitely would have done was helped her to move her muscles, the lethargy and discomfort there was an easy transfer unlike the rest...still it was questionable whether this would help if Andro's mind was still foggy.

"Do it now, Andro" Rain told her, before she withdrew her hand and scooted her legs underneath, pressing her hand up against Andro's side to make sure she didn't topple over, Rain very awkwardly turned herself around so she was facing away from Andro and was down on one knee, carefully repositioning herself so that Andro was now leant against her back.

"Now grab on" She sunk down as much as she could so that Andromeda didn't have far to reach but the situation was going to be awkward either way. Trying to get an unresponsive person on one's back was not an easy feat, but in Rain's mind it was the best place for Andro to be, Rain wouldn't be able to be her wind breaker but the coat should have been thick enough for that and this way Andro would be able to absorb more of the heat Rain had to offer.

'Damn luna cycle! Why couldn't we be blessed with the ability to change forms at will?!' she silently cursed her ancestors as she glanced over her shoulder., being a large anthropomorphic creature with a thick coat would have been a blessing right now...she was even sure her desire to protect Andro would override her wolf self's desire to kill her.

[Animelover_princess]

- Andromeda -

when Rain asked if she could move, she tried, she really did and she could, to a degree, not enough to get anywhere though. so she shook her head lightly "not... really..."

she was barely keeping her eyes open, let alone on the werewolf, but through great force of will she heard the next sentence, she didn't respond, just nodded a little. she'd never weighed a whole lot, it shouldn't be too much trouble for Rain to carry her, and the woman was taller then her so height wasn't an issue either. Andro was likely a little malnourished in all honesty, she never ate much. 'No, stop, focus, Rain's saying something' she thought, dragging her focus back to the werewolf as she was saying that she needed to open her coat. 'not the greatest plan, but it is a plan' she thought, staring up at the werewolf. it was only when Rain started to move that Andro realized she'd given her no assent or dissent to that plan but she was doing it anyway. it was better then nothing.

she let herself be brought around to Rain's back, it was really warm but she didn't have the energy to shiver. she missed Rain telling her to do it the first time but when she said it the second time she managed to drag her arms up and around Rain's neck, clasping them weakly."got...it..."

[FaithsRose]

Rain ground her teeth together as she turned away from Andro, the lack of response from the gorgon both worried and frustrated her. Even if she knew in the back of her mind it wasn't Andro's fault, she hadn't experienced anything like it before so she couldn't understand what Andro must have been going through...if she'd taken a moment to think it over she might have been able to see the similarities between it and wolfsbane poisoning....

But in all honesty her mind was focused on the task at hand. When Andro's arms weakly slid around her neck, Rain released the air from her lungs, visible in the cloud that swept free of her lips.

"Try and hold on, I'll lift you up" The werewolf told her, reaching behind her she pulled Andro round before lifting her up onto her back. If the gorgon hadn't undone her coat, the werewolf quickly did so before leaning forward and encouraging Andro to lean against the heat she could offer.

Once she had done this Rain pulled herself up onto her feet, holding Andro in place on her back she shrugged her up so that she was easier to hold onto.

"Piggyback...that was the word I was looking for earlier..." She mumbled, awkwardly tugging the edge of Andro's coat around her sides. Even if it wasn't air tight, the heat radiating from Rain's body seemed to be enough to practically envelope the gorgon and the insulation of her coat helped to trap the heat for longer still.

"Stay awake up there..." Rain told her as she dragged her feet through the snow and headed back in the direction they'd come. The storm was getting worse and seeing things through the blizzard of snow was becoming difficult, even for Rain but she was sure she could see one of the towers ahead.

---A few hours later---

It wasn't clear how long they had been walking for, even though Andro was light the effort it had taken to get them both through the snow had taken it's toll on Rain. She'd lost sight of the shadow she had thought had been a tower ages ago, they'd passed by frost tinted evergreens and steep slopes but the ski lodge was nowhere to be seen.

Luckily, at some point they'd passed through a forest and had come face to face with an ice covered mountain face. Rain had followed it until she'd found an opening. From there things had started to look up or so she hoped...She'd had to put Andro down and wrap her in her coat, before travelling back out into the storm.

