Watching and waiting (goldie)

[Nahashsan]

"If you stay in the open you'll freeze to" his voice had tone of desperation as he spoke. He did heed the bears advice and stayed in the tent with Nykole.

[Goldie]

No room. she thought back. Someone has to keep us from getting buried.

A few inches of snow had already covered her even though she had only just laid down. She shook her coat again. She wouldn't get much more sleep at all, though that was probably best. Moving helped keep the cold at bay.

[Nahashsan]

Lucius relayed Kat's message, adding, " I think she is right, someone has to keep the snow at bay."

Nykole didn't like that answer but she couldn't argue with her logic. The tent was bare big enough for her and Lucius.

The snow drift that was building up was starting to act as a wind break. She could still hear it howling but it wasn't shaking the tent as much.

[Goldie]

Another half an hour went by and another foot of snow. Gods this was bad. Soon she wouldn't have enough room to displace it.

She which meant there was work to do. She circled the clearing she had made and gradually made it wider, but also pounded down the snow in a manner that made some odd semblance of steps. No, steps was the wrong way to describe it, but it wasn't exactly a ramp either. It was...a way up essentially. That's all she could claim it to be.

And she was tired. So tired. But she had to keep moving. If she didn't they would die and she would be alone. Again.

And she hated being alone.

Was that why she hadn't just turned and ran after the attack? Was she secretly hoping for some kind of companionship? As Elarick she had no friends - that wasn't the job nor was it his personality - but...people listened to him. People, didn't exactly respect him but..., people feared him. He was a brute.

Gods she must be tired to be thinking about this. About what it meant to be a decent person. About what Yurim had tried to teach her before...before...

She stopped underneath the overhang, catching her breath for a few moments before continuing to pound out a path. The wind was still howling around them and she wondered just how much snow the sky could hold.

There was a creak, a crack, and then the overhang snapped in half and four and a half feet of snow came tumbling onto her in an instant, burying her completely and displacing the tent as it slid into the side she had been so desperately working to keep clear.

[Nahashsan]

Kykole was curled up in a ball next to Lucius trying to stay warm. There was a loud crack and wall of snow rushed into the tent. They were pushed back by the miniature avalanche.  Her first thought went to Kat "oh no, Lucius can you reach Kat." She exclaimed, her voice a mix of fear and panic.

Lucius tried to call out to the bear "Kat are you ok"

[Goldie]

The most surprising thing about the feet of snow that came crashing into Kat was the fact that it didn't actually feel cold. At least at first. It was like being smothered in a giant blanket, which would have been great if it wasn't pressing against her body in every direction. Snow was above, below, around her. It was everywhere.

And it was suffocating. And heavy.

And suffocating.

She tried to push herself up and the snow shifted slightly but packed in on itself and then she couldn't push anymore.

Can't get out. She thought back, unable to keep the panic from her thoughts. She couldn't get out. She couldn't get out.

[Nahashsan]

"She's suffocating" Lucius screamed to Kykole so loud that it hurt her head.  She sprang into action, climbing up and out off the half buried tent. It was dangerously cold outside and the driving wind made it worse but she didn't even notice. The only thought she had was to find Kat. Lucius joined her and they started to dig where they thought she would be.

[Goldie]

Kat thought she could hear them digging, but everything was muffled and dark and she couldn't be sure. All she knew was the snow continued to press in on her bear form, so she pushed back. She pushed back until she had given herself a few extra inches of movement on each side, but that was hardly enough.

And the snow was now making it impossible for air to make its way in. Oh Gods, oh Gods, oh Gods.

She would run out of air. She would! There was nothing she could do about it either. She didn't have enough room to use her claws to dig her way out.

Her breathing was coming fast and panicked, using the air quickly but simultaneously warming her up as it encompassed her in the snow cocoon.

I have to change back. She told Lucius. If she had been speaking she would have been gasping for air. Instead, her voice just sounded scared and small, not anything like the feral creature she had been during their trip and even after the attack. I have to change back. Can't...move enough.

And before she could change her mind, she triggered the process with a sob. Soon she was human again. Human, naked , and trapped in a bear sized hole in the middle of a blizzard.

She started digging, ignoring the pain that accompanied the cold. Survival was her only thought.

[Nahashsan]

With heavy snow falling all around them Nykole and Lucius dug as fast as the could. The adrenalin blocked out any sense of cold. Time seemed to slow down as each inch seem to take lo ger than the last.

Lucius spoke to Nykole. "She's panicking we have to dig faster." To Kat he said " breath nice and slow, we almost have you."

They had dug down nearly four feet when the bear sized bubble collapsed exposing poor Kat to the elements. As soon as them were through Nykole jumped down to wrap her in the cloak.

