Woooh!
Light crept through the dark, as eyelashes flashed.
Riven stirred first, a faint groan slipping.
"Hmm....."
The chill pressed in straight away.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Something soft was beneath his head.
Not a slab of stone and not rough fur placed underneath.
It was warmer.
Breathing, steady.
He shifted slightly, only then realising his head rested against Saphira's whilst hers mirrored him.
Strands of gold flirted around his nose and face, before he slightly moved.
"...haa"
Her faint breath clouded under the dim cave light, seemingly responding to the absence of touch.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Mael's Fang rested alongside the two, placed on Riven's lap.
Hum...
A faint hum floated as if it too had awoken.
His fingers glided over to his companion, soft and caring, before he turned to Saphira.
Staring at her face....it was the first spots of peace he'd witnessed in this storm.
Wooooh!
Her lips faintly twitched, inaudible whispers joining the drips of the cave overhead.
"...haa"
'That face...'
Sitting up, the blanket covering her lightly undid, an action he immediately rectified.
Drip. Drip.
Fingers once numb, now covered slightly with a few extra patches of fur.
The effect wasn't much, but it certainly helped, combating the frostbite of before.
Riven wrapped her gently with the blanket over-head.
Wooooh!
The wind sung, spreading faint washes of gusts deeper in the cave, as if mocking his action.
With the fire fluttering away, the warmth of their touch....seemingly made the night more habitable.
Drip. Drip.
A silence ran with Riven the only one awake.
His grey eyes looked around.
It was the same desolate cave, the same cold walls of stone, and the same entrance leading out to.....
'....It's not a dream'
It definitely wasn't.
The cold made sure to remind him.
Wooooh!
A faint rustle.
Drip. Drip.
Her breath shifted against him.
"ha..."
Saphira stirred, lashes quivering before those crimson eyes cracked open.
"..Riven?" her voice was hoarse, croaked from the morning chill.
He turned his head slightly.
"You're awake."
Focus returned slow as she blinked.
The weight of exhaustion was heavy on her face.
Wooooh!
"...haaa"
She drew the blanket tighter around her shoulders, pressing back against the stone wall.
Drip. Drip.
For a moment, they just listened to the storm wailing beyond, faint particles of white wafting through the air.
Saphira's eyes were unfocused.
A thousand things passed behind them--
home, warmth, her father's voice.
Fragile memories that seemed cruel now.
"....We can't stay here forever", she whispered.
A thought.
A passing thought, thin and wavering, swallowed by the storm.
Wooooh!
But it was true.
Riven knew it was.
Of course he did.
But....what else did they have.
Those grey glazed eyes shifted to the corner; atop a pile of stone was their food.
Hardly anything at all, a few pieces of flesh to feast upon.
They were already stiff with frost.
Not enough.
Not nearly.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
"Haaa...." his breath spilled, curling pale in the air.
What was the plan?
Woooooh!
His eyes turned back to Mael's Fang.
Hum...
Do they stay here; a slow descent to certain death?
Or go?
Go, and try.
To find a way.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
His eyes slid to her.
Resting.
Final.
Grey eyes met red.
"You're right....we have to move."
Her lips parted, eyes widening slightly.
'...huh'
She wanted to argue....but she had ultimately voiced the option.
But....to leave this soon?
With no plan?
No idea of the surroundings?
No sound came through those parted lips.
"haa....."
Only her breath; pale and shallow spilled.
Woooohh!
The wind howled, a constant reminder of what awaited.
"....We really can't stay."
Her voice was thin, frayed at the edges, but somewhat steady.
A faint light emerged in her eyes.
She wanted to return home.
Back to warmth, back to her family.
'...Father'
Riven's gaze lingered on her, but his thoughts were elsewhere.
Back to that night.
His hands shook slightly....
It wasn't the cold.
Back to those ember slits searing the dark.
Closer.
Always closer.
He had seen it in his dream too...
She wanted to go home?
She didn't know what was out there.
She couldn't.
For a moment, he almost envied that little spark returning to those crimson eyes.
But envy didn't matter.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Not here.
It was time.
Woooh!
Riven pushed himself up, joints stiff.
Tap.
The cold gnawed through his skin and bone alike.
The faint scraps of meat were gathered, the scraps of fur pulled close.
He didn't waste words.
Saphira rose too; blankets fluttering in the wind as she wrapped herself tighter.
"haaa...."
She watched him collect what little they had to begin with.
Tap. Tap. tap.
Riven turned, grey eyes meeting hers.
"Ready?"
Saphira's lips trembled. 'I hope so...'
She gave a faint nod as he adjusted the items in his academy pockets.
Her gaze turned to the sigil of Eldris.
A fiery guide in this snowy end.
It was a beacon.
'...Mother give us strength.'
"Then stay close." he uttered, snapping her attention.
They both took a collective breath, as a few steps marched forward.
"Haaaa....."
It was then Saphira took one last look at the cave behind her...
Her eyes shifted to the side they'd held their first fire.
To their first meal.
Would that all be possible later?
Unease swept in.
Riven stepped forward, placing his hand on her shoulder.
"...Let's go"
His grip was firm, steadying more than guiding.
"....Yeah"
No more words.
The cave fell behind them, swallowed by stone as they stepped into the storm.
An endless meaning of struggle.
The wind screamed its welcome.
WOOOOOOOOOH!!!