Right at this second she was crouched next to Andro and a pile of dried out timber. Rain only knew how'd she managed to get it.

"Come on, don't go out on me now you useless..." She muttered, zapping the bottom of the fire with a short burst of lunar energy. The second time she did it, there was a spark and a tiny flame was lit.

"Gotcha'" She exclaimed, a triumphant smile on her face as she willed the fire to grow. The wind's direction meant it wasn't coming into the cave for the time being, which meant it wasn't a threat to Andro or the baby flame as it got it's bearings and started to grow. With the flame back up to full strength, it could provide Andro with more warmth.

Rain exhaled a sigh as she sat back on the cold ground, looking over at Andro as she did. Her mind was already trying to figure out what else she could find to help her. Her eyes were focused on the gorgon but judging by the glazed look she had, her mind was elsewhere, which is probably why she wouldn't have noticed if Andromeda was awake or asleep.

[Animelover_princess]

- Andromeda -

she tried to stay awake, she really did. as they walked her head was still cold, it lay against Rain's shoulder but wasn't covered by her coat like the rest of her. it confused her a little, why her head felt so much colder then her body, though her body wasn't warm by any stretch of the word. slowly, the warmth emanating from her companion's back and the almost rocking motion of Rain's gait slowly dragged her towards unconsciousness, even as she struggled to stay awake.

she was jarred slightly as she was lain down on freezing stone. the absence of the heat from before made her cry out slightly and her hands instinctively reached out but when they left the slight warmth of the coat she pulled them back. she didn't bother to open her eyes, and she couldn't hear anything and slowly she slipped back into unconsciousness.

warmth touched her face and she mumbled slightly, shifting towards it. her hand reached out, and this time it didn't feel like she was plunging it into the snow. the closer it moved the warmer it got, though she stopped from reaching any farther. slowly she could pull herself back to consciousness, and after some time she managed to pull her eyes open to see a fire burning in front of her. she was still so cold but the fire was certainly helping, but she knew she needed help. 'where's Rain?' she thought, numbly, 'she didn't leave me did she?' her eyes roved but she couldn't see much from her position but she barely caught sight of Rain's black hair. she felt the need to actually see her though, so she twisted slightly until she was on her back, rather then her side. Rain was staring at her but she could tell that Rain wasn't really looking at her "Rain...?" she muttered "you ok? ... where are we?"

[FaithsRose]

Rain started as Andromeda spoke, the only hint of her surprise was a brief widening of her eyes before they focused on the gorgon's face.

"Hey..." Rain murmured, lifting a hand up to push as section of her dark blue hair away from her forehead.

"I'm still here" She assured Andro, the edge of her mouth twitched up briefly before she looked over into the fire.

"That I can't say, you passed out on me back there...I was too worried about you to remember which direction to go in. We're just lucky this cave is here" Rain answered her, hugging her knees closer to her body as she did. She knew there was more to be done, Andro needed more warmth if she was going to get any better. The fire wasn't as good as normal fire, she had reluctantly used her luna energy to start it when the fire wouldn't take.

"How are you feeling now?" She asked Andromeda, looking side long at her as she did.

She'd pulled the hood of the coat up over Andro's head after she'd briefly woken up and she'd done her coat back up to try and trap as much warmth in as possible. But she knew it wasn't going to be enough...she needed to figure out what else she could use, to keep Andro warm, albeit herself.

A few ideas had crossed her mind but even the urgency of their situation hadn't been enough to fight off the embarrassment each one brought, Rain had angrily shaken them from her head and willed the blood away from her frostbitten cheeks as she trudged through the snow.

"We passed by a few evergreens...I'll go back and see if I can get a few branches for you to lay on. It won't be much but it'll be better than that floor" She told her after allowing her to answer her question.

Her eyes drifted to the front of the cave, the occasional cold draft was still flowing in across the floor but overall they had escaped the lashing snow storm. Just looking at it caused a shiver to run down Rain's spine, she was definitely better suited to the cold than Andro was but she was regretting discarding her coat earlier. She couldn't suffer any lasting damage from the snow, providing she was careful but she still had to live through the pain of frost burns and aching muscles when she ventured out into the snow. Each time she had to heal or alter her body temperature she had to use up precious energy. As she thought this her stomach rumbled, reminding her it required filling soon.

