Sora cried out as his injured leg finally gave out from under him as he hobbled through the deep snow, eyes widening in horror when he saw the avalanche rushing towards him relentlessly.
Clawing at the snow as he struggled to right himself so he could make a mad dash for safety, he saw that Donald, Goofy, and the others had made it out of harms way- and as they turned at his cry, they too realized that that meant they were too far away to reach him.
The wave of snow was only seconds from crushing him and sweeping him off the mountaintop; Sora shared one last desperate look with his friends, thought to them, goodbye, just in case, and with the last of his physical strength, gave one final lunge towards safety.
As he had despairingly predicted, he did not make it.
The massive wave of snow crashed into him with a pain more suited to slamming into a brick wall than seemingly soft powder; the world went white, then black as the roar filled his ears and the breath was crushed from his lungs under the weight. All sense of direction was stolen from him as he was flipped, twisted, and pounded on all sides by the deadly force of nature, before he finally managed to somehow grasp enough sense of his body to curl into a protective ball, struggling for enough breath to scream as the weightless sensation increased for what seemed like eternity, before it abruptly vanished, and the crushing weight of hundreds of tons of frozen water piling on top of him, burying him alive the only thing he could register for an instant as his body and mind struggled to grasp what was happening.
The burning in his chest, the sharp agony of his leg, and the biting cold pierced through the confused haze in his brain, bringing panic to the forefront as he gasped for breath, the small pocket of air created by his the arms shielding his face giving him room to breathe, at least for the moment. Sora struggled to move his arms or legs, but the immense weight of the snow and his increasing panic didn't leave him many options.
Breath fogging frantically in front of his eyes, Sora realized that he had no idea what to do. This was his first real experience with snow of any kind. He had lived on the islands his entire life, snow was a dream he never really imagined he would experience, living in the tropical climate. But here he was, on another world, and the snow was trying to kill him.
He was so cold.
Wait, he realized, I know at least one thing about snow!
He could hear faint, distant screams, calling his name, shouting for him desperately to reply. He opened his mouth and tried to call out to his friends, before he attempted his plan; his voice sounded deafening, even muffled as it was, to his ears in the oppressive silence of the snow, but he knew from the unhesitating nor suddenly rushing calls that no one had heard him.
Closing his eyes tightly against the darkness, Sora grasped at his magic, still faint from his fight against all of the heartless earlier, having used much of it when he had gotten separated from the others, not even having enough to heal his leg before they had had to flee. But maybe. Maybe he would have just enough...
"Fire" he whispered, immediately feeling a tingle along his frozen skin as the magic burst into life at his command, making the concrete-hard snow around him crackle and hiss at the sudden heat.
Unfortunately for Sora, fire magic did not burn the user, so he felt none of its warmth, only the increasing cold of the now-liquid water dripping and soaking into his clothes as the small, weak flames slowly ate away at the snow around him. Shivering violently, Sora began to try moving, slowly widening the tiny area he had formed in the snow when he was buried, until he was able to struggle into a mostly upright-position, able to see a bit from the light his magic cast.
Feeling his strained magic flagging, Sora concentrated it on the palms of his hands instead of his entire body, trying to conserve his energy and he began to claw at the white powder around him, watching at the melted snow fell from its place under his fiery hands, only to refreeze in seconds after hitting the cold bottom of the small 'cave' he had made.
Hearing the voices of his friends drawing closer, Sora tried calling out again, and this time, they seemed to finally hear him. He heard the voices begin to shout louder, calling for him to tell them where he was.
Seeing his fogged breath spiraling upwards, he reached both of his weakly-flaming hands and dug into the snow over his head, still shouting for Donald, for Goofy, For Ping, or the captain, for anyone to help him. Ducking as the frigid water seeped from under his burning, numb palms, Sora furiously scratched and scraped at the snow above him, uncaring for the most part that it rained down all around him, making his chilled body even colder, because his friends voices were getting louder, and he knew, once he broke the surface, he would be fine. He would be okay. The others would rescue him. He would just have to hold on long enough to get to them.
It seemed like an eternity had passed, but finally, finally, one of his hands reached out to shove snow away, and after a furious yank, cold wind met his frozen fingers. Crying out in joy at the welcome rush of fresh air, Sora frantically dug faster, pushing his uninjured leg against the pile of snow under him, screaming for the others as his strained magic finally gave out, I'm here, I'm here, help! Help me!
"SORA!" A multitude of voices cried out, and there was a huge rush of noise as his friends all raced towaRds him, then hands were grabbing him, pulling him shivering out of the frigid grave he had been trapped in, a blur of faces passing overhead as Goofy and Donald grabbed him tightly in a hug.
"H-hey, g-guy-ys" Sora gasped out, shivering harder than he ever had in his life, chest still heaving, breath rasping in a throat sore from screaming, eyes burning in the icy wind that whipped past the mountain top.
