A Father's Last Gift

There was nothing. No air. No Light. No Sound. Aran floated in nothingness for a moment before his senses began returning to him. The weight of the snow had knocked him out, pounding against his helmet. Whatever air there had been did not come, and he could feel himself growing light headed. The avalanche had engulfed him, and he couldn't even move his arms to struggle. He began to panic for a moment before he remembered how important it was to stay calm. Thought returned to him, and he focused, shooting flames from his hand. It was free. He wiggled it around, and the spreading heat melted the snow as he pulled himself toward the open space.

The stress of using his magicka and the lack of oxygen nearly sent him into unconsciousness again, but he broke the surface as steam rose around him. The heat was almost choking, but it was air. Aran sucked deep as he found that he could breath again. He continued to melt the snow around him, freeing himself from the avalanche as the wind continued to whip around above.

There was a sound coming from somewhere behind him. It was faint, but it sounded like his name. He pulled himself from the hole and crawled across the snow, heading for where the sound had been. Aran worried for the horses, but they were stronger, and he hoped they could free themselves. Right now his focus was ensuring his master was okay.

Adrenaline was coursing through him as he crawled through the snow, warding off the freezing cold that had met him as the water from melted snow washed over his body. He could feel it hardening now, already freezing to him. If they did not deal with the cold soon. Find a cave. . . or anything really, they would start to succumb to frostbite, maybe even freeze to death if they depleted all their magicka. There was no relief from the blizzard in this crevice path.

He nearly smiled despite the freezing cold as he saw Chloe's hand through the storm. She was struggling with the snow, no doubt covered with freezing water as she seemed to have used fire as well. “Chloe!” he called out, crawling quickly towards her. He could not see her horse, and he hoped the snow was not so high that she was still atop Avril. There would be no escape for the horse then.

Aran reached her and grabbed a hold of her hand, pulling with all his might. She seemed stuck for a moment before the snow gave way, and he dragged her from the snow. Wind whipped against his back, but he paid it no mind, pulling off his wet cloak and draping it over her shoulders. Wet or not, the added padding would serve well to stave off the biting wind. His own discomfort mattered not.

“My lady, are you okay?” He shouted. For the first time since they'd met, Aran's voice held an edge to it that was something other then it's regular, cold, passive sound. There was concern in his voice, and worry. He was too concerned with her well being to worry about his faults at this moment. Action was required, and the safety of his master took precedence to everything else.

Aran was worried about the horses, but if they were buried there wasn't much he or Chloe could do for them now. He hadn't seen Strider when he'd pulled himself from the snow. Hopefully Avril and Strider had bolted when the avalanches had begun to fall, and were now safe in some cave. Whatever the fate of their mounts, Aran and Chloe needed to get to shelter and quickly.

It was all he could do to keep from shaking, which the freezing cold seeping through. Without their mounts, they had no way to keep a fire going without finding some tinder. There would be no food or drink to help them recover their strength. The only thing to do was wait out the blizzard and hope it ended soon. Not for the first time today, he wished they hadn't set foot on the mountain.

He forced himself to focus, remembering his training and resolving to focus on one problem at a time. He was dangerously close to panicking, and the freezing cold was not helping. His toes and fingers were going numb, but he quickly looked around for shelter. There were no caves that he could see down the pass on either side except... Aran looked up at an indent in the rock. It would have been impossible to reach before, but it could lead to a cave. With the large amount of snow that had fallen, it was only a man's height above them now.

"There my lady," he said, trying to keep his teeth from chattering. "Above. Come, I will push you up." He pulled himself back to his feet, walking over to the wall. Aran could no longer feel his toes, but he wouldn't need them much for climbing. He rubbed his hands together to warm his fingers a bit, then linked them together to form a step for his master. "We must get into shelter. Quickly, before the cold sets in our veins."

Aran did his best to lift Chloe up onto the ledge, struggling with the numbness that was setting in. It took her a moment, but with good timing Aran helped her kick off and she managed to grasp onto the ledge and pull herself over. Aran sighed with relief, and began rubbing his fingertips together. It was going to be very difficult to get himself into the cave, but he'd need to do it quickly before he grew too cold to pull himself up.