"Sorry, I skipped breakfast..." She apologised, rolling her shoulders and stretching her legs out to rest next to the fire. It was going to need more fuel soon, unfortunately she'd used all of the dry twigs near the entrance of the cave so now she had to hope the boughs of the evergreens weren't too wet...

[Animelover_princess]

- Andromeda -

she stared up at the werewolf for a minute before laying her head back down "l-lucky us..." she muttered, managing a tiny smile. her response to how she was feeling was a groan. she curled in on herself slightly before saying "M-mainly... I... I'm just t-tired..." she opened an eye to look up at her companion "cold... really cold... but warmer..." she tried to focus on herself, to try and see if anything was wrong, she realized one thing, she could barely feel her hands and feet, she was that cold. "can't... really f-feel... my hands though..." she muttered, pulling them into her chest, even compared to her already freezing body they felt like they were made of ice.

her mind was wandering a bit but she caught the comment on evergreens. would that be more comfortable or less? she thought. a manic giggle worked it's way out her throat when Rain's stomach growled. she actually couldn't remember the last time she ate, but Andro hadn't always been the best about eating anyway, and she was numb enough she probably couldn't tell if she was hungry or not. "it's...ok" she answered "I... I t-think I did too..."

she found herself thinking about the last time this happened. "w-when I was a kid..." she said "My mom... she took me to an exclusive ski resort... it was her favorite place to go be...before I was born and she hadn't been a-able to go since she had me... she didn't like me very much... I was... I think I w-was 10... she took me down one of the harder trails but I didn't know what I was doing... I lost my footing and crashed into a snow drift... it was cold... really cold..." she lost her train of thought for a minute, lapsing into quiet but after a minute she got back on track and kept talking
"a skier stopped t-to make sure I was alright..." she chuckled "I wasn't... he started panicking, looking for my mom... when she got to the bottom she turned around and came back... I can't go to the h-hospital, I'm not even... even human... so she bundled me up and... and took me to the family doctor, said I'd nearly died of the cold...I had nightmares for weeks..." she wasn't sure why she was saying all of that out loud, it just kept coming. she let out a humorless laugh "I heard her, a couple days later... telling one of the maids I'd ruined the trip... she never made me ski after that though..." she let out a shiver "god, I-I'm cold."

after sometime she said "h-hey... Rain? I... I have a q-question"

[FaithsRose]

Rain's eyes narrowed as worry creases spread from the corners of her eyes, her brow furrowed slightly. She thought on what Andro said before she shuffled a little closer to her.

"If you can, pull your arms out of the sleeves of your coat and into your chest...I'll tie off the sleeves to stop any heat from escaping. See if you can't get your fingers under your armpits" Rain told her, lifting an eyebrow as she thought over her words. "It's the warmest part of most people's bodies" She added.

Her communication skills were improving, she was almost use to using her voice as much as her actions. Providing Andro did as Rain told her to, the werewolf leant over to tie off the ends of her sleeves in loose knots, before she shuffled back again, keeping one of her legs bent she tucked the other underneath it and leant her arm on her elevated knee.

Andro's giggling caused Rain to look at her with a raised eyebrow, quietly asking what she found so funny. Color tinted her cheeks and her mouth curved up into a half smile.

"Ah...not sure if I'm glad to hear that or not really" Rain murmured, there was a sense of comradery there but it was tainted by logic, if Andro hadn't eaten either it was another point to the bitter cold working against her. The werewolf was quiet once more as she tallied up everything working against their favour...well Andro's favour, Rain was only in danger of suffering.

Her eyes flickered from the fire to Andro resting on her as she breached the silence that had fallen between them. She swallowed a lump in her throat as she listened, mothers were a sore spot for her as well...hearing Andromeda's story opened wounds she thought had healed. Though the gorgon's tale was far darker than her own, to be openly hated by her own mother...that was something Rain couldn't understand, only the sense of betrayal such a thing could bring on. She was respectfully silent as Andromeda told her tale, her eyes occasionally looking at the storyteller but mostly focused on the blue flames of the fire, licking its way across the charred branches of the wood.

