Darkness, he wasn't unused to- but the cold? He loathed it. He hated the way it made his skin dry and ache, and even crack sometimes. And to be forced to wear so many layers of clothing- just a hassle. And he hated extra, unnecessary burdens.
But could he recall that? Could he really know what had transpired or what he had already known? For even when he awoke to a white washed world of snow, shivering with blue lips, he immediately felt an absolute annoyance flood like a fire through his veins. But he only had sensations, for his mind was muddled, and though he tried to desperately seek out an answer within his head-
No matter how much he tried, only flashes of things, objects, beasts that made no sense, had come to him..
One even, in his mind, coming after him.
He shook it off in a hurry, and glanced around, teeth chattering as delicate flakes of snow began to fall.
The cold. I hate the cold. Why is it so cold?
He sat up with a start, his entire body trembling as he rested a hand down into the cold, wet substance. Jerking his hand back, he looked at the melting ice crystals on his bare fingers and his eyes widened even more. He recalled the snow, some laughter- like the tinkling, fading echo of a bell, and also the same feeling he was over whelmed with now.
He grit his teeth and continued to look around, and though he didnt' wish to touch it, he had to, and used both of his ungloved hands to push himself to his feet. But he did so rather quickly, and his shoes were ill equipped for the slippery, thick wet snow, and soon his arms were pinwheeling, and he, slipping back- and he gave a shout and groped onto the nearest tree, but only was able to grab onto some of the lower branches which could hardly support his weight.
In a snap, he went down, and so did hte branches- and also, a small avalanche of snow.
And as he lay there, almost completely buried within the snow that had once been decked in the tree, he froze up, sensing intense hatred along with the intense cold before panicking, he began to kick wildly to break free- and in doing so- he heard a yelp.
His memories rushed back to him- the blackness..
a beast...
And as the snow fell away as the man scrambled to get to his feet, he saw the beast from the flash before him and gave a yell, scooping up a nearby broken tree limb that was almost double his size, but five times as thin, and held it out defensively, while the dog, who was shaking off his head from the kick. Turned to glance over at the snow covered man with a curious tilt of his head.
And then he barked, and Ehvren- or so he thought was his name to be, gave a shout and stumbled backwards over his own boots- and onto his ass into the snow he went, the large tree branch in his hands whacking off yet another tree-
and showeirng him in a second bath of cold, clumps of powdery white snow.
The dog watched Ehvren's antics in the snow with its head cocked quizzically to the side. If one believed a dog to be capable of such a thing, it might even look like the beast was silently judging the strange man bumbling about in the snow. He gave another bark when Ehvren snapped the tree, sending snow flying everywhere.
Above the scene unfolding in the snow, a white snowy owl landed in the top of a nearby pine. Of course, 'above' was all relative. The trees here were stunted little pines, their growth kept in check by the harsh conditions of the north. To the south of the trio, the pines became more frequent, gradually developing into a snow-blanketed forest (http://cartina.photo/kuvapankki/imagebank/image/68/68793/snow+laden+trees+-+Koli,+Finland.jpg). To the north, the trees were few and far between, and resembled people or creatures weighted down by mantles of snow (http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/12/05/article-0-165B652E000005DC-771_968x611.jpg), until they finally stopped altogether before the snowy expanse of the Sionad Tundra. There was only a dim glow of light to illuminate the scene. This time of year, the sun only rose for an hour or so, and only just to peak up over the horizon then sink back down. It was already set again now, and the long night was just beginning. The owl gave a long, low hoot, which was answered by another bark from the dog, then the bird flapped away back into the taiga.
A few minutes later a girl appeared coming from between the snowy trees of the taiga, pulling a little, laden dog-sled behind her. It might not be immediately obvious that she was a woman, though. In the thick fur coat, its furry hood pulled over her two long braids of hair, and tall fur boots, she could have been anyone.
"What'd you find, Kanut?" the approaching figure called in a strong, bright, sing-song voice. The white sled dog turned a circle to face the woman, then immediately back to carefully observe Ehvren.
