Day 4: Frozen Waters

Crunch!

Crunch!

Crunch!

Leone paused, feeling his boot sink in further under the snow. With both hands on his leg, he struggled a bit to pull out before stepping more cautiously next time. A clump of snow fell onto his hair followed by a groan as he shook it off. Before he was used to hearing a giggle when that happened but now, now thing's have grown pretty dire.

"You have no clue what to do, do you?"

He stood still when she spoke those words, hugging himself before sneezing twice. Rubbing his runny nose, he sniffed and stroked his hair back.

"We've been at this for days, and all we've done is catch a few rabbits. Heck, I have been the one catching them, you haven't caught much at all besides a cold. Some hunter!"

He closed his eyes and continued moving forward. Emyri lept from one branch over him to the other, being careful not to slip from the snow.

"You know, I am starting to think that you never intended to help us at all, do you? You just took the chance at freedom to run off and let us die hungry."

He stood still once again. "You kept my weapons and mare. How am I to run off on foot?"

"We gave you your armor back for a start, along with your knife."

"Dagger." He slipped it out from its sheath and raised it for her to see. "Not a knife, a dagger."

"Whatever, you have something to work with that's the point. And we've been walking south for some time now, we really should have raided the village again instead of this stupid waste of time."

"Fine by me, you'd find yourself at the same predicament if they hadn't moved on yet."

She frowned. "Moved on?"

Leone turned back to look at her. "You really think you're the only one fighting here? Those people you stole from, they were struggling to manage with what they had. Said they only sufficed to keep the kids healthy and warm, but after you they were now debating to move elsewhere. Their village would be empty by now."

She kept quiet with an open mouth while he continued moving forward, the sound of crunching ice below his footsteps following him. Eventually, she lept forward from tree to tree to catch up.

"B-But we needed the food too!"

"You can plant your own crops should you learn, but not in this weather. Whoever ran you out planned to let nature take the kill. You people must have done a number on their food if they took it that far."

He stopped as she landed in front of him.

"So what if we steal for food, everything in this place does the same! We fight to survive, just like you said."

"Then go pick a different spot, somewhere warm and kind away from here."

"And just how would you suggest we do that, pick up and leave? We're sick and not well, just like you are." She mentioned as he turned and coughed, was he always a bit pale or was that from the cold? "This was a bad idea, why couldn't I catch a better hunter?"

"Huh, then why not let me leave?" He asked, rubbing his nose. She turned her head and crossed her arms.

"Why did you save me back there?" He blinked. "Don't act coy with me, those wolves were going to kill me, weren't you trying to kill me too?"

"I was doing as the contract had written."

"Which is to kill me, right!?" He shrugged. "How can you act so calm, I am being serious right now! Were you trying to kill me then?"

"I don't know. To be honest, I forgot to have them sign the contract."

"You mean you wouldn't get paid!?"

Leone sighed. "Afraid so, childish mistake really."

"Are you a rookie? Are you a first timer, an amateur? Do you have any experience being a hunter?" His lack of response answered her questions. "I placed my bet on a boy, oh gods help me."

He stepped aside as she tussled and pulled her hair, leaning her head against a tree. "You don't see very far, do you?"

"Bite me!" She groaned, squeezing her eyes shut. Her tails coiled up around her waist squeezing lightly, she had the strongest urge to scream and throw a tantrum right then and there. Instead, she slipped to her knees and began to pout, shaking her head in denial and shame.

"This isn't happening, I can't mess up like this again. I can't!"

"What's your problem?" His voice called from a few meters away.

"You! You are my problem, you, and them, and me. I just can't do things right, and everyone needs me to get my act together. My sisters, my mom, my clutter. I can't do this, I can't be the new Head Mother. I can't even hold you down and force you to help us. I'm just a-a failure."

"That's tough." She could hear him grunting as something cracked louder and louder, was he breaking glass?

"What are you doing? You can go already, I'm not even holding the chain so just go." That cracking sound continued much to her annoyance. She grumbled and twisted around. "I said-!"

