Meeting in the Snow [Alea Davenport]

[Yuros]

Yuros tugged at the cloth once more. It was itchy and restrained him more than he liked, but the Kelvic had to admit that he was warmer. Once more he tried to smile, this attempt slightly better as Yuros became more accustomed to making such expressions, "Thank you. It is."

He had to make a concious effort to form the words. It had been several years since he had spoken, and the words and phrases were only just beginning to come back. Just as he was about to speak again, Alea's horse made its move.

The girl stumbled right into Yuros' chest, and for a moment the Kelvic almost retaliated with aggression. However, he managed to restrain himself from the urge and caught the girl as she hit so that she would not fall into the snow once again. Casting his eyes on the horse, Yuros thought he saw the light of michief in the beasts eyes. Once more the Kelvic thought, Such silly creatures are horses.

Looking down Yuros could see Alea still pressed against him. Wondering if she were hurt the Kelvic gently grasped her shoulders and kneeled down so that they were on eye level. His eyes wandered over her for a moment, and when he saw no injury Yuros smiled truly for the first time, "Are you alright?"

[Alea Davenport]

When the man knelt down and smiled like that, his eyes mere inches from her face, Alea's heart-rate doubled. "Meep!" Her mind went blank, or more accurately, filled with a sea of emotions she couldn't interpret. In a few moments, however, practicality won back control, and she closed her eyes, cleared her throat and nodded. "Y-yes, I'm fine." She slowly got back up. "I should probably be getting back to town." So much for her camping trip. But after this, she decided maybe she WASN'T ready to try camping in the wilderness on her own yet. She pulled away from the stranger...more reluctantly that she would have expected.

She grabbed her horse's reigns, giving him the glare he deserved, and was about to try jumping onto his back when she saw the look in his eye and thought better of it. They would WALK back to town.

She paused and looked back at the stranger, and made a decision. One part of her shouted DANGER, while the other responded with equal force GLEE. "Are you on your way to Avanthal? Maybe we could walk together."

[Yuros]

Standing slowly Yuros looked out over the vast white landscape. In the distance the clouds were darkening. Sniffing, the Kelvic could also smell a change in the atmosphere, and the wind was growing colder with every passing minute.

A storm is coming, thought Yuros. Scratching his head he looked to the Ice Gates of Avanthal. They were still a few miles out, and the storm was approaching fast. Looking up he could already see snow flakes beginning to fall.

Casting his gaze on Alea once more Yuros said, "If we walk we shall not beat the storm... and it would be best for you to be within the gates before the snow becomes too thick." Yuros sighed and shook his head. He could not believe what he was about to suggest, but given the difficulty the girl had with her horse and the speed of the coming storm he could see no other choice.

"If you wish to arrive before the storm eclipses the sky, you will need to ride. Come, I shall carry you on my back as far as the city gates."

As he was saying this the Kelvic was already taking off the cloak in preparation for his change.

[Alea Davenport]

What- what- what- Alea's thoughts would not form. Fortunately, the part of her brain that was not overcome by the impossibleness of her situation had noticed the wind picking up. She grabbed the discarded cloak and wrapped in once more around herself. Honestly, if this kept up she was just going to give up on trying to convince the Kelvic to wear clothes. She looked several times between the horse and the man who was even now becoming an impossibly huge stag. Logic informed her that she didn't have a choice, but abandoning her horse to his own devices felt so wrong. She yanked the reigns and looked into his eyes and said, "Look you, I know you're not as stupid as you act. You've tossed me about more than necessary, but you haven't left me yet. We ALL need to get back to the city NOW. So take care of the cat and go where it's safe!" She then pointed the horse in the direction of Avanthal and gave him a shove.

The horse took a few steps and then bent down to nibble the snow. The wind was picking up more fiercely now, and Alea was running out of time. With a silent prayer to any god or goddess who could hear to keep her horse and cat safe, Alea approached the huge animal who had knelt low for her to mount. She got a good grip on one of his antlers and hoisted her light frame onto his back. She bent low over his neck and held onto his fur and said, "Please, if you can, try to make sure my horse makes it back too. I don't want him to get lost out here."

[Yuros]

Yuros felt a slight annoyance at the girl using his antlers to pul herself up, but with a sigh he dismissed this feeling. Once he was certain she was settled with a firm hold on his fur he stood to his full height, his antlers held high in a majestic fashion. Stamping a foot the Kelvic turned to the horse, lowering his head so that they were on eye level. In a way that only one animal can speak with another animal, Yuros made it clear where they were going and that the horse should follow. Whether it did or not, however, was still to be seen.