Nuna Akkilokipok pulled the sled out of the forest, then left it to come examine the newcomer. She radiated a warm, friendly air. "Hello!" she called once she got sight of Ehvren. "What are you doing in that snow bank there? You're breaking all our trees!"
Her cheerful disposition did not go ignored. But it was not welcome, and he reacted as cold as the snow around them as he growled through his teeth. Not a trusting man, at least not in his position, anyhow, he leaped up from the snow and pointed the mighty tree branch in her direction.
"Don't come any closer!" he snapped. "And it was the trees that attacked me first!"
Because what good would attacking a tree do for him!? And it wasn't like he put it there! And who was she to make any claims!?
Nuna's first response to the snapping, bristling foreigner buried in the snow bank was to cock her head to the side. So that girl and dog were looking at Ehvren with mirror expressions, as though they were one brain in two bodies.
"Trees don't attack people," she said simply.
What a strange man! But, Nuna thought, maybe he was a stranger from a very different land. It wasn't uncommon to find such outcasts thrown onto the tundra without any clue as to how to survive. And here they were on the edge of the forest, it was possible. Or maybe he was slow. Or mad.
"Up here it takes them so long to grow. Even a little one like that, she pointed to the tree he'd snapped a sizeable part off of, "it's over a hundred years old. It's hard for them to grow tall and strong with the hard, long winters and the arctic wind."
Nuna tilted her head in the other direction, reconsidering him. Kanut, the dod, did the same.
"You look like you just arrived here. You're not dressed very well for the winter."
Trees don't attack!? He bristle and gave a scoff.
"Perhaps these ones do!" For in truth, he'd witnessed attacking trees before. It was kind of unnerving. Obviously, she never had been attacked by a tree before! Though he supposed attacking trees were smarter than this. One hundred years to grow? Here? It was too damn cold for him to care, however, and if this stupid tree decided to pick this spot to grow, how was it his fault!?
He glared at her, where as she and her dog were curiously looking at him. He didn't like this look. The pair of them were like twins. Were they up to something? This place looked lousy- and at such a comment about being ill-prepared, he snorted.
"Of course I'm ill prepared!" he snapped, still clinging to the hefty branch, which he pointed at her. "I'd never choose to be in such a waste land!" For as far as his eyes stretched was a strange, white ash that glowed. And it was cold. He never liked the cold, not really. It always reminded him of...
Well, what did it remind him off? And he growled again, not liking the idea his thoughts had 'gone missing'.
"No, these one's don't," Nuna answered confidently, but without losing her friendly demeanor. Maybe he really didn't know. But she did. She knew each and every one of these trees. She'd certainly had the time. That one, that he'd broken a piece off of, she'd seen when it was a sapling. But it was a strong one, and Nuna thought it would recover.
"Do you need help?" she asked after another series of moments in which the girl and dog considered him. "You'll freeze to death out here dressed like that. I have a little Goahti not far away. I might have some spare furs there."
Nuna considered him for a moment before adding, "And it isn't a wasteland. You'd be surprised by how much life there is here. Not just in the taiga, but on the tundra, too."
Ehvren's face twisted in great distaste at such a suggestion. Help.. from her? He stared from woman to dog, back to the woman again, the branch still in his grip, tight.
"It might not be a wasteland to you," he sneered. "But lands covered with this much, cold white ash are wastelands," he said with finality. And what other life? Are he saw were a few dinky trees and shrubs about. And the only animals was that weird bird from before, and well- this dog, who seemed to be the woman's companion of some kind.
Nuna gave a clear, ringing laugh at Ehvren's complaint.
"'Cold white ash?'" she repeated, smile clear on her face. "You aren't from around here!"
In fact, the man must be from very far away indeed! Though Nuna had never traveled south of the taiga, she talked with outcast and exiled travelers from Connlaoth and Serendipity and she knew that, at least there, they still had snow! Cold white ash! How funny!
Nuna decided that, whether he wanted it or not and however unpleasant he was being, this man clearly needed help. And there was no one else out here to give it but her. So she trudged through the deep snow to him and extended her hand to help him out of the snow bank. She paid no mind to the branch he held 'threateningly' out at her. What did he think he was going to do with that?