He gripped a outcropping in the stone, looking for purchase with his foot before pushing himself up to a second handhold. Aran could barely feel the slippery rock beneath his fingers, but he held on tight, searching through the flurry for another space to grab onto. He found it, though when he reached for it his foot slipped and he fell back towards the ground. Determined, he made from the wall again, repeating the same motions. This time, he managed to grasp the outcropping and pulled himself up further.

The ledge above was just out of his reach, and he could feel himself slipping again when Chloe appeared over the edge of the cave. "Here, let me help." With a smile beneath his helmet, he grasped her hand with one of his own, pushing himself up with his legs. He got his other hand onto the ledge and began to pull himself up with Chloe's help, when his foot slipped and they began to fall. His foot scrambled, and he was worried he would bring them both back to the ground when it caught on another rock and stopped their descent. With a final heave and Chloe's help, Aran managed to make it over the ledge, into the cave and away from the biting snow.

It felt good to be out of the freezing wind, seeping in through his armor and chilling him to the bone. Here in the cave, at least the cold wasn't blowing against him. He crawled away from the edge after letting go of Chloe's hand, and staggering to his feet. It was dark inside the cave, too dark to see properly, but there were more important things to worry about. It was difficult for him, but he managed to cast a candlelight spell, leaving a ball of light floating above his head. It was more magicka then he wanted to expend, but without a way to see properly he wouldn't be able to find a way to light a fire. The light gave him what he needed, and after a glance to make sure Chloe was okay, he examined the cave.

It was decently large, enough to stand in but was mostly bare and hollow. There was a dead tree log on one side, and in the back was a smaller tunnel that stretched into darkness. From what he could tell, they wouldn't be able to walk long if they went down it, and might have to crawl after some ways. After that, it continued on into blackness, and Aran would need to keep an eye on it. Right now, he needed to stop them both from freezing, and from what he could tell, Chloe was even more exhausted then he was.

Without wasting any time, he began breaking off pieces of the log and piling them in the center of the cave, making a small pile for a fire. With a use of flames that tired him even more, he directed it towards the dead wood, and after melting away the ice and leaving the water to run across the ground, he motioned for Chloe to come closer. He was still freezing to the bone, and could not feel his feet, but his master took precedence over his own well being. “Here Chloe,” he said, teeth rattling. “By the fire. Are you okay? Is everything alright?” He began inspecting her without even waiting for a reply, checking her for any signs of cuts, bruises, or injury. If she was, he would be able to heal her, at least enough to protect her from any major injuries that were a threat.

"Just this horrible wound, my Shield spell took the majority of the blow. Or I'd be afraid I'd broken one of my ribs or an arm in the crush."

He smiled beneath his helmet, and a small trickle of magicka flowed from his fingertips into her wound. It was much easier for him to heal wounds, what with the practice and experience he had with restoration magic. He pulled his hand away and went back to the fire, resolving to do something about their situation. He began removing his armor, undoing the straps and setting the metal down beside the fire to warm.

"Are you okay? Did you see anything deeper into the cave?"

He pulled away his breastplate and shook his head. “There is a small tunnel, though it grows narrow the further in it goes. I am not sure it has an outlet, and I did not feel a draft from the other side, though that could be due to the wind coming from outside.” It could also mean that air was flowing in from here and down and out somewhere else. If so, any number of things could be on the other side, though it was unlikely anything as large as a frost troll or giant would come crawling through it.

He pulled the last of his armor away, and wrapped his hand carefully in the cloth that had covered his arms and hands, making himself a protective mitt as he grabbed a flatter portion of the armor that had covered his leg. Aran would not be able to heal them both forever at this rate, and if they both caught hypothermia, there wouldn't be much he could do as tired as he was. Going to his knees on the cold rock floor, he began using more of his magicka to quickly heat the metal so that he would be able to use as an iron while explaining his intentions to Chloe.