"Don't worry, Sora! We're here!" Goofy assured him, nuzzling the side of his face in a sign of affection and comfort Sora had been on the receiving end of quite a few times during their journey, when he had become disheartened, or when the Knight had wanted to reassure himself that Sora was in fact, okay.
A lump seemed to be stuck in his throat, and Sora wondered if he had accidentally swallowed some snow, or at least he did until a sudden sob ripped itself from his throat, surprising him as freezing tears welled in his eyes and overflowed down his face as a hiccuping sob shook his frame.
"It's okay, we've got you! You'll feel better in no time!" Donald quickly said as Sora frantically clutched his two friends in a hug, utter relief and exhaustion coursing through his entire being as he shivered against the burning warmth of their forms, the panic and terror of being trapped in the ice momentarily pushed to the side, for now.
"Here, we need to warm you up, fast" Donald said, extracting one of his gloved hands, before the court magician quickly summoned a blazing ball of fire. The diminutive Mage was about to offer the magical fire to his friend, but a quick grab on his wrist stopped him.
Slightly annoyed at whoever was stopping him from helping his friend, Donald turned and snapped, "What's the big idea!?"
Ping stared back worriedly, unphased by his blatant use of magic.
The soldier shook his head, "you can't help him with that," he explained quickly, seeing the ire in the mages eyes, "right now he's so cold he won't be able to tell if the fire is burning his skin. It could cause more damage to warm him up too fast, even kill him. He needs to warmed slowly. We need to share body heat, it's the most effective way- If you have the magic to do so, you should tend to his leg. I saw the blood when he went under. He might be injured in other ways, and can't tell because the cold has numbed him."
Donald blinked at the imperial warrior, before he nodded. Breathing a sigh, he let the fire in his hand fade away, before he quickly drew as much of his magic to the front as he could, casting a cure spell on his friend who seemed to be slowly slipping in and out of consciousness, worrying his friends with his lack of response.
Green light flared out of his gloved hands with the smell of fresh flowers and the chiming of a soft bell; the glow seeped into the keyblade's chosen one, flaring brightly around his leg and fingers as the magic sought out any injuries it could heal. Donald cast the healing spell two more times to be sure he was fully healed while Goofy held their friend in his arms.
Captain Shang had instructed the other soldiers to begin constructing a shelter against the stable rocky outcropping on the side of the cliff they had had to scale down to get to their injured comrade. The men were busily constructing snow walls to block the wind, clearing away the fresh powder on the ground to lay down layers of furs around around a pile of dry tinder and logs they each carried with them, while Yao, Ling, and Chien-Po quickly set up tents within the protective walls.
Knowing that time was of the essence, the Captain was quick to scoop his youngest charge out of Goofy's arms, leading the others to the largest tent as he gently laid the cold boy on his own personal sleeping mat, ignoring Chi-fu's indignant squawks.
Commanding Chien-Po to quickly fetch blankets and dry clothes, Shang turned to face Ping, Donald, and Goofy. "Ping, I want you to stay with him; help him stay warm; You two, I am going to need your help patrolling the area." When both of them seemed ready to rebel, Shang added softly "You are two of our finest soldiers; the boy is in good hands. He will recover, however, we can not let our guard down while he is vulnerable. We do not know if Shan-Yu has survived, and he could attack at any moment."
The threat of such a vicious man near Sora while he was hurt so badly seemed to swiftly sway the two to his side, and he nodded approvingly as the shorter one quickly started the main fire with a flick of his wrist, glad to have such a powerful shaman on his side, and not against them. It was a terrifying prospect, especially when it seemed Shan-Yu himself had the power to summon so many demons. He idly wondered if the pale shaman weren't much older than he appeared. He knew it took decades of practice to master even the smallest spell- or perhaps he was being aided by his ancestors?
Shang shook off the thought as Chien-Po handed him a shirt so large it could only have been one of the man's own, an equally huge blanket being thrust into his hands before the soldier quickly turned and finished the preparations for the night. Turning, he narrowed his eyes at Ping who was sitting next to the boy, Ping still fully clad in his armor, watching him nervously.
"Well? What are you waiting for, Soldier?" He demanded, tossing the blanket and shirt at the man, "I told you to keep him warm! You're the one who said he needed body heat, is that not true?"
Ping nodded frantically, but still hesitated in undressing himself as he quickly removed the boy's wet jacket and shirt from his unconscious form. "Y-Yes Sir, it's just, I- I am not comfortable undressing in front of you..." The man stammered out nervously, the fearless, ingenious warrior Shang had had his life saved by earlier nowhere to be see in the ashamed eyes of the nearly-cringing man before him.