When Andro's story came to an end and she shivered, Rain found herself searching for the right words to say. She couldn't not react to it, her first instinct was to revert to a custom she had witnessed throughout her lifetime, one that had been used on her...but with Andro's hands tucked inside her coat it wasn't possible. That and Rain was sure the meaning was only clear to her species. Instead she did the next best thing and shuffled closer to Andro, resting a hand on her shoulder, she gripped it gently through the fabric of her coat in a reassuring squeeze. 'You're not alone anymore' it was what such an action was supposed to say, but the words caught on Rain's tongue.

"It must have been hard..." Rain murmured, her hand still resting on Andro. Which was a bit of a duh statement really but despite all her progress she was still only werewolf and mistakes were unavoidable. Setting her jaw as she tried to contain the swirl of emotions, Andro's story had provoked.

"It wasn't your fault though. We don't spring out of the womb knowing how the world turns round, we depend on our parents to teach us. Your mother ruined her ski trip all on her own by forgetting her duty to you" Her voice was unnaturally tense as she spoke and she wasn't worried if she'd crossed any boundaries. Another downside of her werewolf mannerism's, she wasn't attuned to other's boundaries yet...all she could think about was the selfishness of Andro's mother's actions. It probably didn't help that selfishness was one of her pet hates.

After sometime, Rain decided that she couldn't delay getting some more branches any longer. Withdrawing her hand if Andro hadn't already shrugged it off, she made forward as if she was going to get up. Her ears pricked as Andro spoke to her, she stopped halfway up, resting down on one knee she turned back to Andromeda.

"Hmm?" She hummed "What is it?"

[Animelover_princess]

- Andromeda -

Andro did as she was told, her arms moved stiffly but she managed to pull them in with a slight shiver. she couldn't quite manage to get them to her armpits but they already felt warmer now bundled up inside the coat next to her chest. she could actually feel her heartbeat and was a little worried herself at how slow it was. it blood was half-frozen, it would be difficult to make it circulate. she was however, also sure it had gotten faster. she was only half-paying attention so she wasn't actually sure if Rain tied off the coat arms like she said she would or not. it didn't matter much to her.

"Ah...not sure if I'm glad to hear that or not really" Andro smiled a little and tried shrugging but it probably looked more like full-body shiver "I... I d-don't eat much... to begin with..." she never had much of an appetite, probably because of her unique bio-chemistry, she just didn't need as much food as the average human. on top of that her mother had been pretty insistent that Andromeda maintained a perfect hourglass figure. she didn't feel the need to voice either of those thoughts at that point though.

she was rather glad Rain didn't speak while she was telling her story, she likely would have completely lost her train of thought and as bad as her concentration was she wouldn't have been able to get it back. she partially forgotten the werewolf was there until her hand landed on her shoulder. she would have jumped if she wasn't exhausted, then she smiled and leaned into it. "It must have been hard..." Andro just laughed a little at that.
"It wasn't your fault though. We don't spring out of the womb knowing how the world turns round, we depend on our parents to teach us. Your mother ruined her ski trip all on her own by forgetting her duty to you" Andro went still for a second then chuckled a little "i-it took... me a r-really long t-time... to figure that... out..." she muttered.

she didn't realize Rain had started to move until she stopped but she'd already spoken by then so she figured she may as well ask her question. "Rain... i-if I... Don't make i-it... don't..." a heavy shiver interrupted her but she kept going anyway "don't leave me... ok?" she looked up, trying to catch Rain's eye "it's not... it's not fair t-to you but... I don't want-t... to be left out here..."

[FaithsRose]

Rain noticed Andro's full body shiver, her mind easily mistaking it for that. "Really? Is that because your a gorgon or is that a you thing?" She asked, her lips twitching into a ghost of a smile. "Sorry, I'm just looking for perspective...to a were, just the idea of not being able to eat much is kind of unnerving"

She kind of hoped she'd get an answer but once Andro started talking about her past, the werewolf all but forgot about her question. It seemed irrelevant now anyway, Rain was glad that Andro didn't seem to mind her hand. Even more so when she actually leant into it, a part of her wondered if it was because the heat of her palm was sinking into the coat but the other hoped it was because she understood the notion behind it. The werewolf glanced down at Andro with a raised eyebrow as she went still, wondering if she'd crossed the line, even if she had she wouldn't have retracted her words.