[Goldie]

Kay kept digging, her fingers becoming raw and bleeding onto the white snow but she couldn't feel them anymore, nor did she care. If she stopped she would die. Hell, she was probably already dying as her movements and panicked breathing consumed the last bit of air trapped with her in the icy grave.

And then, as she felt hope draining from her, there was air. Sweet, sweet, fresh, biting air! She gulped it in, not even caring that her human skin was quickly freezing.

And then Nykole was wrapping her up and she fell into the elf with a sob.

[Nahashsan]

Nykole pulled her closer and patted her shoulder "You're safe now" she said reassuringly. She said it but didn't really believe it. They were in a blizzard at night and their only shelter was in shambles. What to do, what to do, her mind raced as the snow continued to fall around them.

[Goldie]

"What do we do?" Kat sobbed. Whether changed by the near death experience, or overcome with exhaustion, or whether it was simply the fear of being confined, the strong exterior that she showed the world was in shambles. She couldn't stop shaking and it wasn't from the cold - though that certainly was a factor.

The tent was practically buried and they were so exposed to the elements that if they didn't do something fast it wouldn't matter anymore. 

"What do we do?" She asked again.

[Nahashsan]

They had a conundrum on their hands. She couldn't do anything while keeping Kat warm. "Do me a favor and snuggle up to Lucius, he will keep you warm while I fix the tent."

Shit, she thought to herself, everything was buried under four feet of snow which included the other tent and the sled. Not wasting much time she started digging the tent out. Even with heavy gloves her hand were quickly frozen but she couldn't stop their survival depended on her.

She managed to free the tent but the poles were snapped. They would have to use it as large sleeping bag but that would only work if the snow stopped soon.

[Goldie]

Kat pulled the cloak around herself and moved in closer to Lucius, allowing the feel of his fur and his warmth to help steady her. She was Aikaterini. She was a bear. She had lived her life in the wilderness and survived on sheer will alone for much of her life. She couldn't just fall apart because of a little bit of snow, she was stronger than that. She had to be stronger than that.

Even as a human, her default was that of an animal and the way she nuzzled against Lucius in the snow reflected her upbringing more than anything else. Even as a human she would always be an animal.

I should change back. she thought to Lucius, though she was uncertain if her thoughts translated as a human as they did as an animal I should change back, right?

Gods she was doubting herself.

[Nahashsan]

Lucius wrapped his long feline body around Kat, trying to provide as much heat as possible. He hated to admit it but his fur coat wasn't cutting it. His kind, the Ferguine were from a moderate climate and they weren't designed for this kind of cold.

"Can you change into a fox or something small then we can all squeeze into the remains of the tent and warm up." He replied.

He was concerned about Nikki she was down a lay of clothing and had to be reaching her limit.

[Goldie]

She nodded, flipping through her mental catalogue of animals as the cold inches into her bones. The wind whipped through the coat that barely offered enough protection. Her fingers and her toes were already blue, but that didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. She could exist without a few toes.

What would work? What was small enough to fit in the tent but warm enough to help them all not die?

The change started, much, much more slowly than before. She was exhausted. This was the last change she'd have the energy for for awhile and she didn't even have time to think about what might happen if she wasn't able to transform back before the 48 hour deadline.

At least she'd be cute.

About a minute later a brilliantly white ermine was snuggled up against Lucius. The cloak had fallen away and lay forgotten in the snow, slowly getting buried.

[Nahashsan]

Nykole wasn't sure what to do. If they stayed put they risked being buried in the snow. She wanted to move to the other side of the wall in the hopes that it was blocking the wind driven snow. The problem was they would have to fight their way through four feet of loose snow to get there. "Any suggestions on what to do next" she ask Kat and Lucius.

[Goldie]

We need to get the tent out. Kat thought exhaustedly, move it to the top of the snow. Lay out the tarp to press it down.

And then pray.

Pray to whatever God they believed in, if any, that the snow would stop and they could recover the wagon and their supplies.

[Nahashsan]

Lucius relayed Kat's message and Nykole started working as fast as her cold fingers would allow her. She only paused to pick up the discarded cloak and throw it over her feline friend. Kat's option was probably the best option as it didn't require a trek though the snow in the dark.

Once she had the tent laid out she held one end open and beckoned the others inside. There was nothing to be done about the broken poles. They would just have to make do.

[Goldie]

Kat was moving sluggishly, but somehow she managed to make her way into the tent and moved in as much as possible so her larger companions would have enough room. The poles were broken, but they were present enough to provide a smallish dome above them.

How much more could fall? Kat thought in panic, It should be almost done, right?