He heard the cracking even before their bodies came to a stop. Looking up he had managed to push Aleksander at least 15' feet away from where he was now located. Hopefully, Alek was at least in a safer position than he was. That boy may now literally be the death of him. He had promised to watch over him, to make sure he was okay. At first he was reluctant, but over the course of the last few weeks and months, Alek had proven to be a quick learner...mostly. They had remarkably similar pasts. Alek reminded him so much of himself at that age. Fifteen; and he had such a hunger to learn. But he was still too young, too weak, too inexperienced, too everything to be out here without constant supervision. It took every bit of persuasion from her to get him to take Alek under his wing, but he finally agreed knowing deep down it was a risk. He had learned the trade at a so much younger age. When he was 15, he was already twice the size as Alek. The boy wanted to learn, but it was going to take some time.
"What do I do?" he heard Alek asking with a panic in his voice. "Stay down. Spread your weight out as much as possible. Start crawling towards the edge to the left of the clearing, slowly". He emphasized the last word as much as he possibly could.
"Stay by me, no matter what" He remembered telling Alek over and over. Some of the men out here could not be completely trusted. Most thought they knew more than they actually did. There were only a handful of men that he allowed to make the scouting decisions. Even less that he allowed to decide where the horses and sleds could be on the ice. Taking Alek into the mountains was a potential liability. He made sure to get consent from all the team leads, but between his set responsibilities and what issues arose each day, he didn't have as much time as he would like to train the boy. Instead, he had Alek assigned to different men each week to show him different methods and to not slow others down for too long. Each man received compensation during the week Alek was with them so they would not feel the pressure of hitting quotas. They'd even receive extra pay if they actually showed a willingness to teach the boy. He hated the method- Alek's training could be choppy and he couldn't control if what he was being taught was to his standards. But, they were at least a year away before the team was ready to begin formal apprenticeships. The only other boys working were with either their father's, uncles, brothers or some relative or friend that were taking the boys under personal training and the team was not responsible for them.
At least those assigned to work with Alek so far had for the most part had seemed agreeable with it and each week had gone over with little complaints, mostly due to the extra pay. There were still some that gave grievance, and not all of the issues could he argue against. Alek was slightly on the older side to be learning and he was skipping years of back breaking work that many of the harvesters had to endure. 'Special treatment' and 'his pet' were some of the comments a few men would utter under their breaths. Some men felt that Alek needed to earn his dues and constantly tried to give him menial and sometimes embarrassing tasks to do. He let some of it happen, but stopped much of it when the men went too far.
Still, even with the comments, he kept up Alek's training. He had a plan. If it was to work, it would require a lot from Alek in the coming years. There was something about that boy that he thought was right. Plus, he trusted Alek in his work ethic, honestly and loyalty. But for now, Alek was just an apprentice on his first harvesting winter. He had a constant eye on that boy. One wrong move out here and well, you could be in the exact situation that the two of them now found themselves in.
Alek had befriended a man name Ivar. He was a mass of a man with a bellowing and sinister laugh. He had never had a problem with Ivar, but had kept him on a short leash. He was from a farther northern country and had ventured down with a group of men in the fall looking for work. Their methods on the ice were somewhat questionable, but Ivar, along with the other Northerns, proved to be hard workers and followed the team leads instructions well. As long as they were not put in a position to have to make decisions, they were productive workers with usually the fullest sleds at the end of each day. Alek seemed to be in wonder of the man and Ivar noticed immediately. He reciprocated the befriending, but mostly only for his benefit. Ivar had a family back home and cared nothing more than to be able to do his job and get back to them in the spring. Landing a job on this harvesting team was coveted, offering the best wages for winter work. If striking up a relationship meant possibly more money to bring home, then he was all for it. Alek seemed to be oddly willing to do anything for Ivar. Alek would run every type of errand for Ivar- bringing him his food, sharpening his tools for him, drying out his boots. He watched this go on for too long and finally asked Alek what was going on. It took Alek awhile to admit, but he finally revealed that Ivar looked similar to his own father.