Stuck in the Snow... and Lost

[stelmarisa]

((OOC: Think you could give me a brief description of their tents? Not that it matters, but I'm wondering if they're just one big room, or have sectioned-off bits, or what? Just to picture it more clearly :) ))

Kaven had moved so that he could watch Zurna putting the twins to bed, smiling as he watched her fuss over them like a mother. The love she had for these two children - and the bond of the whole family - was something truly heartwarming. It simultaneously made him feel homesick and at home, and as he listened to her stories he allowed his mind to wander. He thought of his own sister, growing up without him there - a thought which saddened him momentarily. Of course, he smiled to himself, she would be far too busy dancing around the village, charming everyone and everything, to miss him too terribly. And until he had come to Hyoite, they had been in regular contact by letter...

As Zurna returned, Kaven became aware that his eyes had drooped, and roused himself with an effort to help her make up the beds. "This is perfect. Really." He smiled across the furs at her, pulling his bedding slightly closer to hers. "It looks like the cosiest place I have ever had the pleasure to sleep in."

He tucked the covers around himself, and turned on his side to face her. "I admit... I am tired." He laughed slightly at himself. "I'm afraid I'm not better company for you tonight... and as good a conversationalist as you are, I may have to call it a night. Do you mind?"

[GoblinFae]

Zurna smiled back to him before letting out a big yawn. "Excuse me," she giggled covering her mouth. "It seems I too am quite tired. Perhaps rest is best." She gave one last stretch, reaching her arms far above her head, before laying back and snuggling deep beneath the warm furs.

"Good night, Kaven. Pleasant dreams to you," she murmured tiredly. She let the sound, warmth, and smell of the fire lull her into restful sleep. For a long while Zurna seemed to just drift about in a black sea of nothingness. On good nights this had been her safety zone. A place of no dreams but also of no nightmares or memories.

Tonight she did not stay there long. Quickly a swirling black and gray vortex reeking of fear and death engulfed her. Blinding flashes of memories flickered before her eyes. A pool of red. Falling. Soft, white fur. A child's laugh. Drowning. Running. Chasing. Piercing shrieks. A small hand trapped under the ice. The sound of eggshells being crushed.

On and on the images went, knitting themselves together until they could form the complete memory. Over the years, Zurna had never been able to forget the events that took place when she was a child. But, that had not stopped her from trying to bury the memories. In the beginning there had been months where she had struggled to sleep out of fear for the dreams that awaited her. Now older, the dreams came less and less often. However, every time they did, they became more vibrant, more detailed and closer to being complete.

The worse part was that Zurna could never free herself from the memories nor fully complete them. Once they had reached the endpoint of the night, they would start over, playing again and again, unchanging. The dreams never finished. Pieces were still missing and Zurna still tried to bury the pieces that remained. It was a vicious cycle she felt she would never be freed from.

Outwardly, her hands clenched and her palms and brow began to sweat. Inwardly, the dreams began again for the third of hundreds of times.

[stelmarisa]

"Good night, Zurna." Kaven rolled onto his back and lay there silently, staring upwards through the darkness. The tent was already silent except for the rustling of the fire, a constant crackle that, for a while, kept Kaven from sleep. He frowned slightly, trying to let his mind wander into pleasant memories. And as he mentally walked through the cool forests of La'marri, his eyes began to close...

***

Deep into the night, as the darkness stretched towards dawn, the tent looked peaceful. All the sleeping bodies were comfortable in their own piles of furs, only the occasional sigh or stir breaking the peace. The fire, burnt down to a soft glow, flickered away to itself, one curling spire of smoke hovering in the still air like a question mark. Kaven's body was still, his face contorted into a vague frown - but from the outsider's perspective, all was well.

Not so on the inside. In his mind, terror reigned and Kaven battled blindly against forces he could not understand. It was freezing cold in his dream, and Kaven's physical body began to twitch and shiver despite the furs he slept in. Murmers began to escape from his lips as he shook, and dreamed on.

He seemed to be standing on the egde of a great chasm, surrounded by blackness and buffeted in every direction by a wind stronger than could possibly exist in reality. Dark shapes, darker even than this fake night, swirled around him, forcing him to duck and fall from his precarious position... sliding down the edges of the chasm...

