Beyond frozen 2
Juvia had packed everything she could carry, her hook and rope, her axe, dried squirrel meat, a water pouch made out of an elk bladder, fire sparks, the deer and bear pelt, the bear pelt she would wear on the way, some snare equipment, and extra socks.
She binded herself tight in her clotheing, keeping the bear fur compacted over her clothing, whistling to her dogs as she stepped outside, the two barking as they began the journey ahead, juvia following them as she walked in her snow shoes away from her cabin, not even remembering to look back. If you didn't know, snow shoes were kind of like walking in swimming flippers, it was like trying to walk with frogs feet, plus on deep lumpy snow, it would take hours just to walk a mile.
As she walked, her breath grew muffled against her scarf, her heavy bag lugged over her back, weighing the small girl down as she walked up hill. She gave a whistle, Ninook and Heidi scurrying over and taking hold of the rope he through, pulling on it like a tug of war to help her up the hill.
"Good job.." She huffed as she reached the top, but groaned as she saw the other hills ahead that she would be forced to climb. But as she thought about how she'd loose the only chance to learn about the outside world, she gritted her teeth and made her way up the hills.
At a point she had to take the snow shoes off to have more traction in her step, her dogs scoping out the area around, Heidi hopping around like a puppy, while ninook just sniffed at the snow, burying his nose deeper to try and catch scents. As juvia made it over the second hill, ninook barked, running over the other two hills. "Stop making it look easy!" Juvia huffed at the dog, climbing after him. Luckily this exercise was keeping her warm, but it wasn't pleasant. soon that wet sweat stuck to her skin and caught the cold in her boots, making them numb as time pressed on.
As she reached the last hill she jumped to see a down cline, one that lead strait into a vast bowl, holding white sugar as the broth and trees as the components, the bowls circumference jutted with sharp mountains also peaked with white powder, the low sun keeping its place near the right of her, peaking out from a valley in the mountains, the only one she could see in the large bowl.
That had to be where gray was headed. Snow flurries began to fall, their number growing more and more as grey clouds collected. Great, just what she needed, a snow storm. But if their was going to be a storm, gray would be finding shelter and staying put, so if she could get through it she'd be able to catch up. Whistling for her dogs to collect, she jumped off the ledge and slid down the cliff like a slide, probably dropping a hundred feet, using her bear skin as a sled.
The speed made her eyes water against the wind, watching out for rocks as she slid down to the bottom where her two dogs waited for her, using the chance while she was on the ground to luck we face. "Bleck! Off!" She shouted, the dogs barking and rushing off, the girl staggering to her feet an wiping the slobber off her face with her wool gloves. When she opened her eyes, what she saw in front of her made her gasp, jumping back.
It was a frozen person, looking as if it had froze in a dance, her body clear and ice like. As she looked closer, she slowly realized. It wasn't a frozen person, it was a person molded out of ice. There were many ice sculptures, littered all over the snow. The girl was about Juvia's height, with a smiling face, dressed in a skirt and tank top, a ring of keys in her hand.
On her right hand was the same symbol that gray had on his chest. Did it mean something? She looked around the art work, seeing a cat in the snow, curled up in a slumbering position, the symbol also engraved on its back, with an ice fish sitting next to it scales engraved into the frozen water, a beautifully crafted ice bow around it saying "to happy." There was also an ice hammer leaned against the tree, a couple swords on the ground, icicles that had been crafted into small figures hanging on the tree branches, and a frozen fire sitting in a used fire pit, which had proved the man had been here. By the swords were a couple giant blocks of ice the man probably carved his creations from.
Still in awe of these creations, she looked back at the girl sculpture, wondering if he had been close to her. He had to be, it's hard to remember a persons face enough to recreate it into art, but not if you had a special connection and saw them often.
Her spirits felt down, not so excited to see him anymore, and was left a bit hurt. Gray had told her a man needed to be with a woman, and he said their were six billion people, of course juvia wouldn't be the only choice to go for, he probably has a woman from his home to go back to. Juvia felt like a lost puppy, following the man for her own selfish reasons.
He left because he didn't want to be near her, so why was she waisting her time following him?heidi barked, making her jump as she looked at her dog, who was barking north eastward. that was where the valley was, did Heidi pick up his scent? She no longer cared if she was being selfish, she just didn't want to be alone. Hooking back on her snow shoes, she continued to hike through the wood, wrapping her scarf tighter around her face to keep out the chill.