"...At least you did" Rain murmured, giving Andro's a light squeeze before she pulled her hand back. There was more to her statement than met the eye, the way the words left her lips in a wistful sigh, the tenseness that settled around her eyes. No sooner had it appeared it was gone and they'd moved on as Rain got to her feet.

What Andro said to her next all but stopped her in her tracks though. Her eyes dropped to the ground as her jaw tightened, her brow furrowed further as she listened. The defeated ring to the speech, figuratively got Rain's hackles up enough for her eyes to flash angrily as she looked back up at Andro, her lips parted in preparation to berate the gorgon for her words. Had their eyes met it might have halted those words in their tracks, instead the werewolf was treated to a reflection of herself in Andro's sunglasses. Purple eyes glowing, fangs visible between her lips, anger etched into her expression, it reminded her where she was in the cycle. Her anger was misplaced and after a sharp reminder to control her emotions better, she bit her tongue and allowed a small rumbling growl to pass through her chest. Afterwards, she was quiet for a long moment as she digested Andro's comment properly.

"It isn't fair..." Rain murmured after a moment "I can't go through this again Andro. I can't be responsible for another death" Confusing words perhaps, but what Rain couldn't express was the sense of responsibility she had over their situation. If Andro didn't make it, it would be Rain's fault and her fear of failure ran as deep as Andro's fear of being alone.

It wasn't just that of course, there were other confusing thoughts thrown intot he mix. The werewolf was also struggling to see the significance. To her people once the jig was up, the spirit left the body, the body became nothing more than a husk, a degrading memory. It was no longer important, no longer that person. Her people valued the rites of maturity far more than the body, they would gather them after battles, make perilous journey's to retrieve them. A part of her struggled with the concept of what she was being asked...such dark thoughts weren't helping her cope any better with their situation.

As her thoughts bubbled in her mind, she subconsciously reached up to finger the braid tucked between her ear right ear, the action for the most part was hidden from Andro because she was on the left side of the werewolf. Realising what she was doing, Rain retracted her hand and more confusing thoughts pressed in on her. With a sigh she got to her feet, rolled her shoulders and she looked out at the blizzard raging just past the mouth of the cave.

"So the only way I can promise to not leave you, is if you promise to do the same" The werewolf looked back over at Andro's sunglasses. "There's only one way we're getting out of here together"

Perhaps it was harsh. Why couldn't Rain just bury her pride and give her word? Why couldn't she give Andro the comfort she sought?

Like most things surrounding Rain it was a mystery why, yet very much like her.

"Listen, this fire isn't going to last much longer, I've got to go get some more wood"

She looked over at Andro before, pressing her palms together, slowly pulling them apart to reveal a small sphere of luna energy between them. With a small smile, she tapped the ball into the air. An eery blue tinged light, spread about the cave, funneling out of the bottom of the sphere. The sphere pinged back and forth, seeming to search any crevices it could find before it came over to Andro. Inquisitively flying over the top of her before floating near her head, clearly content as it drifted back and forth. It was close enough to her that she could feel the heat coming off of it. The heat left much to be desired, it was better than the brisk air around the cave.

"Try and get some rest whilst I'm gone...Glitch here will keep you company until I get back" Rain offered, at the mention of it's name the small sphere, released an odd tinkling noise and whizzed round in a tight circle. Glitch, talk about scraping the barrel, but it was clear Rain hadn't thrown a lot of thought into the name of her creation.

Once this was said the werewolf turned and disappeared out into the snow storm. Not due to return for a fair few hours.

-A few hours later-

When she did come back, she busied herself by adding wood to the fire and laying out branches on the floor -across from Andro- like a blanket. There were patches of pink grazes adorning her skin where she'd been injured by the flurrying snow but even in the dark glow of the cave it was clear to see they were healing, if not slower than usual.