The dream changed and he was dimly aware of a bleak red glow around him. Streaks of crimson liquid pooled around his feet, running over the ground from the foot of a huge, dimly seen mountain.

A scream. The flash of a figure in the distance. He shouted out to her, trying to warn her. No good - a storm had picked up and she was falling away from him as he rushed through the thickening flood of red. "Nooooo!"

"Nooooo!" the same shout escaped his lips back in the tent as he began to toss more violently, his body and hair wringing with sweat, and he sat bolt upright, blind in the darkness.

[GoblinFae]

Zurna jolted awake with Kaven's shout. Her quickly adjusting to the dark room, she scanned her surroundings trying to find the disturbance. Her parents remained sound asleep as did the twins. From the corner of her eye she was able to see her guest's violent thrashing. Moving quickly, she was at his side and trying to wake him. "Kaven?" she called softly not wishing to startle him. She knew that he probably would not be able to see her right away and that he might be a bit disorientated. "Are you alright?"

Worriedly, she threw two more bundles of peat onto the fire, flaring it back into life. One of her jobs was to ensure the fire never went out. Even summers on the tundra could be fatally cold, nights especially. On her way back to Kaven's side she grabbed up a cloth and the water jug. By now he was sitting up. She dipped the cloth in the jug, gently wiping the sweat off his brow. "You must have been dreaming. It's alright now, it was just a dream."

'He is a dreamweaver. Are there ever such things as "just a dream" with them?' Despite her skeptical thoughts, she smiled at him comfortingly. "Do you want to talk about it? I know nightmares tend to go away after we have expressed them."

'Even though my refuse to. Perhaps we are more alike than I gave us credit for. Unless, did he see my nightmares? Is it me that caused him to wake in fear? Did I do this? Manaia please tell me this is not my fault. I could not live with myself if I could him this pain.'

[stelmarisa]

"Uh.... Sisi?" Kaven said dazedly into the darkness, hearing his name called as if from far away. As the the light flared, the room swam back into focus in front of his eyes, and he turned to see Zurna. "Is Sisi here?" he asked again, still confused as to where he was. Then the coolness of the cloth pressed into his forehead and he remembered.

"Oh, Zurna! Yes ... Just a dream." He sighed and rested his head against Zurna's shoulder, weak from his mental ordeal. "I don't think this one will ever go away for me." He spoke simply and sadly, closing his eyes in distress. Without even thinking about it, he leaned closer into the warm kindness of Zurna.

[GoblinFae]

She was somewhat surprised that he leaned against her but, did not remove her support. In fact, Zurna moved completely behind Kaven so that her back rested against a support beam. Gently she pulled him to lay back against her. "Relax," she hummed to him running the damp cloth over his face and neck. "I've got you, you're safe. Just try and relax, Kaven."

Zurna picked up another cloth close by and began to dry him off as best as she could. 'Best be careful he doesn't catch a chill. I wonder if I should make him some tea.' She looked down at their current position and realized how much of her emotional stability he was relying on. 'I'll just have to make sure he drinks some in the morning. He really should get some sleep, poor thing.'

"Was it a memory or a recurring dream?" she asked as she rocked gently from side to side unthinkingly. The movement was a self-soothing reflexive move for her own jittery nerves, she had no idea what it would do for Kaven. "Here, rest. You can tell me more tomorrow," she resolved. Running her fingers through his hair and humming she tried to lull them both back to at the very least, a dozing consciousness. "If you need me just call," she mumbled out.

Personally, she was torn in several directions. Part of her desired to stay away to avoid her own nightmares which may or may not have caused Kaven's. Another part wanted to stay awake to watch over him in case of more nightmares. But, the final part begged for sleep. Zurna was no longer accustomed to long days of hard-work followed by little to no sleep. Her body felt heavy and achy as it tried to force her mind to shutdown and let her rest. She was so tired that her eyes remained half-open and would lazily blink every so often.'I hope he will be alright,' was her last semi-conscious thought before she began to lightly doze.