Her dogs continued to be happy as they led the way, glad to be on a trip with their master, while juvia loathed it, the snow growing heavier in their down fall, the winds picking up, seeming to find just the smallest chinks in her armor of clothes she wore, making her shiver when ever her skin met the cold. Her feet were completely numb, the snow making just a few feet in front of her blurry, if it weren't for ninook and Heidi she would have been lost.
The blizzard got to the point where she could walk no more after a few hours, and called for her dogs, deciding to rest till the storm subsided. The two mutts trotted over as Juvia went to a nearby tree, digging a best in the snow till able to see earth, dropping her bag and covering her and the dogs with the bears fur, the hide keeping the warmth in the nest as the dogs and her snuggled, Juvia feeling warm already.
But as time passed on and the storm continued to roar with ripping winds and icy bullets, she got more nervous. What if gray wasn't taking a break? Men are stronger than women, so maybe he could get through it. No, it didn't matter how strong you were, no one would be able to brave out a storm like this. She'd just have to hope his scent wouldn't be hidden under the fresh snow that would be awaiting them once over.
Gray sat against the tree, bundled up with his bag beside him, his face covered with a ski mask under a scarf, his hands stuffed tightly under his arm pits. So the back of his jackets wouldnt creep up he had wrapped a blanket around himself, keeping himself warm, but not to the point he would sweat. sweat was dangerous out here. His old wound ached in this position, but this was how he survived the last storm, even if it had covered him over with snow. He really didn't care of his own safety, he was more concerned over the contents in his black north face bag, a Canteen and a metal mug hanging from the side. Inside were his precious tools, preferably made for ice sculpting, some his that he had collected over the years, and the majority of the others had been inherited from his teacher, Ur.
She had died a few years ago in a hiking accident, searching for the same area he was focused on now. Tearmann Oighear, it's the name of the perfect place for any ice sculpter, with what's said to have mountains of solid ice, sculptures made from the visitors before littering the mountain top.
He was going to sculpt there once and for all, to leave one of his creations there since Ul never had the chance. But the thing is very few travelers have a map on how to get there, only clues that had led to the conclusion it's in northern Alaska.
That's valley was probably the third route he had made this year, he'd have to hike it back home to resettle before making his next trip. Plus get more money and travel arrangements, he would have to take the eastward train and... He groaned in annoyance, hating about thinking about arrangements this early in. First he had to get an idea over how he was going to make it out of this valley, there have been storms nearly every other day cause of this valley. Which still made him wonder how that frail looking girl could have made it through all this her whole life. What ever, he left to go home, and he told her about what he could, it's up to her to decide if she should stay or leave.
Juvia groaned to the deepened snow, coming up to her knees in the nest she stood in, the moon shining bright against the empty black sky, stars shining in the sky like it was shot with millions of bullets. With everything so still, she couldn't find a way to be frustrated, the least she could be thankful for was the lack of wind chill.
"Allright guys, time to go." She told her dogs, who barked as she struggled out of the nest, pulling on her snow shoes and marching forward. An hour later she finally got out of the woods, staring at was looked to be a vast waist land covered in nothing but snow, the valley just ahead.
She sighed, wondering if gray had already gotten past that point. What if she had passed him, what if he had taken another route? She turned to find higher ground and look for any sign I smoke. If he had already set up camp than surely he had to have built a fire... Something out of the corner of her eye startled the girl, it was something dark in the distance, facing the valley. A figure.
"Gray?" She called, but of course he couldn't hear at this distance, she'd have to catch up to him. Untying her snow shoes, she began to jog through the snow, her dogs speeding ahead, sensing competition as they sped as if it were a race. As she drew closer, she couldn't help but feel a smile creep on her face, excitement bubbling in her tummy, making her giggle. What expression would he show once seeing her? Happy? Surprised?
She laughed again. Her heel slipped on something hard and the girl squeaked out in fear, landing on her knee. The ground underneath made a strange sound, as if it wasn't soft and made out of dirt. She suddenly smelled it, that icy scent of water under her shoes. It couldn't be. As she dug under the snow, she could hear something begin to crackle, like putting ice in a warm drink, it was a sickening sound that smashed her excitement and lurked in fear. That fear only increased as she saw what was under the snow.