"Come on," she offered, "let's get you in front of a fire and dry you off."
He didn't like her tone, especially since he was still so confused! So he growled at her and held his tree branch tighter.
"Fire?! What good would that do in a land so cold? This place is worst than the Seraj Isa at night!" But how he knew that name, that location, he couldn't say.
Nuna withdrew her mittened hand. It seemed like the man was determined to freeze to death! She took a step back and looked at him, head tilted again.
Kanut, for his part, gave a sharp bark at the man as he brandished the tree branch.
Then Nuna gave a shrug. "Fire would warm you and dry off your clothes. The snow will get them wet. But alright, if you don't want to come, you can stay here."
Nuna turned back and trundled back through the snow to her sled. Kanut followed. As she set about fixing the sled's harness around Kanut's strong body, she called casually back to Ehvren, "Watch out for Bumbles, though. The last bit of light will be gone soon and they'll be out here, looking for fresh meat."
Bumbles, as all Yuuit children knew, were a myth used to scare children to go to bed. But Ehvren, she guessed, wouldn't know this.
The man blinked, his odd, dual layered and colored hair askew and brushed over his face. He wasn't sure why he felt a sudden surge of panic go through him- but what did she mean...
"Bumble?" his face twisted in question, his voice echoing after her. "What do you mean, a Bumble?"
OOC: lol Bumble XD
"The Bumble?" she repeated, making a show of going about and getting Kanut settled in the harness. Really she was stalling.
"I mean the Bumble that lives out here on the tundra," she answered casually, tying ropes, "the one that comes down from the ice mountains. Oh, but don't worry! So long as he's eaten, he won't bother you, probably. But I wouldn't make any pig-ish sounds if I were you! Bumbles love pork. Might eat you even if he were full! Of course," she said thoughtfully, with a ho-hum air of talking about the weather, "of course the reindeer herds have just moved on from this area, so the Bumble might be hungry."
She got on the sled and turned to Ehvren. She smiled and said brightly, "Oh, but don't worry! The Bumble might not even come this way. Anyway! Nice to meet you! Good luck!"
Was she toying with him? He knew she seemed too happy for her own good! Too cute too! She was probably a demon and wanted to watch him get eaten by this terrifying Bumble beast!
"Hey!" He barked after her, rushing towards her sled, large tree branch still in hand. The advancement made the dog growl, but Ehvren growled back. Then he turned to the woman.
"So you're just going to leave me here to be eaten?" Because maybes to him were just round about ways of avoinding yes!
Nuna made to look as though she were just about to set off in the sled - in reality, she wasn't; she wasn't going to leave the strange man unless she really had to - but she paused mid-motion and turned to Ehvren. She looked at him, her wide dark eyes looking almost surprised or confused that he was rushing after her with accusations of being abandoned.
"I invited you back to the Goahti," she said simply, matter-of-factly, and a touch innocently. "You didn't want to come. I think that you should, but I can't force you to take an action you don't want to."
She smiled then, brightening up. "But of course you're still welcome! It'd be nice to have some company. And I had a shaman cast an anti-Bumble spell on it."
Ehvren might miss it, but there was an amused look lurking right behind the surface of Nuna's white lies.
Ehren looked at her incredulously. He wasn't sure how it happened- but clearly she must've tricked him into it, and he growled and stormed over to her.
"I'll follow you to.. to... where ever that is! But I'm keeping my stick!" he added with finality.
"Oh! You're coming after all. Excellent!"
Nuna smiled brightly back at Ehvren. Her eyes twinkled at the stick he clutched. Well, let him keep it. He wouldn't do any real damage with it, and if it made him feel better?
"Go ahead and get up on the sled," she instructed him as she mounted the back of the dogsled. "Kanut's stronger than he looks and he can take us both!" Part of the enchantment laid on both of them was that Kanut had been growing stronger and stronger with each successive century that the pair wandered the arctic. She paused, then added kindly, "Of course you can keep your stick if you like. I wouldn't part you from it."
Ehvren simply stared. Her sweetness... It left a bad taste in his mouth. Or was that blood? Pah!
Growling, he clutched his tree branch tighter. Was she mocking him? Peering over at the sled, then to her, he shook his head.
