"Ha....hkk-"
The world was whiteout; nothing clear, nothing seen.
The wind gnawed at her cloak, its teeth biting fabric and flesh alike.
WOOOOOOOH!
The gale moaned, drawn long and hollow.
Not the voice of mere wind.
It pulsed...
As if it were alive, trembling around her bones.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
Saphira trudged forward through piles of snow, each step sinking deeper into endless white.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
"Ha...haa..."
The scenery had blurred into storm and silence long ago, forcing her to traverse alone.
Her breath misted, sharp and shallow, clouding the path in front.
Hands clutched to thin blankets.
They couldn't keep her warm in this expanse.
'...Riven'
She had tried to call out earlier....but the frost and wind had dulled her voice.
The rhythm of her steps felt swallowed, dampened....as though the storm itself was listening and smothering each sound.
Crunch-
"Ha..."
WOOOOOOOOH!
The blizzard's howl bent, warping like something large exhaled through it.
Every few moments....
WOOOOH--
It rose and fell. Too steady. Too deliberate.
Almost like breath.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
Then it all died.
"Ha...ha...."
Cr-
No wind. No snow.
Not even the rhythm of her strides.
She moved, but the world gave nothing in return.
Saphira froze, as her heart hammered in the absence.
Thump! Thump!
The whiteout hadn't ended.
Not even close....
But its features had been partially erased.
She could still feel the gusts.
She could feel the cold sneaking through clothing.
...But there was no sound.
Sound for her to connect it all.
'...What's going on'
Her golden hair whipped as her crimson eyes glanced all around.
Nothing.
"Haa.....ha...."
Thump!
She could feel something rising in her stomach.
Unease.
In that silence--
something seeped through.
"Haa.... haa..."
It wasn't her own.
A broken rasp.
Near.
Human.
------------------
Pain.
Cough! Cough!
All in the air.
"Haa....."
The stalker crashed into a pile of snow, embers still floating across the hazed air.
Riven's head jerked faintly as his vision swam.
Through the howls and haze, he thought he heard it.
His name.
"---Riven"
SSHHHRRRKKK!
The beast reeled in the haze, half shrouded in snow and burns from flames.
Embers drifted around where it had crashed, sears appearing across its hide.
"Hhhh---hkk-"
Riven stayed on his knees, chest heaving as his nose dripped red into the white.
Cough! Cough!
A loose grip in his offhand, the blade's tip buried in the snow.
He was reaching his limit.
But something had come to buy him time.
He couldn't think too clearly.
Cough! Cough!
His mind played drums of throbbing pain, pain of which that dulled everything further.
SSHHHRRRK-
Through the storm, a shadow marched to his location.
Steady.
Intent.
A silhouette that broke through the swirl of snow.
"Riven!"
Her voice cut through, sharp.
Steady.
Too steady, as if the blizzard finally allowed voice to pass through.
He turned his head faintly as his chest burned for air.
Her outline blurred, colours lost to the storm, but he knew....
It was her.
"Stay with me!" she called, steps rapidly approaching him.
"Haa.....Saphira--"
Cough! Cough!
"I'm here," she said, voice steady as she rushed, breath clouding the air.
His lips parted as if to answer.
Slightly.
But his gaze slid past her shoulder.
SSHHHHRRRKKKK!
A deep groan.
The beast was slowly rising.
It's massive frame shook off frost as its eyes burned with renewed fury as burns painted its pale fur a darker shade....
"Haaa...."
Saphira approached quickly.
They didn't have a-lot of time.
Her eyes quickly darted down.
He was kneeling.
Exhausted.
Shoulder slick with blood.
...But also his thigh.
A torn uniform, dark with blood, the snow beneath painted red.
"Damn it..." she hissed.
She didn't hesitate.
Her hands snapped to his leg as the scene blurred for his eyes.
HRRRRRMMMMM!
Heat pulsed.
Not a wild flame.
Contained.
Urgent.
A circle of light pulsed on her palm, as threads of warmth seared through frozen flesh.
"Ahh--!"
Riven's jaw clenched as the sensation stabbed back into him.
His muscles twitched under her grip.
HHRRMMM-
Done.
The agony dulled, not gone but bound.
"Haaa....haa...."
Saphira's breath came ragged.
She didn't have a lot left too...
On time and strength.
"...You're not done yet."
His thigh burned, but the bleeding and the wound has closed.
"haa...."
His jaw unclenched as he looked forward.
The beast's frame had risen, looming through the storm.
Gone was the hiding.
It evoked a primal feel.
Slowly, his leg unlocked, as he rose in sync.
Pain still floated in his shoulder, but there wasn't enough time...
Beside him, Saphira straightened.
"Haaa....hkk-"
Her own chest heaving from the storm and magic use.
His gaze met hers for a second.
"...thanks."
No time for any more.
SSHHHHRRRKKKKK!!
It roared, and so Riven stepped forward, Mael's Fang in his offhand, as Saphira stood to his side.
It's maw widened as its ribs dragged to the floor.
Pale light locked on to Saphira.
The snow split as it lunged, fangs bared.
Fast.
Too fast.
THRUMM!!
Her eyes widened as her arm lifted.