Ice, and it was beginning to crack. "Gray.." She croaked, her voice coming out in a frightened whisper, the air turning dry in her lungs, feeling the urge to scream. "Gray!" Her throat hurt at the cry, but she got to her feet, not even focusing on where she was going or that her feet were moving, she just had to run. The sound of the cracking was escalating, and she could feel the ice under her feet rumble like an earthquake, making her breathing become shallow, her vision turn black and white with fear.
"Gray! Run!" The man heard a scream behind him, spinning around to see two dogs dart out of the fog, jumping and barking at him with excitement. "What the-" these were Juvia's dogs weren't they? He recognized their giant furry shape. Another scream came, making him look up
. Not that far away, he could see the girl running, but the earth behind her started turning dark, as if made of glass it was breaking open to blackness, which he recognized in shock as water. The ground under his feet began to shake in tremors, hearing a sloshing sound coming with every shake. They were standing on a lake. "Run!" She cried, close enough to make out his face, but feeling the ice cave in at her feet brought tears to her eyes, feeling as if everything was in slow motion as she reached for gray, the man jumping in shock as she pushed him away before her feet sunk under with that slight hesitation, dropping like a rock into darkness, with the freezing waters like knives driving in at her skin.
The terrified girl jerked in shock, screaming out a muffled cry that never reached any further than the bubbles of precious air that swirled above her head the farther she sunk, further and further into the deathly silent void. Gray sat beside the massive crack in the ice, gasping as the frozen lake around him split itself into sections like puzzle pieces, while he and her loudly barking and whining dogs sat on one of the only secure parts, gray staring at where the girl had vanished under the water.
His shock lonely lasted for a second before he shoved his bag off his back, ripping himself out of his jackets so fast he thought the zippers might break. He counted the seconds as he tore off his tightly laced boots, watching the water carefully to see if she would emerge from the black waters.
The second he had ripped off his shirt and she had not, he grabbed a flash light from his bag, diving into the water without a second thought, but than started to think again when the icy water tore at his skin, making him clasp a hand over his mouth so he wouldn't loose his air to the shocking pain. The water was dark, even with the flashlight shining, it was still murky as ever, his heart pounded in his chest, agony as he swam deeper, because all it did was get colder, till grey thought he would freeze right there.
He hated opening his eyes in this water, shit it was cold! He couldn't feel his hands! But when he saw a blur of blue below, he swam with all his might, dropping the flashlight to grab the girl. Something was keeping her down, and he was loosing his air. He could see the girl struggling, her hand clasped over her mouth, the other clawing at the water around her, almost dragging him down with her.
She couldn't swim in her clothes and the bag on her back. This wasn't good! They were both going to drown at this point. But he couldn't leave her here to get air, but at the same time he couldn't pull her up with the little air he had left. He grabbed the struggling girl by the collar, pressing his lips to hers. He breathed the remaining air into her mouth, hoping that'll tide her over till he got back down. For a second he didn't want to let go, the small warmth he felt from her body was blissful, but the burn in his lungs made him forget it, pulling her up as much as he could before he had to go on his own,feeling like a life time until he could finally reach the top breaking the surface with a sputter, gasping in as much air as he could before he gulped in a lungful, and dove back under.
Now he really didn't wish he had dropped that flash light, worrying for a second he wouldn't find her, that was, till he got ahold of her shoulder, grasping her clothes with a tight fist to pull himself down, freeing herself from the heavy bag on her back, letting it sink without her, helping a ton as he was finally able to pull her up. He had an arm around her waist as he made it to the waters end, gasping in air once again like hadn't had a lung full before, coughing at the water he acsadently breathed in trying to get that very air.
The ice around them had floated away, forcing him to swim over and grab onto an Ice shaft, his trembling body too numb to think it cold now, pulling the girls head above the surface with him. He had finally noticed she was out cold, her skin pale as snow, her body flopping around like the dead. "J-Jesus Christ!" Gray hissed, getting an elbow up onto the ice, his main concern was to get himself up first, than pull her out of the water.
He kept a hand on her wrist as he climbed onto the shaky ice piece, scratching his skin on the ice's edge. He could barely feel his limbs, feeling like he was stumbling over everything her tried to do, his body in physical pain. The man finally climbed out of the dark waters, it taking everything he had in him not to stop and rest, cause now he had to pull out juvia.