"You expect us to fit on... that? And that.. that... beast to pull us?" How ludicrous! Stronger than he looked! The dog was pint sized, as far as he was concerned!
"Don't listen to him, Kanut," Nuna called encouragingly up to the snow-white dog. Then she turned to Ehvren again. "Okay, if you don't want to ride on the sled, you can follow the tracks. There shouldn't be any others to confuse you along the way. Then I can have some time to get a fire started and put together something warm for you. But don't dally," she told him, her face turning serious now. "Remember: Bumbles."
They ride in the sled while he walked?! It smelled like blasphemy to him! But at the reminder of the Bumble, hesucked in a breath through his teeth.
"Wouldnt it be safer if I did walk?" If a creature was so vicious and had a reputation, surely no meager sled would protect them. And he was certain he could out run the small beast pulling the sled.
Or was he himself tiny? He certainly didn't feel as tall as he should, or could.
"Oh, definitely not!" Nuna responded brightly when Ehvren asked if it was safer for him to walk. "But I can't force you to get on the sled if you don't want to. If you walk, though, I'd make sure to use that branch of yours to cover your footprints behind you. Don't want the Bumble following us home! He's not too interested in sled tracks. He knows a sled is too fast for him! But one walker, on his own? Slow and an easy catch!"
Nuna smiled brightly at him, much as though they were talking about the antics of a toddler or some other - mostly - harmless beast.
"Anyway, then! See you at the Goahti!" She gave Kanut a 'mush!' and the dog started off. The sled was just slow enough at the beginning, though, that Ehvren would be able to catch them if he ran!
Ehvren kind of stared at her. Cover his tracks? This beast went after those who walked? It didn't fully set in until he heard the sled take off. That's when his eyes went wide as he shouted after, "Hey! STOP!" And he charged after the sled- tree branch still in hand, which, he stumbled to use in attempts to cover his tracks as hastily as he could- you know... while running.. towards the sled... and stumbling around in the snow like an idiot.
With a command from Nuna to Kanut, the sled slowed down enough that Ehvren should be able to catch up with it. She didn't, however, stop the sled entirely. This was much more entertaining! Plus, Nuna wanted to make her story more 'convincing.'
"Hurry up!" Nuna called back to Ehvren. "The Bumble comes out soon, we can't dally. Jump on!"
Hot white puffs of breath escaped his mouth as he charged forward, fully aiming to get on that sled- one way or another. Bumbles be damned! He was a prince? A prince? Wait what- Why was he thinking he was royalty? But something made him look down to his neck, where a very odd looking, heart necklace lay. It was onyx- or something similarly black, and just as he was in the middle of studying it-
His foot took a turn for the worst- and he just no longer had traction on his boots-
so down he went, face first in the snow.
Nuna had to bite her lip to keep herself from grinning too broadly at the image of the prince huffing and puffing and plowing after them through the snow. After all, she had to look serious: the Bumble might be here any moment! "Hurry up!" she called encouragingly, "you're almost there!" But then the man seemed to get distracted by something and - oopsadaisy! - he was right back where he started: buried in a snow bank.
"Oh fine, Kanut, go ahead and stop," Nuna said to the dog, "let's pick the poor man up."
The sled did a big circle to slow down, coming to a stop directly besides Ehvren. The front part of the sled was covered with only a few furs and a small bag of supplies. There was plenty of room for the Snow Prince. "On you get!" Nuna commanded the strange man. "We need to get out of here before the Bumble shows up!"
Ehvren was sputtering snow and mumbling incoherently in some other language when Nuna and her sled returned to his side. He growled at her, but said nothing as he took a run towards her sled, afraid she might once again- take off without him and leaped onto it, clinging on for dear life. His knuckles were about as white as the snow, as he growled, peering forward, "Let's just get out of here! I don't exactly want to become monster food!"
Nuna smiled tightly to herself once Ehvren was up on the sled. It had been a long time since she'd warned anyone against a Bumble. It only worked on foreigners, of course. And how long had it been since she'd met a foreigner? Nuna suddenly realized that she didn't know. Did she really not know? Her concept of time was increasingly blurred and stretched Strange, though, that she couldn't remember. Well, she had a foreigner now.