Shaking his head and snorting, Yuros turned toward the city gates. Then, after looking back to insure that Alea was secure, he set off at a slow canter. As he moved through the snow the Kelvic began picking up speed, tossing his head from time to time as his muscles warmed up. Faster and faster he began to go until finally they were speeding across the frozen expanse. Yuros' breaths came out in deep white puffs from his nostrils, and his muscles rippled under his fur with each pounding beat of hooves on the frozen ground. His strides held an even pattern as the great stag seemed to fly across the distance, the city gates growing closer by the second.

[Alea Davenport]

Alea clung tighter and tighter to the stag's fur as he went faster and faster. Amazingly, his fur was so thick that she could barely feel the cold touch of the wind racing past them. Of course, that didn't stop Alea from fearing for her life; falling off her horse was one thing, but falling off at this speed, and from this height, could be seriously damaging. She clenched her muscles tighter and tighter in an effort to stay on, and even when they began to ache she didn't dare let go.

Finally, mercifully, the stag began to slow down. When she was finally at a walk, Alea could see the city gates on either side. She carefully pushed herself into a sitting position and slowly unclenched her fists. She winced. "Owwww...." She shook her hands and flexed her fingers in an attempt to restore feeling and mobility.

When her hands were as much restored to normal as they were going to be for the time being, she remembered to look for her horse. with relief, she saw it cantering toward them. Her instinct was to go out and meet him, which led her to the problem of how was she going to get down?

[Yuros]

As the gates grew closer Yuros began to slow his pace, taking a curved path so that his sudden slow down would not jar his passenger. Tossing his head once more, the stag cantered in place for a moment as he waited for the horse to catch up. Snorting the kelvic looked back at the glimmering gates of icerock.

Yuros could feel Alea shifting on his back as he turned and began walking through the gates. On either side the human guards looked up at the Kelvic with expressions of mixed nervousness and amazement. Their bear companions, however, paid little attention to the sight of a Talderian Stag. They themselves were a sight to behold, and Yuros felt a bit of nervousness when he saw their large paws and, when one bear yawned, their sharp canines. His muscles trembling slightly, Yuros continued on through the gates and into the city of Avanthal.

Once inside the gates the stag knelt down low to the ground and allowed Alea to clamber off. Once more, he noticed with slight annoyance, using his horns to stabilize herself. Then, in a swirl of flashing lights, Yuros returned to his human form. Looking around the city, the Kelvic was a bit overwhelmed. He was unsure of what he should do now...

[Alea Davenport]

The flash of light was not quite enough warning for Alea to cover her eyes. "Gah!" She removed her outer cloak again and wrapped it around his shoulders (from the side this time, which she found less uncomfortable). Then she looked at his face and saw an expression she knew all too well. It was the very same expression she'd worn upon arriving in Avanthal. Taking pity on the beast who had just saved her, and her horse, from certain snowy doom, she smiled and grabbed his hand. "Come on. I'll show you where I make camp. Then maybe tomorrow I can show you around the city, or at least what I know of it."

As her horse sidled up to her, she grabbed its reigns, and then began gently dragging both of them through the city toward her tent.

[Yuros]

With the cloak about his shoulders, Yuros turned and looked over at Alea as she took his had. Before he knew it she was pulling him through the city, taking several twists and turns until they finally came upon what he could only assume was her tent.

Shivering slightly with cold (though he was thankful for the cloak that Alea had wrapped around him now), Yuros looked at the shelter, then back at Alea, "This is your shelter?"

The Kelvic was unsure why the girl had brought him here, but for the moment he was content simply to have a firm hand guiding him.

[Alea Davenport]

"This is it, yes" she answered. She yawned widely and realized what an exhausting day she'd had. For a moment two sides warred in her head, but in the end the side that balked at allowing a naked man into her tent was defeated by the side which was morally opposed to allowing people she liked to freeze to death. She pulled him into the tent and gave him the blanket, since she was wearing far more clothes than he was. She also pulled off her boots and told him that they would help keep his feet warm. They were too small for his huge feet, but she had him just wear them halfway, such that he wouldn't be able to walk in them, but they covered his feet.

~*---*~

Nights in Avanthal were always cold, but without a blanket huddle under, Alea found her rest much less comfortable than usual. She shivered non-stop, despite curling into a ball, and the cold in her feet gave her nightmares that even her cat's presence could not banish.