Spreading his knees wide and staying clear from the edge, he was able to grab her under the arm pits and lug her out of the water, which streamed off her clothes in fountains, the stupid bear skin still wrapped around her. No wonder she was so god damn heavy! He ignored it, dragging her over the ice to his bag and discarded clothes, yelling at the dogs to stop as they tried to lick their owners face while she was in their reach.
Grey quickly tugged one of his jackets on and wrapped a blanket from his bag around him self to make sure he didn't die while trying to save her, tearing open her coat and shirt, pressing an ear against her heart, hearing the faint slow beat with relief. but she wasn't breathing, which means she inhaled water. his fingers numb and clumsy as he managed to open her mouth, pinching her nose shut tight. As he leaned down and breathed air into her lungs, he tried his best to not bite the poor girl with his clattering teeth, releasing and clenching his teeth once again against the cold. it didn't take long after he went to compressions that she choked out the water, turning to her side as she hacked on her wet lungs, ragged breathing escaping her lips.
"...gray..." She called, just barley a whisper but enough to tell she was alive. "Y-yah! I'm h-here!" He chattered in assurance, quickly stripping her of her clothes, now covered in frost. The wet clothes would have stolen any of the warmth her body gave out, so his top priority was to get her warm.
Plus with a soaked cold body himself, he needed her just as much as she needed him at the moment. Tossing the bear skin to the side with a grunt, being such a wet and heavy thing, he was able to pull her out of her soaked clothes from her thick coat to her boots and socks, leaving on the undergarments she had slept in the night before.
The dogs were lying down without a care in the world that their owner was probably dying, knowing she was in good hands as gray wrapped her in his thick jacket, hugging her body close to bring up her temperature, flinching at the contrasting feeling of her skin. If he wasnt looking he probably would have thought he was hugging ice. Keeping them wrapped in the same blanket, his hands rubbed at her skin to
try and create a friction, curling her in a ball so her toes wouldn't get frost bite. "...gray..." She breathed again, her eyes trying to open. He could feel her begin to shake like him against the cold, a whimper coming from her mouth. Juvia's body was really numb, feeling excruciatingly sleepy, like she could black out. But she didn't want to be lost in that cold darkness just yet, she didn't get to properly greet him.
"...I...f-f-found...y-you..." The barest of smiled twitched at the corners of her lips, making gray feel a jab of guilt in his chest. Because he left without a word, it led her to be like this...but he could make up for it, saving her now. "...orry..." He didn't catch it, leaning in closer. "W-w-what?" He whispered shakily, his teeth aching they were chattering so much. "...s-sorry... I...m-m-made...the i-ice...b-b-break-"
"Y-yah, well. T-t-try not t-to b-be so r-r-reckless next t-time, g-g-got it?" He couldn't even understand his own words he was shaking so much, holding her closer to try and dull the tremors, feeling where they touched begin to warm. Good, the sooner her could feel his feet the sooner he could find shelter, sitting Indian style, Juvia's head cradled in the nook of where his neck and muscular shoulder met.
The stillness of everything made it even more eerie, the only thing visible moving was the shaky mist of their breath sticking to the black sky, swirling for the briefest second before dissipating. Her chest suddenly hiccuped, making him jump and look down at her, seeing she was crying, her teeth clenched and eyes shut tight.
. "I-I'm... Sor-rry... It-t's all m-m-my... F-Fault...! I'm-m selfish-sh...I'm...st-stupid...!" She continued to sob into his skin, making gray sigh in annoyance. "If you c-c-cry y-your t-tears w-will freez-ze." He complained, hooking the blanket around his thumb and wiping at her damp cheeks, Juvia looking up at his face, even though foggy with her tired vision. "Th-thank y-you... F-for ev-v-verything..." He gave a grunt, not wanting to try and talk again with his trembling teeth, having bit his tongue about fifty times already.
They sat there a bit longer, frost already collecting on their hair though their bodies gradually regaining feeling. "Juvia." Gray called, shaking the girls shoulder but It was no use, she was fast asleep, worn out from almost drowning. With a sigh he wrapped her tightly in the blanket, letting her sleep as he redressed, deciding to melt and dry her frozen clothes when he found shelter and had made a fire, stuffing them into his bag. Letting the dogs drag the bear fur, he made sure the girl was tightly bundled up before he carried her away to someplace safe.
A/N- well! Another chapter done. I've been working on my Maka cosplay all day for momo con, so I was just barley able to finish this! Hope you like it, R&R
