Ginko paused at the edge of the path, his green-eyed gaze scanning the snow covered valley. His white hair mirrored the snow, and the moon light seemed to make both glow unnaturally. Ginko sucked nonchalantly on a cigarette, exhaling sharply, the smoke mingling with his white breath. "I guess I'd better not travel this path at night..." He turned his head, looking at the path ahead. It was rather narrow and hugged the mountainside, and with a steep slope on the opposite side of the mountain face, it wasn't a leisurely stroll.

Ginko took another drag on his cigarette and then dropped it into the snow, pulling his scarf over his face and taking a step back. He slipped in the somewhat slushy snow, falling backwards and landing heavily. The snow did nothing to cushion his fall, and he slid several feet down the slope in the duration of it. The top edge of his medicine box jabbed into his neck, and he rubbed it where the wood had poked him. "Ow-ow..." Ginko stared edgily at the bottom of the ravine, far below. If he had fallen, it likely would have been his demise. He turned, attempting to make his way back up to the path, when he realized he was putting his weight on a snow drift. Before he had time to shift his weight, the drift gave in, and Ginko tumbled down the slope and into the ravine.

A young woman crouched in the snow-covered underbrush, holding a rifle in her gloved hands. Her long black hair fell in a glossy curtain around her shoulders. Covering her hunched back was a grey fur cloak, speckled with brown and white. The collar was particularly fluffy, shielding her face from the wind and disguising it. There was some snow in her hair and dotting the cloak, and her brow was furrowed in concentration. Standing on the path at the top of the ravine stood the young buck she had been tracking all night. It seemed as though it were about to bed down for the night. She waited until it bent its knees, settling in a small dead bush. Then she aimed carefully and fire.

The buck hardly had time to prick its ears at the sound of her raising her gun before it was struck in the neck, just above it's shoulder. It tumbled over, falling down into the ravine.

"Ah, crap. It was too close to the edge..." The woman clapped a gloved hand to her head, leaning back. She huffed irritably, her breath forming a cloud in the air, and got to her feet. She hooked the rifle strap over her shoulder and slung it onto her back, heading around to the least steep side of the valley. The waxing moon was high by the time she finished her cautious journey to the bottom. She tromped through the snow, underbrush, and dead leaves, looking for her kill. She stumbled into Ginko lying face-down in the snow, mistaking him for dead.

"Shit, someone fell." She went over to him, pushing him onto his back and pulling her glove off of one hand. She hovered her hand over Ginko's lips, and when she felt the faint stir of his breath, she gave a jagged sigh of relief. "That's good, he's alive..." She looked over him, noticing that his leg seemed somewhat off, twisted in an odd direction. "Oh, that isn't as good." She inspected it more closely and, upon deeming it broken, went to stand. She noticed the end of cigarette poking out of his pants pocket and swiped it up, holding it between her lips.

"I don't think he'll mind." She said with a small smirk. She lit it with a match from her own pocket and got to her feet. She squatted, picking Ginko up carefully and hauling him over one shoulder. She slowly stood and rolled her shoulder a bit, deciding Ginko wasn't as heavy as she thought he would be, and continued her walk through the ravine.

It wasn't long before she found the buck she'd shot, and hauled it over her other shoulder. The woman then turned back, carrying both the young buck and Ginko on her shoulders with apparent ease.

She retraced her footsteps, clumping heavily through the snow. Her pace slowed as she climbed up the slope back to the mountain path, and began to break a sweat as she did.

There was a dog waiting obediently at the top of the valley, and it whimpered slightly when she came close. She looked up, spotting the dog sitting in the snow.

"Oh, hey, Ouji. Look, you're supposed to find people who fall down the ravine. What would we do if he'd died down there?" The dog whimpered again and gave a small bark.

"That's right, we'd be in trouble. Now I know I can't rely on you to find people!" Ouji seemed to pout, pressing his nose into the snow and covering it with his paws. "Oh, come on you." The woman walked past him, looking around for the path. She found it and crossed it, walking into the woods beyond. Ouji followed faithfully behind her, occasionally throwing glances at Ginko, or maybe the buck thrown over the woman's shoulder.

Ginko opened his eyes faintly, taking a few seconds to realize he was being carried. Most notable was the deep, aching pain in his leg. He currently felt like he was dressed in ice and snow rather than his winter clothes, although that did nothing to dull the pain in his bruised and battered body. Each step his carrier took sent a fresh lance of pain through his ribs. He heard a faint whine and saw a Shiba Inu dog following behind. The dog whimpered louder, and the woman paused, looking over her shoulder. "What is it, Ouji?" The dog gave another small bark and jumped up against her back, licking Ginko's face.