Shang had long ago noticed that Ping did not remove his armour or clothes when in the presence of any of the other men, always bathing alone, getting nervous and wary when any of the other men suggested he join them. How could he not have noticed? Ping had been different from the start, weakest of the troop, tiring so easily, as if he had never done strenuous work in his life. Shang had almost thought that Ping was the spoiled son of a rich man, never having to lift a finger for himself, until he had remembered that his father, while honored in battle, was nowhere near what one would consider wealthy.
He had privately come to the conclusion that Ping had been crippled at some early point in his life, perhaps even in childhood, something that had made him weak, something that had scarred him, something that made his father so protective of his son that none even knew he existed. But it seemed Fa Zhou's over protectiveness was unfounded; Fa Ping had flourished under the hard training, despite the rough start.
The weak boy he had trained had quickly become a man capable of great feats, and this soldier had saved his life and probably the lives of all of his troops today with his ingenious move with the cannon.
He owed him this, at least.
Nodding his head in respect, Shang told the surprised man, "Then I shall leave you alone to tend to your duties, and will make sure none of the others disturb you. Call out if you need any assistance...and know that if you ever wish to talk...I will not judge you."
As Mulan watched Shang leave them alone in the tent, she blinked in astonishment, wondering what in the world had prompted the Captain to say such a thing. Did he suspect her? Did he know she was a woman? But, if that were true, why would he suggest she tell him?
A shiver from Sora's unconscious form jolted her out of her thoughts, and she jumped, before quickly removing the rest of her young friend's damp clothes, drying him off gently with a corner of the blanket before slipping the huge shirt Chien-Po had given them over his head and maneuvering his arms through the wide sleeves as best she could. She moved to the front of the tent, and peeked outside, holding Sora's wet clothing in her fist as she sought an appropriate place to dry them, while also checking to make sure who was guarding the outside of the tent. She sighed in relief when she saw Goofy had been posted at the entrance of the tent, knowing he would let no one enter to discover her secret. She quickly passed off Sora's belongings to him for him to hang near the fire before retreating against into the depths of the tent.
Making sure once more no one could see in, Mulan set about removing her armor, wincing at the bruises and small cuts she had sustained in the battle against what Sora, Donald, and Goofy had called "heartless". Stripping down to just a simple tunic, she quickly pulled the covers down and slipped in beside the boy, pulling him close to warm him, flinching at the ice cold of his skin.
Feeling his heart beating against her chest, and the small puffs of air against her neck, Mulan reassured herself that Sora would be okay. She had heard her grandmother warn her many times about the danger of someone getting too cold, and was glad she had listened to the advice. At least it was Sora who had been swept away by the avalanche (oh how horrible she felt for thinking that!), and not one of the other soldiers.
Sora at least, knew her secret, and would keep it for her. She just hoped he wouldn't be too alarmed at waking up nearly naked, in such a dishonorable position with Mulan hugging him under the blankets; Mulan herself was not very embarrassed at the situation, though doubtlessly she would later, when confronted with him, and perhaps she herself was still in shock over what had happened. But she was not regretting her words that had prompted the Captain to place her in charge of Sora- it was to save his life, and besides, she viewed him as a friend, nothing more, or perhaps even a little brother.
A little brother who can take single handedly defeats a dozen of dozen demons with that strange sword of his in under a minute, she thought to herself, shivering a bit herself as the cold of Sora's exposed skin seeped into hers, slowly warming him in the exchange.
Idly, she wondered where Mushu and grandmother's lucky Cricket had gotten to. She had ridden Kahn down the treacherous slope all the way to where the snow had finally settled, but she had not seen hide nor hair of her guardian dragon and his insectile companion. She hoped they were okay.
Sighing, Mulan decided to settle in for the long haul, forcibly relaxing her body as she idly drew her fingers through Sora's long hair, feeling clumps of snow and frost working their way free under her gentle combing.
As the minutes slowly passed, Mulan found herself dozing, quietly on the edge of consciousness as the events of the day weighed her body down into the soft pile of furs and blankets. She blinked long and slow, knowing that she needed to stay awake and watch over Sora, but sleep was relentless.
Suddenly, just as she was about to work up the strength to call for Goofy to come in and relieve her of her position, there was a strange, odd warmth tingling at the edge of her senses- the sensation seemed to be centered on the spot where Sora's heart beat against her own in a steady rhythm...
The was a soft, glowing wash of light that seemed to lie just under the boy's skin, dispelling the last of the chill into steam in the air, and the smell of dust after rain filled the tent for an instant as a breeze gently washed over the soldier and the Keyblade Weilders forms, though the fabric of the tent did not stir.
Mulan smiled, and no longer fought her exhaustion as she felt Sora sigh softly, the warmth of his breath no longer sending goosebumps up her spine from the contrast of his cold skin. They were both warm now, and Mulan knew that whatever that light and that Wind had done, Sora was no longer in any danger. He was safe now, and they both could rest.
Mulan closed her eyes, and fell into sleep