“My lady Chloe, it would be wise for us to dry our clothes, so that we do not catch cold. I can use this an iron, to remove the ice and water from our clothing. If it please you, I will start with our cloaks so we have something to keep us warm while I work?” His face was back to the stony cold that she had seen before, fitting for the cold cave in which they now took shelter, though it was beginning to warm from the fire.

"You never cease to amaze me with your ingenuity."

Aran nodded as his began removing their cloaks, wringing the water out of them. He was looking forward to getting some freshly warmed clothes around him, as cold as he was. Judging by her appearance, the potion he'd made her quickly had served it's purpose, and Chloe seemed to have even managed to stop her teeth from chattering. He had not been able to manage the same feat.

"I was just going to suggest I take all the wet clothes off and leave them to dry by the fire, but your method is best."

The joke went completely over his head, and he simply shrugged as Chloe handed him their cloaks. If he did not feel as though he might be able to use his magicka efficiently enough, it was exactly what he would have done. But keeping some warm clothing on would be better then none, and he didn't want his master to feel any more discomfort then necessary.

Carefully, he began using the metal plate to iron down their cloaks, pressing the water out and slowly filling the cave with steam as the water evaporated under the hot metal. It was a small amount, but it was a nice addition to the heat from the fire, and brought the cave to a more moderate temperature. He finished their cloaks, and left his on the ground across the fire while he stood again to hand Chloe her cloak.

“Here, Chloe. Your clothes now, if it please you.”

Aran turned away respectfully, in case she desired privacy, remembering that she had not wanted him to dress or bathe her. With no regard for his own privacy, he moved back to the other side of the fire, and began stripping off his wet clothes, tossing them down by his makeshift iron. Once he had done away with all his wet and frozen clothing, he leaned over and grabbed his cloak, shivering slightly in the cold. He draped it around his shoulders and tied it closed, pulling the cloak tight around his bare body, glad to be blocking out the cold. His hair was still wet, but as nothing could be done about it now, he refrained from putting his hood up for the moment. Turning, he looked to see whether or not his master had finished with her own clothes, so that he could begin drying them for her. "Are you finished, Chloe?"

Aran turned back around as Chloe stated she was not yet finished, avoiding looking at her out of respect for his master, and ensured the cloak was wrapped tightly around him, before going to his knees back by the fire and his makeshift iron. The floor was harder now, without the padding between his knees, and he shifted uncomfortably until he found a smoother spot in the ground. The cloak at least was still warm, and the rock had begun to warm from the nearby fire, so at the least the cold was not yet seeping into his body too strongly. He begun ironing some of his own clothing until Chloe returned to the fire and shoved her wet clothes towards him.

"Make sure you do a good job on the creases, you are being graded on your performance."

Aran kept himself from smiling at her joke and nodded, pulling her clothes closer and finishing the piece he was working on before starting on Chloe's. He would do her's first, as was fitting for a servant, then worry about getting himself more comfortable. The fire was enough to keep him from the risk of any further injury from the cold. His feet were beginning to hurt more as the feeling returned to them, and he might actually need to heal them if it got any worse.

He reheated metal, and began carefully ironing Chloe's clothing, doing the best he could with the materials he had. It took some time to get all of the water out of the clothing, but he kept at it. He begun with her undergarments first, hoping that Chloe wasn't bothered by him touching them, and handed Chloe the pieces to don as he finished with them. It took him nearly half an hour to finish ironing all of her clothing, but by the time he was done his hand felt like it was on fire with how hot the cloth protecting his hand had gotten. Carefully, he rewrapped one of his wetter pieces of clothing that had yet to dry around his other hand, and resumed ironing his own clothes quietly.

It took nearly another hour, and he had to switch hands again, but Aran finally managed to finish ironing the rest of his clothes. Relieved he leaned back on his legs with a sigh, his knees starting to ache from being on the hard ground so long. He stood up, gathering his clothes, and shedding the cloak, mostly oblivious to Chloe as he turned around and began to dress. Aran had focused as much as he could on the task at hand, losing himself in the repetitive work, but his worries began returning to him as he dressed. They could not stay here long before they before they both began to grow hungry, or worse.