A bright flare of her medium answered the cold, forming a wall of mana as cover.
FWOOSH!
Riven was already gone.
Steps vanished as he slipped through the haze.
Like a shadow through silk.
He was gone.
But he was right where he needed to be.
Right above the beast....
THHRRUUMMM!!
Rage.
Had it lost its intelligence?
The beast was so enraged at its burning flesh, it didn't care for the other prey it had worn down.
It regretted that.
Immediately.
Steel answered first before it could make contact with Saphira.
SSHAAHHH!
A clean, cruel arc across the base of its skull.
"Haa.....haa..."
A deep exhale.
Using his offhand, he carved its marrow as much as possible....
THHHRRUUMMM!
The stalker shrieked, stumbling as frost and blood sprayed in a sudden mist....
Splat--
Snow shuddered and swayed under its weight as it stumbled.
Woooh!
Was sound returning?
Those pale orbs dimmed.
It didn't want to die.
And so as frost bled into its wounds, its chest swelled once more.
Another torrent, ready to drown the world endless.
SSSSHHHHHRRRRKKKK!!!
Riven's head spun, "RUNN!" he yelled, voice cracking through the gale.
...That magic.
But she didn't move.
Her boots sank deeper as she planted herself.
"No...you don't."
The beast exhaled, an avalanche of magic meant to bury their senses.
SHHHHRRRKK!
This time, the space wasn't as suffocating as prior.
Was it losing strength?
It was clear.
It's element of surprise was long extinguished....
WWOOOOOOSSSHHH!!
Because that moment....
The wind howled back, fiercer than the weakened blizzard itself.
It wasn't the veil.
It was her.
Magic floated out from her palms as her clothes whipped.
She scattered the gulf back towards its owner.
Shards of ice scattered, spinning away into the distant storm.
THRRUMMM!!
'...You'll need better than that', Saphira thought, teeth grit.
"Haaa....haa...."
Riven's eyes widened a few steps away.
For a moment, he almost forgot about the beast.
WOOO-
The air sang, as snow swirled revealing more than he thought was possible.
She had cleaved the storm itself.
'Saphira...'
Awe was something he couldn't afford....
"Hhhkk-"
Not right now...
'Move. Before it learns. Before it kills!'
Instincts snapped him forward.
Mael's Fang dropped low as his body blurred.
The beast was staggering, pale eyes flaring wide.
Was it shock?
THRRUMM-
Rage?
Again.
It charged again.
SSSHHHHHRRRRKKKKK!!
Magic flowed through its veins.
Its hunched shoulders pushed inwards, its ribs sank low....
These were its prey....
How could it allow them to harm such?
Saphira stared at its visage.
'Again?!'
Mana flowed in her palm...
....But it sputtered and fizzled.
Fwa-Fwa!
She didn't have much left.
'No...'
Her eyes swam to find Riven as her breath hitched.
"Haaa...."
She froze.
RIPPLE!
Riven was there.
In-front of it.
An arms length between its maw...
Perfect.
"Hkk-"
Too close for the beast to release its torrent.
SSHHRRKK-
Before the beast could dart away in response...
Mael's Fang punched upwards...
Burying itself deep in its throat...
GKKKRRRHHKKK!!
"Haaa....haa...."
Roars turned to wet gurgles.
Blood and frost sprayed over him.
SPLATT!
It's massive frame convulsed, thrashing as Riven twisted the blade....
CHIK! CHIK!
Deeper.
DRIP! DRIP!
Firmer.
Until its claws stopped clawing at empty space.
Until its tail stopped swaying under snow.
Until its ribs stopped flowing upwards.
Until the light in its eyes dimmed.....
He didn't let go.
Even when the weight sagged forward.
He held his Fang there, pinning the beast's final breath inside.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
"Haaa....."
Frost and blood steamed over him, covering him in matter from head to toe.
WOOOOOOH!!
Saphira's breath caught. Wide eyes fixed on him, unblinking, as though the storm itself had frozen over.
Slowly.
Crunch.
Crunch.
She walked to his side.
-----------
Drip. Drip. Drip.
The Fang slid free with a wet scrape.
SPLIPP!
Riven swayed where he stood.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Blood rained from his hair, trailing down to the snow-floor.
Crunc-
Shoulders sinking in pain, and breath torn rough.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
His fingers white, stiff; refusing to unclench until at last the weight left him.
CHIK!
The blade dropped into snow, as the stalker's body slumped, shaking the ground.
THUUUDDD!
Silence pressed down, broken only by the hiss of blood, fading to steam.
"Haaa....haa..."
'...It's done.'
He staggered--
And Saphira caught him.
Her arms closed around him without thought, warmth against his blood-soaked clothes.
"Haaa--"
For a second, he froze.
Then drained and dead tired, he let himself fall into her hold.
WOOOOOOOOOHH!!
"...I thought you left me alone."
His breath hitched, as his fingers tightened weakly around her back.
His lips parted...
But no words came out.
WOOOOOH!
The storm outside their embrace broke.
The whiteout had lifted....
But in the hush that followed....
As they stood.
Rooted in embrace.
"Blood, blood, the blood I seek. I smell thee waking, I drink in sleep."