"On we go, Kanut!" she called to the snow-white dog. Kanut wasted no time and leapt into action. Though the dog was bigger than he might have seemed to Ehvren, he nonetheless pulled the sled with more speed and alacrity than would be expected from one dog. In truth, Kanut was under a similar enchantment to Nuna. The dog was hundreds of years old, and only seemed to grow stronger with each passing winter.
The trio flew over the snow. The stumpy little trees became less and less as they left the taiga behind and transitioned onto the tundra. The last glow of light on the horizon disappeared and was replaced by bright, blazing starlight. After nearly an hour or so, they approached a snow-laden little turf house (https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-HV9Pdt8er5M/UgVqNQKpugI/AAAAAAAAArk/AnHnWImFf58/w815-h611-no/IMG_9562.JPG) or Goahti. ((Imagine it with snow!)) It was a tiny little dwelling and Nuna hadn't been here for a bit of time. But there should be stores of dry peat and wood, and it wouldn't take long to get a fire going.
"Here we are!" she declared brightly to Ehvren, jumping off the sled. "Haven't been here in a bit, but we should have it snug and warm in no time." She took the harness off of Kanut and stored the sled around the side of the Goahti. Hefting the sack from the sled, she came around and opened the Goahti door, only knocking off a few spider webs, then made an extravagant 'after you!' gesture to Ehvren.
Ehvren grit his teeth and held onto the little sled for dear life, so that by the time they had eventually made their way past the scattered trees and into the open, endless fields of snow, he hadn't quite noticed the passing time. BUt he was shivering and cold, and his knuckles were white from gripping onto the sled.
He was thankful for when it came to a halt and stiffly rose from the sled, nearly tripping over it a he looked around. But when she gestured to the little mud hut, he was taken a back and gave an offensive snap, "What!? What the hell is this!?" He pointed an accusing finger at it, it shaking with both anger- and well from the cold.
"You expect some mud hut to hide us from.. from a monster!?"
Was she mad!? Or maybe HE was for following her!
"No, don't worry." Nuna assured Ehvren's fears casually as she led them into the little hut, "there's a spell on it to keep the Bumble from finding it. If he comes here, he'll walk right past! All Yuuits have a shaman put an anti-Bumble spell on their Goahtis. So you don't need to worry about it!"
She smiled brightly at him to show how confident she was that they would not be eaten by Bumbles! Of course it was all lies, but there was no reason for him to know that!
"It keeps snow mastodons away, too. They won't eat you, mind, but a herd of them can do a good deal of damage!" Nuna told him this as she set about gathering dry twigs and peat blocks and kindling and assembling them in the stone hearth on the back wall of the little hut. "Just let me get the fire going, and I'll find you some furs and start on something warm to eat!"
She glanced over her shoulder and nodded to a little pallet made mostly of soft, dry mosses. "Go 'head and make yourself comfortable. It'll be warm in here in no time!"
Ehvren stared at all of this with a slacked jaw.
"How many monsters are out here?" And if this place has so many of them, why stay? It obviously was not for this damned cold ash everywhere! He shivered and shuddered and then peered at the mound of dirt she offered him.
"What? Make myself comfortable?! Are you suggesting I sit on a pile of dirt!?"
“Don’t be silly. It isn’t dirt. It’s moss,” Nuna chided Ehvren as she started the fire with a flint. If she was growing weary of his incessant moaning, she didn’t show signs of it yet. “It’s dry and soft and you’ll be much more comfortable there than standing around shivering!”
Once the fire was crackling with a life of its own, she got up and trundled over to a brightly painted, if slightly faded, chest to rifle up something more appropriate for Ehvren to fend off the cold.
While Nuna bustled about, the snow-white dog Kanut sat about a meter away from Ehvren. And stared at the strange man. And stared.
“There we go!” Nuna came back to the moss bed with her arms full of a fir-trimmed coat, a dusty-but-warm-looking knit hat, and a pair of oversized mittens. “They might be a bit big on you, but you’ll stay much warmer in these than what you’re wearing! I don’t know what you were thinking going out in the winter dressed like that. If we hadn’t found you, I’m sure you would have frozen to death.”