[stelmarisa]

Kaven breathed deeply, his chest rising and falling with more regularity now as Zurna calmed him. He was only dimly aware of her actions and speech as he lay huddled against her, feeling her care and affection radiating through her into himself. She was strong and collected, her gentle actions lulling him into a sense of security that allowed him to calm down from his nightmare and think about it logically.

"Recurring..." he managed to murmer in response to her last question, casting a rueful memory over the years of nightmares. "Always recurring."

He felt Zurna slip into her doze, by now becoming attuned to her conscious, on the most basic level at least. He turned his body slightly so that his weight was not leaning too heavily on her, instead moving so that he could support her more comfortably, wanting to do something small in return for her kindness. He pulled up a fur over them and lapsed into a semi-conscious state, his mind running over and over the different elements of the dream, as it did every night.

He could stay like that until morning, assuming there were no other interruptions to their night...

[GoblinFae]

Zurna faded in and out of sleep up until the twins woke up and decided they wanted to spend time with their favorite aunt. With help from their grandmother they took the heavy cooking pot and hung it by Zurna's ear and then proceeded to bang it and create a massive ruckus.

Startled by the sound, she jerked awake and managed to bang her head back into the support beam she had been leaning against. Groaning, she tried to fall forward holding her head only to discover a weight resting against her. Wearily she opened her eyes to see Kaven with her and the twins grinning toothily at them from beside her.

Zurna glared murderously at the girls, not even needing to say anything to get her point across. Traditionally, she would rise with or before the sun to go outside and say her prayers before starting her day. The fact that the sun was rising high in the sky and she was still asleep was sign enough that something was off and she should not be disturbed.

"Girls perhaps you should spend the day with your mother in town today," she whispered, struggling to keep her cool despite her pounding headache. Cara made a move to protest but, one look from Minali quickly silenced her and set both the little girls on their way.

Zurna took one look at Kaven and just shook her head. It was not until her mother had brought the both of them a cup of tea and Zurna had drank it all down that she actually started to look lively again. "You have to forgive Zurna, dear," Minali told Kaven. "She does not like being woken up in the morning. She won't start really hold a conversation with you for another hour. By now though she should be able to talk to you without grunting or throwing something," the elderly woman laughed, winking at the younger man.

To say the least, Zurna was not impressed. "Congratulations mother, that will be the first time you have managed to mortify me in front of a guest." Rubbing her head she muttered, "so glad this morning is starting out on the right path."

After ingesting another cup, she was feeling more ready to hold a conversation. "Kaven would you care to help me with my chores this morning? I have to gather some more moss and then maybe we can fish for lunch. If that sounds alright with you? Otherwise you can get stuck with net repair with the old people," she emphasized glaring at her smirking matriarch.

[stelmarisa]

Kaven awoke with a jump, startled out of his thoughts by a loud clang. "Oww." He mumbled, head hurting from the disturbed night. As Zurna moved against him, he opened his eyes and shifted sideways to allow her space to move. He watched her interactions with the twins lazily, smiling as she managed to organise them even in her tired, aching state.

He reached up for the cup of tea and nodded his thanks to Zurna's mother. "Oh, I can be just the same - and my sister is ten times worse." He smiled, looking across at Zurna. "Neither of us has the ability to function so well, or look so pretty first thing." He winked and raised his cup to his lips again, drinking it slowly as he watched Zurna gradually come round.

"I'd love to go with you - hopefully I can learn a new skill or two and help to repay you for being so hospitable." He stood up and stretched, holding out a hand to help up Zurna, if she wished. "Is your head alright? I should have something for the pain, if you'd like."

[GoblinFae]

"My head will be fine once the infernal ringing in my ears ceases!" Zurna growled out. Moodily she got up and cleaned up her bedroll and sleeping things. Bundling up in her outdoor clothes, she kissed her mother goodbye, and practically dragged Kaven out of the tent.

She kept up this pace until they were out of sight of her home. Then, she released her grasp and slowed her pace. "My apologies friend. Mornings and families just do not mix for me. There is a very big reason I do morning prayers and you just saw part of it."

Zurna smiled sweetly and began to start talking about the work they would be doing. She told him on the way how she would have to stand in the marsh and harvest the peat while he bundled it for her. "When we get there I will show you and then you can try. Don't worry too much. If you can tie a knot you can do this. My job is the harder part only because it involves getting cold, wet and muddy."

