This time, she struck me with a punch to the shoulder, but I barely felt it.
“It was quite entertaining, though,” I went on, unable to hide my grin. “I wouldn’t call it a waste of time on my end. I had never seen youthrowyourself at someone like that.”
She made a retching sound. “I would never. Not with the likes of you.” Her lip curled as she gave me a look of utter disgust.
“Whatever you need to tell yourself, princess.”
She turned to face me, eyes blazing. Before she could yell at me, Frisk announced, “It’s right here.”
I stopped short, my heart sinking. The cavity Frisk had led us to was indeed small. If anything, it was more of a small pocket of space underneath a particularly large boulder.
I worked my jaw in frustration as I considered our options. After a moment, I nodded to myself. “Let’s get to work.”
Eira glanced at me, then Frisk. “Who are you talking to?”
“Everyone.” I unsheathed a knife from my belt and started hacking away at the ice near the boulder. “We need to build a barrier for the wind, and this pocket isn’t big enough. Help me create a ridge surrounding this area, but don’t dig too much underneath the boulder. We don’t want to risk loosening it.”
Frisk bounded forward, using his tiny paws to fling away chunks of ice and snow. Eira hesitated for a brief second before joining in, digging with her fingers. I showed them both how to pack the ice and ensure it provided a sturdy wall. When the cavity was wide enough for both me and Eira to crowd into, I scanned the skies. The wind had picked up, billowing around us. The sky was now a dark gray.
We were almost out of time.
A few leafless trees stood nearby. I reached up and grabbed two branches, then used twine from my pack to tie them together as a makeshift roof for our shelter.
“Will that hold?” Eira asked uncertainly, wiping sweat from her brow.
I shot a concerned look at her. “Take off your cloak.”
Her mouth fell open. “Excuse me?”
“If you sweat in your cloak, you’ll regret it when that blizzard hits. Trust me.”
She huffed in exasperation but flung off her cloak.
I assessed our surroundings, chewing on the inside of my cheek. “All right. This will have to do. The shelter isn’t big enough for a fire, unfortunately.” I looked at Frisk, who waspadding around the small crevice as if testing its boundaries. Kendra was nestled in Eira’s cloak on the snowy ground.
“Will you two be all right during the storm?” I asked the animals.
“I’ll be fine,” Frisk said, lifting his head. “My fur is more than enough. I’ve weathered plenty of storms.”
I nodded, then looked at Kendra. She huddled more tightly in Eira’s cloak. “I don’t feel the cold,” she said in a small voice. “I’m a Crystal Icebolt.”
I frowned. This didn’t explain anything, as I was unfamiliar with dragon species. But, assuming she knew her own kind best, I nodded at this, too. “Good. You two stay close, but protect yourselves as best you can.”
“Are we... not staying together?” Kendra’s voice turned squeaky with apprehension.
“You’re cold-blooded,” I said. “If you curl up with Eira and me, you’ll risk making us colder. And unfortunately, there’s not a lot of room here.” I gestured to the cavity.
“Surely, Kendra can stay,” Eira argued. “She’s quite small.”
“No, it’s fine.” Kendra rose from Eira’s cloak and spread her wings. “He’s right. I don’t want to make things more difficult for you. I’ll stay with Frisk.”
“I can keep her safe, Snow,” Frisk promised. “I noticed a burrow nearby we can wriggle into if the storm gets too nasty.”
Eira bit her lip, looking unconvinced.
“They are winter creatures,” I told her. “Their bodies are built for survival.”
She looked at me, eyes wide and full of fear. I expected her to glare or shoot a barbed insult my way. But right now, she was revealing her vulnerability.
