Lattaya’s peaks dissolved beneath a tide of ice-mists.
The wind flayed the bark from the pines with the hunger of a predator.
The timber of the hut groaned at the mercy of the wild winter squall.
After dinner one night, Idan sat back in his chair, lost in thought.
With a jerk of his chin, he rose, gesturing to Sheba.
His timbre vibrated inside her mind.
The animals won’t be able to withstand this drop in pressure, salkia. Their lungs will seize before the frost even takes them. We have to move them out of the barn and into a warm cave behind it. It’s warmed by the geothermal springs and will keep them safe during the worst chill.’
To survive the storm, they geared up.
Sheba stepped into thermals made of compressed fleece.
Over this, she hauled on bulky wool trousers.
Idan passed her a heavy parka made from snow leopard hide and lined with even denser fur.
Idan, dressed in similar gear, was cinching a long rope of braided leather around his waist, and they slipped into thick-soled boots sealed with pine resin.
He handed her a pair of gloves and goggles, the lenses cut from dark obsidian glass to prevent ice-blindness, as well as a breather mask designed to pre-warm the razor-thin air before it reached her lungs.
Idan checked the seals on her mittens, then, gripping the door handle, he braced his shoulder against the impending shove of the storm.
They stepped into the gale, where the flurry lashed them, bashing them about.
Idan tied the length of rope to the external beams of the hut.
Taking Sheba’s hand, he led her to the barn through a full whiteout, their boots sinking into drifts that rose to meet their waists.
Idan’sSsignakhtsight ignited, and a lattice of golden light carved through the blinding opacity.
He charted the hidden contours of the buried path, his eyes detecting the way forward.
Sheba clutched onto his frame until they reached the wooden doors of the stable and rushed inside.
They found the animals, shivering in the cold, staring at them.
Dropping their snow-burdened outer coats, the couple moved fast to herd the flock of sheep and the five cows into the warm confines of the inner cave.
However, they first had to lead the animals down a corridor at the rear of the huge shed.
The creatures, scared out of their wits by the howling storm, were not in the least cooperative as the pair steered the wool-heavy ewes through the limestone passageway.
Left flank, Sheba! We’ve got some escape artists!Idan rasped into her mind over the roar of nature.
He caught a stray lamb by the scruff, his muscles straining as he shoved it and its sizable mother forward.
With his firm, gentle guidance, together, they forced the panicked animals into the mountain’s gut, Idan rolling a massive granite sphere over the entrance to the warmer, cozy cave.
They returned once more to the barn from where they dragged stacked mounds of dried clover hay.
‘What about water?’ Sheba asked once back inside with the animals.
‘The cavern has a natural spring,’ Idan drawled, leading her to a simple yet effective hydration rerouting system.