It was only then that Nuna realized she was talking to... no one. She was alone in the hut and a sudden breeze made her realize that the door was still open! She marched to the door of the Goahti and gave Ehvren a stern look, hands on hips!
"What are you still doing out here?" she demanded. "Get into the Goahti before the Bumble arrives and you give us all away!"
Ehvren, still not quite convinced to get inside the mud hut, sulked out in the cold and after a moment, realized the dog was staring at him. He glared back at it- and it seemed as if they were having a glaring contest, and only when Nuna stepped out of her hut did Ehvren actually growl warningly at the dog before turning to her.
He stared down at the clothing, and his face wrinkled indignantly.
"You expect me to wear those?"
It almost looked as if she was holding a monster blanket! For all he knew... maybe it was a BUMBLE lined clothing- or something to attract that beast to them- and he gave a shady look around, as if the very thought of that creature might summon it to them.
"Yes, I do expect you to wear these!" Nuna answered, regarding Ehvren sternly with her hands firmly on her hips. "Not only that, I expect you to get into the goahti now before you let all the heat from the nice fire I made escape!"
But Nuna was sick of waiting for Ehvren to comply with common sense, so she simply grabbed him by his shirt collar and dragged him into the goahti.
And just in case he thought of resisting, Kanut got back up on four paws and growled menacingly from behind the 'snow prince.'
Her sudden demands with her 'help' caught him off guard. And he was soon stumbling in behind her (as if he had much of a choice!) and knocked the top off his head off the door frame as he swore and muttered and rubbed at it through a growl.
Once they were inside, he managed to yank himself free as he continued to wince and nurse his head.
"Your mud hut attacked me!" he snapped, still growling as he rubbed at the top of his skull.
"It did no such thing!" Nuna chided him as she shut the Goahti door behind them. With the fire burning and the door finally closed, the little hut was getting a nice warmth about it, but it would still be a bit before it was properly warm, so Nuna gave Ehvren a stern look. "Now get those furs on before you catch your death. It'll be warm enough in here soon, but there's no point in freezing until the fire's going."
Now that she finally had the man out of the snow, it seemed Nuna was pretty comfortable taking charge as well as playing tricks!
"Now," she rummaged through the bag she'd hauled off the sled, producing three frozen trout. She brought down an old cast iron pan and hung it above the fire. "While I'm making us some food, I'm pretty curious how you ended up up here. Seems pretty foreign to you. 'White ash' and all. Then," she gave him an amiable smile, "I can tell you my story."
Ehvren was still not happy with the clothing offered to him. Perhaps it was the part of him that was heartless, but he eventually put the furs on, feeling warmer already- not that he'd admit that.
Peering over at the fire, he watched Nuna work and at her question, he frowned.
"I don't have a story to tell!" he snapped. "I just... woke up and I was here!"
That stopped Nuna. She set down the frozen fish she was getting ready to cook to look curiously at Ehvren, head tilted. Kanut was also looking at Ehvren, head tilted.
"What do you mean... you just woke up here?" she asked. That was certainly an unusual story, and Nuna's interest was piqued! "Are you injured? Did someone knock you over the head and dump you?" That might explain a lot!
"What?" He made a face, taking a step back indignantly. "No! At least I don't think so." He growled. "I don't remember."
"Huh," Nuna clucked, watching Ehvren curiously. The thought occurred to her that he did remember, but that for whatever reason he'd been exiled and thrown out in the first place, wanted to pretend that he didn't. Maybe he'd done something he was ashamed of, or knew would make other people suspicious of him. But somehow Nuna didn't think so. For whatever reason, she believed him.
Stranger things happened on the tundra, after all.
"You don't remember anything?" she asked carefully. She returned to her task of preparing the fish and preparing the fire for cooking. Everyone thought better and was less cranky on a full stomach than an empty one. She hoped, anyway. "From before you came here? Even... pictures? Or impressions? Or something like that?"
Ehvren made a face.