[Animelover_princess]

- Andromeda -

Andro wasn't sure if she imagined the wistful tone to Rain's voice, she wasn't sure what it could have meant. she liked having Rain's hand on her though, it was nice and made her feel like she wasn't alone. then her hand was gone and the werewolf was standing up. Andro let out a tiny longing sigh at the loss of connection.

she watched Rain's reaction, it didn't quite register, her brain was still fuzzy but she saw the anger and couldn't tell if it was directed at her or not. she looked at Rain's glowing eyes and all she could really think is 'it's so pretty... God she's so pretty' but she didn't say anything as the were seemed to be thinking very very hard. finally, her companion spoke "It isn't fair... I can't go through this again Andro. I can't be responsible for another death" Andro didn't understand the words but she understood the meaning, it was effectively the same reason she was still wearing sunglasses. she'd killed someone before she was even a week old, and it had haunted her her entire life. it wasn't even someone she knew, Rain was clearly blaming herself for someone she knew. Andro quietly reached out a hand, having to unzip her coat just a little so she could reach out, and touching whatever part of Rain she could reach, probably her leg. she hoped she could get across her thought with just that touch.

Rain's next sentence actually had her smiling a little. Andro nodded slightly "I'll... do my best..." she shivered "I-I don't exactly... want to die..."

Rain subject change actually had Andro's addled brain confused for a second but she got the idea and watched as Rain created what looked like a beautiful orb of light, it was warm too, though not as warm as Rain had been. it made Andro smile again, looking up at it. Andro giggled a little when the orb was introduced as "Glitch" but she nodded and bundled a little closer, pulling her arms back in to her chest. it took her a little while but she drifted back into sleep.

she stirred when she heard sticks hitting the ground in front of her and she slowly blinked her eyes open. she got very confused for a second. she was warmer and her head was a little clearer but she still couldn't quite remember where she was or what was going on. she just remembered Rain was supposed to be there. as her eyes searched for the girl she quietly called out "Rain...?" she shifted and groaned a little, she had feeling back in her hands and feet and it hurt a little. "wha... what's g-going on? W-where are we?"

[FaithsRose]

Rain glanced down at Andro's hand as it brushed against her thigh, the gesture for the most part gave a sense of comfort, though the motion wasn't enough to convey the similar burden Andro carried. It also offered a reassurance that words simply couldn't bring, especially to a werewolf such as Rain. It was enough to relax her, even if only for a brief moment. At Andro's positive response to her terms, Rain gave her a curt nod and a twitch of a smile as she conjured up Glitch.

-A few hours later-

As Andro started to stir, the small ball of light whizzed over to her shaking itself to create a high pitched tingling noise as it brightened enough to send a dim glow around the cavern they were in. Rain lifted her eyes briefly to look over at the gorgon before continuing with her work. The light was probably just enough to help Andro make out the werewolf across the fire as she dragged another branch into the entrance of the cave, a shiver running the length of her body as she recovered from the biting coldness of the blizzard outside.

"Relax Andro. We're still in the cave, no-ones found us yet. I'm just dragging in some timber" Rain told her as she pulled another long branch across the stony floor with a whoosh and placed it next to the others.

It didn't look like the comfiest thing in the world but Rain could only hope it'd at least help Andro keep some heat in her body. Brushing the flakes of snow from her shoulders, the werewolf walked around the fire. There was a distinct lack of rubber grazing against stone, rather there was the soft thud of flesh, suggesting Rain might have completely lost her mind and gone bare foot.

"How are you feeling?" She asked, coming to crouch in front of Andro, far enough back that she wasn't immediately in her face.

The werewolf's blue locks were damp with snow, little flecks of white ran throughout it clinging to strands here and there. Every so often her shoulders quivered as if she were cold, though she wasn't complaining as such. Her eyes were still glowing, fangs visible between her lips when she spoke and to one observant enough there were now red specks and the occasional brown smudge on the front of the white vest top she was wearing.

Rain gave the gorgon a few moments to answer her question before she ran her clawed fingers carefully through her hair, smoothing out some of the snowflakes. Glitch floated over to her, bumping against her arm until she waved it away with an irritated grunt and sent it back to Andro's side.

"I got the branches...are you ready to move off of this cold floor?" She asked "It won't be much better for a while, but they'll warm up" She assured her.

"Can you walk...or...?" Rain trailed off and held out her arms, as if doing so was enough of an explanation of the alternative. It was good for her, usually she didn't ask permission...