We start walking, retracing the path I made here. The massive footprints seem surreal now, not able to see myself from the outside looking in. I can see from our eyes when my dragon’s in the driver’s seat, but I’ve yet to get a good look at myself for the reality to actually sink home.
The trees help to offer a small buffer against the wind, and despite knowing I’m heading even farther away from the guys, there’s no way we’re going to survive marching across such open plains as two women and a mutant baby. If I can just get warm, let my dragon have time to recoup, I can fly us home.
I can do this. Gods know I’ve done more impossible things.
We walk for close to an hour before the ground ceases being so level, rising and dipping in shallow hills. When we reach a more dramatic drop off, an iced over river with wide, dry banks beside it, we carefully work our way down. It shields us from the worst of the wind, and the majority of snow crests over us instead of settling here.
Barely able to feel my fingers, I struggle prying a decent rock loose from the alcove in front of us, trying to deepen the space. Fumbling the stone, I quietly thank Tim as he jumps in and the three of us start chipping away at the already naturally formed indent in the ravine wall.
It’s ungodly slow going, but all of the exertion helps get our blood pumping a little more. As chunks of rock tumble to our feet, I send up a silent thanks that nothing here is setting off my hoarding instinct, whether that’s because of my dragon being passed out, or that nothing here is shiny enough.
We eventually expand the space until it’s big enough for the three of us to fit inside, though I’m a panting mess by the end of it. Triple checking that it won’t collapse on us, I urge the two of them inside out of the cold, reluctantly heading back out.
“Where are you going?” Faye asks through chattering teeth and I give her a weak smile.
“Firewood. You two sift through the rocks for ones that look good for striking, alright?”
“You can do that?” Timmy wonders, trying to hide the tremors rocking his frail body.
“I’m amazing. I thought you’d realized that by now?” I breathlessly joke, rubbing my hands over my arms and jumping in place to try and stave off the cold. “You’ve known me for what, almost two hours? That’s more than enough time. Get with the program, Tim.”
He meets my wink with a small, nervous smile. “My bad. Hurry back so you can show me, okay?”
With a thumbs up, I head out, foraging for something to burn. Kindling doesn’t come easily though, everything coated in several inches of snow. Glancing above me I groan, shaking my arms out in determination. With a running leap, I catch the bottom branch, pulling myself up with muscles I haven’t had to use in a while, getting spoiled in my cushy new habitat. Finding the smallest twigs that can’t even be called branches, I start snapping them off, gathering them in one hand.
“What I wouldn’t give for a shirt. Or pockets.” With a deep breath I hop down, the snow cushioning the landing, but also making me slip. I wind up landing on my ass, hard. “Motherfucker!”
Care to weigh in?
Only silence meets me, and I glance around, ensuring it stays that way. Last thing I need right now is to find out I actually am one of those animals raised in captivity and gone soft, unable to be released back into the wild. If someone were to get the drop on me now, without a weapon and my dragon hibernating to stay alive, I’d be royally fucked.
Getting to my feet, I make my way back to the mock-cave, crawling inside and situating the makings for the fire at the entrance. “So full disclosure, there’s some cons that come with this. Someone could see the smoke and come investigate, and if enough smoke starts filling the cave to where it’s hard to breathe, we’re going to need to risk inching it more outside and pray the wind doesn’t put it out.”
“J-just,” Faye chatters, lips purple. “Warm, please. Don’t care.”
With a shaky hand she passes me an assortment of stones the two of them picked out and I select the best possibilities. Nearly half an hour passes before I get an ember going and I guard that sweet, sweet fire baby with my life, coaxing it into growing.
“What do we do now?” Tim murmurs, half asleep and I panic.
Pulling him onto my lap I shake him, reluctantly smacking his cheek a few times to wake him up. “Hey, no sleeping on the job. Who’s going to protect us if you’re napping?”
He blinks a few times, his bleary, amber eyes locking onto me. Scrunching up my face, I glance over at Faye, starting to put two and two together, but not willing to confront her about it in front of him.
“Wouldn’t be fair,” he murmurs groggily and I run my hands over his arms, trying to warm him up until the fire catches and combats the cold far better than I can.
“Exactly. I don’t pay you to laze around.”
His lips twitch. “You’re paying me?”
With a snort, I tug Faye closer until we’re all huddled up as close to the flames as possible without falling in. “Not with that attitude I’m not. Get your shit together, Timmy.”
“You cussed,” he accuses, tucking his hands inside of his shirt against his sides in a bid to keep his fingers from falling off.
“I’m a lady. Nobody swears better than a lady.”
Despite trying to keep up a steady stream of chatter, my eyes grow heavy. Faye drifts off first, and I can’t pull her back awake. Only after feeling her steady pulse do I relax a bit, knowing we need to preserve whatever strength we can if we’re going to make it home. Now that the fire’s roaring, we only have so much time before someone comes to investigate the smoke.
Just a few minutes to close my eyes, to rest and warm back up. Then I’ll be able to fly us home and everything will be okay.