Looking ahead, she pointed out to him how the snow became slush up ahead and revealed mushy brown earth. "That's the marsh. Careful where you step or you may end up waist deep in muck. The ice is also really deceptive here, it might be best if you just follow where I step," she directed him.

[stelmarisa]

Hurrying along behind Zurna, Kaven gazed around appreciatively, looking at the unspoilt blankets of snow covering the cold ground. As they closed down he shivered and let out a breath that hung like smoke in the freezing morning air. "Do not apologise - I know what families can be like." He smiled warmly and listened to her chatter about their work.

As they reached the marsh he listened carefully and nodded, falling into step behind her to try and avoid the treacherous ground. He frowned slightly. "Your half of this sounds very uncomfortable - are you sure you wouldn't prefer to swap? You will end up so wet and cold! I would rather that be my fate than yours."

[GoblinFae]

Zurna laughed. "You are kind Kaven, but really I am used to this. Besides, it will be less messy if I do it than you. There is a trick I have found to balancing on the marsh. There have even been days, although few, where I have not really gotten wet at all."

Smiling broadly she gave Kaven a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Thank you for asking though. Here, let me show you the trick to rolling the moss and then we can get started." Straddling one of the peat beds, Zurna quickly uprooted several patches of the necessary fire fuel. Laying these patches out flat she showed him how to use the forearm and elbow to squeeze out as much of the moisture as possible.

"The dryer the moss is, the easier it is to light. It also makes it easier for us to roll. When it's wet it just tends to clump and fall apart. The flattening it to drain stops that from happening," she explained. From there she just rolled up the patch and then tied it together with some weed grass she uprooted from where she was standing.

"I know it takes some getting used to, but once you get the hang it, it goes quickly. Before you know it, we will be further downstream getting ready to make lunch! Now if you need help just give me a holler. I will bring the squares up to you so that you can wring them out. Any questions before I go?" she finally asked preparing to wade out into the muck.

[stelmarisa]

Kaven crouched down and watched closely, mimicking Zurna's actions as best as he could to squelch the water from the moss. "Right, I think I've got it" He smiled up at her, taking the finished bundle from her to set it aside. "I'll be alright doing this - just throw them over and I'll do it as fast as I can."

He waved her off and squatted at the side of the marsh, idly ripping out some more reed grass and braiding it to use as ties. Whistling, he watched her as she made her way away from him, smiling to himself and preparing for a few hours of work.

[GoblinFae]

The hours were grueling for Zurna but seemed to pass quickly. She like being able to work with someone more reliable than her young nieces. It certainly made things faster for her when she knew she did not have to keep a close on them both for the correctness of the job but also for their own safety as well.

Hauling up the last of the moss squares, Zurna helped Kaven finish up. "It looks great! With your help I was able to get done twice as much in half the time. I cannot begin to tell you how much help you have been," she praised, meaning every word of it. "And look," she said motioning to her clothes, "I didn't do too bad after all." Sure enough Zurna was draw and only a little bit muddy on her boots and hands. However, at some point she had reached up and touched her face because her left cheek now sported a nice mud handprint.

"Are you hungry?" As soon as we finish this we can eat if you like. If not we can carry these all back home and then deal with the chaos of too many people at mealtime. The choice is yours though, since you have been such an enormous help to me."

[stelmarisa]

As the time went by, Kaven found himself getting into the rhythm of the task and took care to do it well. He made sure to press every drop of moisture out of the mosses, having no desire to ruin the family's fuel, of all things! In between Zurna arriving with fresh materials he found himself lost in thought, daydreaming of all that he had seen in his travels. The tundra was certainly something entirely new to him, though, and the friendship he had struck up with Zurna was putting a good impression on a place he had initally been expecting to be desolate and unfriendly.

"Brilliant," he grinned at her as they finished, standing  up and stretching. He thought for a moment. "Well, while I do enjoy chaos, and many people who want to warn me away from you," he laughed, "why don't we stay out? If you didn't mind, that is. That way we could talk."

Looking at her properly, he smiled. "Here, you've got..." He reached his thumb out to wipe her cheek, ever so gently. "... mud on your face."