"Oh, is he awake?" The woman still had one of his cigarettes between her lips. Ginko turned his head, seeing the buck that the woman was carrying.

"You're...Carrying both..?" The woman moved forward, setting both the buck down first and then setting Ginko down as gently as she could. Ginko grit his teeth and tried not to make a sound when she jostled his leg in the process.

"Thanks." Ginko said faintly as she stepped back.

"No problem." She said. "How does your leg feel?"

"It hurts," Said Ginko lamely.

"Anything else?"

"I'm freezing."

"You're probably suffering from hypothermia." She held the cigarette between her teeth and pulled off her fur cloak, draping it over his shoulders. She stood over him for a moment, and then held the cigarette between two fingers. "These taste weird."

"It's mushi tobacco..."

"I don't like it much."

"You took it without asking."

She smiled, offering the cigarette to him. "I didn't think you'd mind." Ginko took the cigarette with a small scowl.

The woman turned away, rolling her shoulders a bit. "You carried me out of the ravine-" Started Ginko.

"That buck, too." She indicated it.

"You're pretty strong."

"Stronger than you I bet, Mr. Prince."

"My name's Ginko."

"I'm Anya." She crouched in front of him. "You feeling better?"

"Not really." She looked out to the woods. "My cabin's not far from here. It doesn't hurt when I carry you, right?"

"A little. Sorry."

She looked worried. "Well, hang in there, alright?" She went to pick up the buck first, but when she'd gotten it over her shoulder, it suddenly struggled, very much alive. She dropped it again out of surprise and the buck attempted to run with a distressed call. Her hand darted out, gripping its antler and slapping her palm against its neck. It fell limp without a sound, and Anya, more carefully now, put it over her shoulder.

"I guess it wasn't completely dead when I found it at the bottom of the ravine..."

"How did you do that?"

"Kill it?" Anya held up her hands. "My hands did it. They're cursed, or something. That's why I'm out here all alone."

"Cursed, hm?" Ginko attempted to shift a little and failed to do so. Anya went over and gently lifted Ginko onto her shoulder using only her right arm. "Ow-ow-What does it do?"

"Can we talk about this later? You have a broken leg..."

"It's broken?"

"Yep."

"Well, that explains it..."

"Sheesh, Mr. Prince, you didn't even realize it was broken!"

"I just thought it might've been a bad sprain or bruise. I'm hoping that's what the pain in my chest is..."

"You're not having trouble breathing, right?" Worry laced her voice and she paused for a moment.

"No, not really. It just hurts a bit. Not as much as my leg."

"I'm sorry. It probably hurts a lot for me to carry you."

"It's the only way you could get me to your cabin, right? It's better than freezing to death at the bottom of the ravine..."

"Yeah..." Anya seemed unsettled by the thought.

Soon she stepped into a clearing where a small snow-covered cottage sat. She looked around, looking for Ouji.

"Ouji...Ouji-! Oh, there you are." She smiled as the dog came around the other side of the cottage, having reached it before them. "Ouji? She named her dog 'Prince' too?" Thought Ginko, looking at her disbelievingly.

Anya stepped into the cottage, setting Ginko down by the unlit hearth and making sure he was comfortable. She started a fire, bundled Ginko in furs, and set about making soup despite his insistence that he was fine.

Ginko shed most of the furs as he sat by the fire, watching Anya as she went back and forth through the house. He sat up, as quickly as his bruised body would allow. "Anya! You didn't see a medicine box while you were in ravine, did you?" She stopped.

"Uh, I didn't...Did you have one?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, I'll go back and look for it." She turned around and headed for the door.

"Wait! Here." Ginko pulled her cloak off of his shoulders. "I'm fine here. Take this at least." He smiled. Anya threw an indecisive look at the door, and then went over and took her cloak, throwing it over her shoulders and heading out. Seconds after she'd shut the door, she opened it again.

"What does it look like?"

"It's a big wooden box. I don't think you'll have any trouble finding it." She nodded, but didn't look very sure and slid the door shut again.

Ginko leaned back, giving a somewhat ragged sigh. He looked around the room, seeing the various furs piled around haphazardly and the general mess. "She definitely lives alone..."

He sulked slightly, burying himself in the furs and watching the flames in front of him.