"Stop asking so many questions, sheesh. You're making my head hurt." And he rubbed at his temple with a soggy frown. "But yeah, if you MUST ask after I JUST told you, NO, I don't remember a thing."
But then he paused, a glint of a memory fluttering inside his head.
"Except..." And he blinked, his entire expression changing, softening... confused but also- there was some sort of recognition there. "I was... a.... prince."
"A prince, eh?"
Nuna didn't look back at Ehvren, she simply continued fussing over the cooking fire. The long, bright red sides of salmon were tied onto wooden boards leaning over the fire so they could be cooked by the flames. Meanwhile, she brought down a sack of flour and began mixing it with an egg she'd produced from the food bundle she'd brought in from the sled and some water.
"That's quite a thing to remember," she remarked. But she didn't necessarily sound like she didn't believe him. Simply stating the obvious! "Maybe you were exiled by someone who wanted your father's throne. Wherever that was. Somewhere warm, by the sounds of you!"
She hung a cast iron skillet over the fire and began dropping the thick biscuit dough into the pan. She figured if she kept him talking, he might not go storming back into the cold before she could figure out what to do with him. And who knew, she might even learn something about him. "The question is, what are you going to do now?"
Bristling, Ehvren gave a huff.
"I don't know! I can barely register who I am, let alone think about all that." And at the sound of cooking food, his stomach made a really loud rumble. Placing a hand over his belly, he peered over at the girl.
"Hey..." He began, inching his way closer. He gave a sniff, his mouth salivating. "What's that you got there? Those smell nice." He pointed at them, appearing just about ready to pluck it off the pan!
Smack! Nuna swatted away Ehvren's hand as it reached for one of the drop biscuits. To add to the woman's actions, Kanut growled, always keeping a keen eye on their visitor. "You can wait until that's done, thank-you-very-much," she chided. "Prince or no."
But the biscuits were nearly done, as was the fish. Nuna rooted around in the stores of the little shelter until she found three carved wooden dishes. She split the fish and the biscuits evenly between them. Then she handed one to Ehvren, set one aside for herself, then put the last on the ground for Kanut.
Nuna sat, legs akimbo, opposite of Ehvren on the pile of fur and mosses. There were no utensils, and she started eating the fish and the biscuits casually with her hands. "Well," she was saying, "I can help you get to Hyoite. Winter's setting in now and there will be seasonal settlements there, lots of people. You can probably find a whaling fleet that might take you on. They sail southwards sometimes and you could possible find passage with them to return to, well, wherever you're from. You don't seem too well suited for this environment, that's for sure."
The smack! came as a great surprise. And he was about ready to tear her a new one with his tongue, when the dog growled at him, so he growled back at the dog.
"Done? What's taking them so long?" he grumbled, and with drew from hoovering around too much. But his stomach was making quite a lot of loud, rumbling hunger induced noises that it was hard for anyone to ignore.
"You're going to kill me at this rate! All of this waiting... can't you see I need to eat?"
Really! No decency at all, this woman!
As he continued to wait, his feet and legs were tapping anxiously, his hands closing in and over his clothing and quickly became clammy with sweat as he stared from woman to food, to food,... to food. And once she moved ot place it before him, the smell alone was to die for.
He released a noise akin to a moan, and was soon grabbing up anyting on his plate and shoving it into his mouth. But seconds later, he was coughing and sputtering it back onto his plate and jumping up and pointing at her accusingly.
"YOUR FOOD BURNED ME! WHAT TRICKERY IS THIS!?"
Nuna ignored Ehvren's whining and complaints. What a child! Well, she tried to tell herself, he'd had a shock. But part of her was beginning to wish she'd left him in that snow bank!
But when he yelped that her food tricked him, she stared at him in utter disbelief.
"Have you never eaten before?"
He could not believe the audacity of such a question!
"I have never eaten something that tried to burn me before! What did you to do it!?"
Nun stared at him for a long time, trying to decide if he was mad or daft or simply play acting. Maybe he'd hit his head. That had to be it. Maybe he was born an idiot, and that's why he'd been sent up here. Surely a royal family would want to hide the weak link in their line?
