Floating into consciousness, the young asura felt weightless and strangely warm. She couldn't feel her ears and could not force her muscles to move. There was mumbling somewhere far off, so quiet she couldn't pick out any meaning. Her memories began to sieve slowly back into her mind, she remembered the cold, and the fall. Suddenly the pain in her feet returned with a cruel vengeance but still she could not move. Then a terrifying thought exploded into her mind, draining the blood from her head in shock.

AM I DEAD?

She hastily tried to move again , panicking, her breathing becoming fast and erratic. Where was she? Frustrated that she could not move, the asuran intelligence within her forced her to calm down and think. Thinking was what got her people out of the ground and to the top of the racial intelligence chain. With a patriotic determination, she listened with her large, acute ears. She could decipher that the droning noise was talking, but it was not from asura. There was too much of it, and the pitch was too low. She sniffed, and suddenly everything was clear.

The strong smell of alcohol clearly indicated that she was somewhere inhabited by norn. She was shocked, in fact, that she hadn't picked up the overpowering smell of ale until now. The talking grew louder and she could feel herself start to awake.

At last the asura's eyelashes began to flicker. Everything was blurry and moving, as if her eyes were filled with water. She continued to blink until her vision started to clear. She felt as though she was waking from a terrible nightmare, but as her eyes adjusted and she saw the twinkle of eyes and the outline of a face, she wasn't so sure she had escaped the nightmare after all. Unsure of what to do, she tried to move back, but her body was stuck. Looking down, she realised she was wrapped in animal fur. Disgusted at first, she tried to unfold herself, but there was no smell of animal and the fur was soft and clean. She realised she was in a norn dwelling known as a 'moot'.

Her bed of furs was in the corner of this moot and she could see other norn further off beside the bar. An enormous blazing fire at the opposite corner heated the building and there was an air of merriment coming from the laughing norn. Apart from alcohol, there was the smell of cooked meat and bread and it felt oddly welcoming. She looked up at her rescuer, or, if she was unlucky, her captor. She had read that norn were hospitable and kind, but their large size and collections of dead animals left her unsure. The norn was big of course, but to her at this moment, he was like a giant. She had never come into contact with norn before. You don't get many in Rata Sum. He had locks of thick brown hair that fell around his face and a large masculine jaw covered in stubble. His eyes had a strange kindness however, and the asura's fearful instinct subsided, much to her surprise. He looked down at her with an expression of relief but before he could say anything a large norn woman came bustling out of nowhere.

'Oh she's awake!' her voice was incredibly loud and made the asura's ears twitch.

'Poor little thing nearly froze to death!'

The woman held her face with a look of distress before bounding off to the bar. The young asura frowned, nose wrinkling in indignation. 'Little THING' she thought in outrage, but before she could voice her fury the largest mug of ale was thrust into her hands and it was all she could do not to spill it everywhere. After the ceremonious presentation of her alcoholic gift, the norn woman yet again was bouncing back to the bar. It occurred to the asura that she was probably the bar maid. She'd like to show her just what this 'little thing' could do. Looking back at the man, who was now smiling, she gingerly took a sip of the vast liquid, only to screw up her face in distaste. This earned her a large booming laugh from her oversized companion, which made her feel even more humiliated.

She thrust her arms out angrily, trying to show her disgust as much as possible. Being treated like a child or even worse a 'thing' had left her ungrateful and bitter. Sensing her irritation, the norn took the mug politely from her and then less politely drank the whole thing in one unflattering gulp. The asura's eyes narrowed as he wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

' So,' he said in a deep and gruff voice. 'What had you lost in the shiverpeaks in the middle of the night wearing such flimsy armour hmm?' There was a slight smirk on his face. He knew asura to be full of pride and to think of themselves as being all knowing, so he couldn't resist playing around with the fact that this particular asura had committed a crime of stupidity that even norn, deemed by asura as unintelligent, would never commit.

The asura's ears and cheeks flamed up in colour as she recalled her idiotic trek in her cultural armour and ridiculous footwear. She bowed her head down, thinking of some sort of intellectual comeback. Unfortunately, there was no excuse that sounded even the slightest bit plausible and she just frowned stubbornly at the man. He sighed and produced from somewhere behind him a pair of asura-sized boots. They were made of a thick sturdy material, decorated with a large jewel and lined with fur. She stopped and stared open mouthed, a gleam in her eye.

Those boots were cute.

She recollected herself, closing her mouth and putting on an air of disinterest. She accepted the boots, but tried not to let on just how much she loved them. It was unusual for asura to say thank you, but she did grudgingly, after all he had saved her life.

Or had he?

'Was it you who found me?' she asked, trying to appear as unimpressed as possible.

'Ha ha yes, you were like a little icicle, I'm actually surprised you're alive' He smiled. The word 'little' again, she was starting to get a little sick of it.

'My name is Erik Frostson' he held out his large hand. She had read about handshakes and it wasn't something asura ever did when meeting one another, but she knew what to do. She stuck out her small, white hand. It wasn't much like a handshake, due to size difference of course, but it was more of an acceptance and a thank you on the asura's part. She felt her hand enveloped in his, and it felt strangely safe. All of a sudden, she thought of the eternal alchemy, but didn't quite know why.

'I'm Wusha,' she answered, and for the first time since she had awoken, she smiled.