[GoblinFae]

"I actually prefer it out here, so that works out wonderfully." Confused she watched as he moved his hand towards her face and then brushed away the mud. "Oh!" she exclaimed running a hand over where he had just touched.

She could not help the blush that flushed her cheeks as she realized his touch left a tingly feeling behind. "Thank you," she said much quieter. 'Perhaps he will just think my cheeks are red from the wind. I hope he does. I would be humiliated if he realized that I am starting to find him cute. Oh Zurna! Get that thought out of your head before it becomes infectious!'

"We can just leave the bundles here. Nothing will disturb them and then we can get them on the way back." Zurna began to head off further downstream, a pair of wooden rods in hand. "Have you ever fished before, Kaven?"

[stelmarisa]

Kaven cocked his head to the side curiously, watching as Zurna's face flushed. Now, that was interesting... "I hope I didn't offend you," he added hurriedly, worried that the flush was one of anger. He dropped his hand to his side and took a small step back, just in case he had overstepped the boundary.

Still concerned, he was glad when Zurna set off moving, and he followed her as they made their way downstream. "I have once or twice, on my travels. But it is certainly not something I'm proficient in."

[GoblinFae]

"Offend me? What ever gave you that impression?" she questioned what she deemed a complete nonsequitor. "Believe me, ask any of my brothers, if I am mad with you, you'll know it. It'll be my fist in your face." She inwardly winced as she realized what she just said. 'Fantastic Zurna! Just scare the life out of the boy why don't you!'

"I mean, I would obviously not do that to you. You don't make me mad like my brothers do. Or rather you don't make me mad at all, yet, ever, I hope." Zurna had to strongly suppress the urge to physically slap herself. 'Manaia strike me down where I stand so that I may escape the humiliation brought upon me by my own wayward tongue.'

Seeing that they had arrived at her favorite fishing spot, Zurna quickly steered the conversation away from her own stupidity and onto the topic of lunch. "If you can try and get a fire started with some of the weeds and my flint, I'll catch lunch," she suggested smiling.

[stelmarisa]

"It doesn't matter." Kaven shrugged off his own question, and laughed as Zurna accidently threatened him, and then confused herself. "I also hope I won't make you mad," he responded, still laughing. "But if I ever do, then feel free to introduce your fist to my face." He winked. "I'm sure I will have earned it, if you feel such a desire!"

Taking the flint off Zurna, he crouched down and made a small, compact pit for the fire. It took a few minutes, the ground being damp by the water, but it wasn't long until he had a small fire crackling away - just the right size for their lunch. He glanced over at Zurna as she fished. "How are you getting on?"

[GoblinFae]

As Zurna crouched beside the stream, she caught herself several times watching Kaven out of the corner of her eye. 'Zurna Nali! He knows how to make a fire. Give the man some peace, it's not like he is about to set himself on fire.' Despite her internal reprimands, she knew that was not the reason she was watching him. Getting herself to admit that was an entirely separate issue though.

She moved to balance on a rock in the middle of the stream, waiting patiently. Just as he asked her about lunch her hands dove into the water and flipped out a fish over her shoulder. The flopping trout landed wetly right beside Kaven. Looking over her shoulder she smiled impishly. "I think it's going well. What say you?"

Zurna cocked her head towards where she had dropped her bag and the pair of rods as well. "The rods are for cooking the fish on, if you just want to uh, kill it," she giggled. 'I wonder how outdoors savoy he is. Can you he cook fish?'

"If you just give me a minute to catch another I can take care of it," she told him distractedly. Her focus had returned to trying to catch the rest of lunch. Zurna's eyes darted back and forth following the currents and the fish that flitted about within it.

Plunging her hands in once more she felt a surge of pride as she pulled out an even larger trout than the first. This time though she did not bother flipping it over her shoulder and just stood up holding it. However, the moment she moved to hop off the rock onto land, the fish decided it did not desire to become a meal and began wriggling for its life. Startled, Zurna lost her balance and slipped, falling back into the waters.

Sputtering, she sat back up. Lifting her arms above her head she began to laugh, for clasped firmly in her hands was the mammoth fish. "I got it!" she called over to Kaven, slowly wading back out of stream. "So much for not getting wet though."