Finally, she asked slowly and clearly, "Would you like me to take you to the nearest town?" she asked in an overdone manner that one might use for a child or someone who spoke another language, "where you can get passage on a ship?"
Ehvren's nostrils flared, and had he the ability, he'd be breathing fire or shooting her with flames from his eyes! But before he could even tear into her with a venomous reply, she had the audacity to offer up a suggestion to be rid of him!
"That tears it!" he said, slamming his hands onto the table and pushing himself to stand so he was towering over her. "How dare you speak to me like I'm some sort of invalid, some retardant of the mind! How dare you think I'm so ignorant, or am something you can just cast onto a ship to sink at sea!" His nostrils continued to flare as he was positively bursting with anger.
"Have you no idea how to treat royalty!? Or do people who live in this god forsaken freezing Hell have no idea what sort of world exists outside of it!?"
OOC: Just lol
Kanut growled loudly and even snapped a bark at Ehvren's outburst, but Nuna stayed perfectly calm, resting her chin in her hand. She waited patiently for Ehvren to finish, then gave a small - and somewhat exasperated - sigh. Then she sat up straighter and asked Ehvren again.
"Lets try this again. Would you like me to take you to Hyoite, where you can find passage on a ship to wherever you're from?" she asked in a more grown-up voice, but it sounded very much like she was humoring him. "Or would you like me to turn you back out on the tundra to be eaten by the Bumble? Or the giant, sword-toothed cats? Or the great white bears? Or the wolves?"
"It's your choice, your liege."
He could have tore his hair out, he was so upset! Even the colors of his eyes were dangerous and flaring. And then, with a defiant finger, he pointed it directly at her.
"What? I bet a fate out there with any monster is a better fate than remaining and suffering a moment longer beneath your belittling manners!"
And for a moment, he just stood there, so angry his face had already gone red.
And then he did it. He acted on impulse and suddenly snatched up her food as well as his own and shoved both into his mouth before turning tail to get the hell out of there!
Burning mouth or not, he would not make his grand exit hungry!
Kanut growled and snapped, lunging after Ehvren as he stole his mistress's food, but Nuna grabbed him, holding him back. For her part, she gave little reaction to Ehvren's tumultuous departure. She looked down at her empty plate, gave a little sigh, and gathered the ingredients up to make some more biscuits. She would just have to do without fish, it seemed.
"Oh, we'll go looking for his body in the morning if he doesn't stumble back in tonight," she told the dog flatly, who was watching her with curious cocked head. "He's certainly wrong if he thinks we're storming out after him to keep him alive."
...
And outside, even if Nuna was not keeping tabs on Ehvren, something else was. Crouching low behind rocks and bands of snow and shrubs, the Forgetful Prince was being followed by something else. A great, shaggy silver-furred, sabre-toothed cat (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homotherium#/media/File:Homotherium_serum_life-restoration.jpg).
And watching the sabre tooth cat was another, unseen but large problem. It was a rare sight, especially in this part of the tundra but he was no stranger to the cold. And so the sabre tooth cat went unnoticed, but when Ehvren hears a rustling of trees when there was no wind, he turned around and saw nothing. But when the rustling started up again, his eyes went to the tree tops and it was that of which shook. And being the shaking was something so large, the trees barely covered him! And just as Ehvren was trying to figure out just what it was, the sabre tooth cat saw its oppurtunityaand lunged out of the bushes.
And what happened next was like a dream, for the second the large cat sprung into action, jaws open wide to crunch over Ehvren's, a large, white hairy arm came swooping out from the trees and grabbed the cat by its body and proceeded to shove the car into its mouth, its body cracking and dribbling hot red blood down from its jaw. And just as it was finishing, it noticed the gaping Prince.
"Oh, shit!"
Wasting no.time, he turned tail and ran, rushing fast across the snow and throwing open the door to Nuna's hut before slamming it closed and looking at her with wide, saucer sized eyes. And before she could even ask, Ehvren exclaimed, "There's a Crumble trying to eat me!"
And Nuna would only have seconds to disbelieve him before the entirity of the roof was torn off and there he stood, roaring over then in all his furious, white furry fury.