Leone looked back to her with a wet dagger in one hand and a twitching salmon in the other. In front of him stood a carved out hole in the snow, where fresh water stood miraculously waiting for them.

"But, but... " She crawled over to him fast as she could on all fours, hovering over the hole in the snow. "But how?"

He wiped some snow away from the edge of the ice, revealing a blue coat underneath.

"This is the Mirakuru river, it's just frozen from the surface but beneath it the salmon swim freely like nothing. Salmon are both freshwater and seawater creatures, but I can promise you this river is fre-ah okay then!" He flinched as she dumped her head inside, gurgling as several bubbles flowed to the surface. He raised his arm to block from the splash she made as she whipped her head back, her hair following like a wet tail. She fell back on her but with a large sigh and a childish look of contempt.

"That was cool!" Her teeth instantly began to chatter. "But so worth it! Now w-w-we have... vvv-water... enough water for them ehehehe."

"Hope the beverage was worth it." Leone ducked away and sneezed, getting on his feet when a tail curled around his arm.

"Wait, aren't you... y-y-you know, going to sh-sh-show me?"

His eyes narrowed down. "Show you what? There's nothing to it, see?" He stomped lightly, being careful not to overdo it. "Here the oomf? Not as much crunch to it, something is solid down there and the vibrations sent around make that oomf noise. That's how you know you've hit water."

"O-o-okay." She raised her foot before he reached for it in time.

"Not like that, you do it to find water but be careful. Too much... too -achu!"

"B-b-bless you."

He sniffled. "Eh, too much force and you risk breaking the ice and falling through."

"Won't it be th-th-thick?" She shivered, wrapping her tails around her body and rubbing slowly.

Leone shook his head. "Doesn’t matter, better safe than sorry unless you don't mind catching hypothermia, which you obviously don't."

"Hy-ypo what?"

"Forget it.

"No, h-how... hole?" She shook his hand weilding the dagger for him to understand.

"Just carve into it in chunks, like this." He demonstrated, pushing the dagger into the ice several inches. "Not like it matters, unless you have a dagger or hatchet or... something."

She extended her claws and sliced through the ice in ragged chunks, carving a messier yet still effective hole exposing the fish. Emyri smiled as her ears flicked happily.

"Well, there ya go I guess. Yea. We can grab a few salmon and head back, as long as we direct-whoa!?" She hugged him tight, sending tingles through him as her body trembled and made him shake with her. "You okay?"

"Thank you." She responded, letting go when he flicked his head and sneezed again. "Whoa, you're not looking so good."

"Being shirtless in the winter does that, this armor isn't meant for warmth. My underarmor was, until you shredded it."

"Oh, sorry about that." She touched her paws together nervously as he bent over the water hole.

"So, do I need to teach you how to fish?" She shook her head no before extending her claws and raising her paw over the hole. As soon as a salmon swam by, she slapped the water hard causing a slight puddle to splash on the ice with a salmon flopping about. "Hey, not bad."

She smirked and continued slapping away until they have around a dozen or so salmon to take with. He picked them up and stuffed them using the leaf poncho they gave him as a bag before carefully swinging it over his shoulder.

"Shame we can't bring water with and it's too cold to drink. Chu!"

"Yea!" Emyri agreed, jumping up excitedly. "But we did catch some yum yums so that's good enough. I'll remember the route and we can bring more with us next time, tomorrow even! Achu!"

"Ugh, we're gunna end up sick at this point. I need some warmth."

"Me too." The Nekomata agreed, sluggishly following him as they retraced their steps.

"You wouldn't have gotten cold if you weren't so wild and instinctive back there, Miss failure."

"Oh shut up." She pushed him aside, making him smile back. Lucky we found some food after all. Honestly though, he never did answer why he's helping us. But I guess... maybe he is helping us because we're helping him too? With this winter we're both stuck in frozen waters so...

Emyri smiled, feeling lifted and determined. This hunter might not be so bad after all.