Finally updating this again. :"D
I know I've got a terrible history with consistent updates, but I feel I write best when- well, when I want to write. And that varies greatly. Anyway, I had a burst of motivation - like, a really big one, and I ended up writing 8 pages of a doc for this chapter. (And it's only 3,552 words?)
This chapter goes into more detail on the backstory of the Ice Climbers' beginnings with climbing. I hope you enjoy it :0
"'What's wrong, princess?'" the boy asks in a mock deep voice, playing as the chief ascending the mountain.
"'Well, we've been gone for a really long time, and...I kind of miss my Papa." the girl, as the princess, replies.
There is silence for a moment as the boy thinks over how he should reply.
"'Your Papa's still here with you, kind of. He's watching over you in spirit! Even if, um, he's actually back home in the village.'"
"'He'll always be with you no matter where you are, princess.'"
Now that I think about it, we've actually come pretty far. For starters, we've collected more vegetables than we thought we were going to obtain in the first place. Good thing we brought extra sacks.
We've also conquered 7 mountains as of now; I'm already starting to get used to life up here. I mean, sure, it's deathly freezing and the damn condor keeps taking off to the next mountain over only for us to chase after it, but at least it isn't as bad as I thought it'd be. I'm pretty confident in my climbing ability now, but at first, I thought Popo and I would have had to return home within an hour of our ascent on the first mountain. Or maybe even within 10 minutes.
I suppose it's been more bearable because there's two of us together.
"I wonder how everyone back home's doing." Popo muses.
We've set up camp on the peak of our most recently overcome mountain in a little quinzee large enough for the pair of us to snuggle up in. It's either that or an eerily quiet cave.
"Probably better than we are out here, risking our lives for them all." I scoff.
"You volunteered with me, Nana."
"Yeah, I know. But I had my reasons."
He sighs, his gaze still fixated on the millions of stars scattered across the sky above us. The following silence feels a little more awkward than the ones we normally share, probably because I brought that up. Popo's always been able to see right through me (even when I don't want him to).
"I think we'll have done them proud once all of this is over."
I hesitate for the shortest of moments.
"Do you want this to be over?"
His face briefly twitches in surprise as he turns towards me, lying next to him. I don't move to meet his eyes, but I watch his curious stare from the corners of my eyes, making sure my expression is as unreadable as possible. All I have to do now is wait for him to answer.
"I mean, I want to do this for everyone in the village. It's my duty, after all." Popo replies, looking back at the sky. "But I don't hate what we're doing right now either."
I laugh. "You don't not like the freezing cold weather or anything?"
"It's a nuisance, but since I'm warm every night - even though we're not in a comfy cabin or anything – it isn't, you know...as bad as it seems. And when we climb all these mountains and get the harvest back, we don't have to stop there. We could still go climbing together." He pauses again. "If you'd like to, of course."
Taking hold of his hand by mine, I gently squeeze it in approval. "Give me one reason why I wouldn't want to, Popo." I grin.
Red faintly dyes his cheeks for a little before he smiles back. "We wouldn't be able to stay here forever, of course. We have to get back for everyone. They'll be pretty hungry for the rest of winter without us."
"They'll be fine for now, right? We brought back the food from the first couple of mountains before we left again."
"It's only enough for a month at the most."
For a moment, I don't respond, briefly indulging in the heat of our laced hands that somehow seems to be the thing that's keeping me most warm at this point.
"I guess this is good preparation for me, right? With everything Mom taught me and...this, maybe I'll be able to do her a bit of justice." he says wistfully. In a way, these climbs we've embarked on are kind of like an escape for the both of us from- well, nowhere. We have homes back in the village. We have friends. (Besides each other, somehow.) We have some kind of security.
Just no one left to go to, really.
"You're gonna be a great chief, obviously. I mean, come on! You're Popo."
Popo smiles at my remark, but I can still hear his embedded sadness when he speaks again.
"Mom used to say that to me all the time." he replies, with the slightest crack in his voice.
The air falls silent again, with only the sound of the hissing wind distracting us from any awkwardness that's returned between us. I purse my lips as I carefully consider what to say next. After all, it wasn't as if the incident hadn't happened long ago. I could still remember the events vividly in my head.
"No more baby cliff sides for you two budding adventurers now," the formidable-looking woman in front of us announces, untying the sack my father carried (along with his climbing pack) with us to the base of this slope. Out of the sack, she produces two starter climbing packs prepared especially for Popo and I to use on this very fine day.
"Such a proud moment for the pair of you as a couple. Your first climb together up a proper mountain!" my dad teases.
"Dad, how many times do I have to tell you, we're not-"
"Yes, yes, believe what you will, I've already given your lovely man here my blessing for your marriage. So even if I die before I ever see the two of you married, you won't have to worry about asking for permission!" he beams, taking in the pleasure of seeing the irritation on both mine and Popo's faces. "...Except asking for Ms. Fuyu's consent, of course." he adds as an afterthought, nodding towards the woman – Popo's mother, the stand-in village chief until he's old enough to take over.
"Then, we're on the same boat. I was discussing wedding preparations with my son the other day."
Popo's cheeks immediately redden. "Mom-!"
"Okay, okay, we'll stop."
Ms Fuyu hands us both our climbing packs, and we take out the ropes and hooks that we'll need to scale the first few parts of the mountain. The mountain in particular that we'll be climbing is nothing compared to the actual mountains around our land – I wonder if it can even be called a mountain, sometimes – but at least we're starting somewhere, right?
After tying the rope that links me to Popo around my waist, I turn my attention to the mountain itself. My father and Ms. Fuyu, who are climbing partners anyway and a part of our village's climbing team, are just in front of us, presumably re-evaluating for the umpteenth-time whether we're suited for this climb. Eventually, they spin around back to us, nodding:
"You ready, then?"
Nodding back at their proud faces is something I hope won't be my greatest regret. Our greatest regret.
We're just a few hundred metres up, but I already feel like I'm above the clouds. (I'm not.)
Maybe it's because my feet seem as if they're going to slip off the ice they're latched onto, a disaster I can only pray never befalls us. The last thing I need to happen is to drag Popo down with me when he's already doing amazingly at leading us both.
The ropes are actually quite loose, to allow us some limited freedom for leaping and moving around ledges as we scale the ice walls and slopes. One of the most important rules any climber is taught is to make sacrifices when they're necessary. Quite literally, you have everyone's lives on the line. In those kinds of situations, decisions like those must be horribly difficult to make. It just makes me think of how fragile the strings connecting us all really are. There's strings I know I'd never, ever want to sever, there were the strings I knew I had to cut for the best.
Will I have to cut any more in the future?
I quickly follow after Popo's hops and steps, hacking my small axes into the ice where I need to for stability. Everyone seemed to be a bit sceptical at the prospect of giving us (or rather, me specifically) such sharp tools to handle, since we were apparently "still young children barely maturing" in the words of Gio. I had to disagree with that statement, considering how socially and culturally mature we are – or should be, at the very least! After all, we're only a couple of years off the eligible marriage age (which is why our respective parents decided to start teasing the two of us for the sake of it), and to some extent, we've already come of age in some things already; climbing happens to be one of them.
"You two are doing great! We're almost at the next flatland. We'll stop for a break there." my dad hollers down to us both below.
When we arrive, we take refuge in a small snow shelter my dad puts together. It's somewhat sloppy work, for my dad, though it wasn't as if we were going to stop for the whole night. The plan is simple: to have left for the mountain by noon and return by the seventeenth hour at the very latest, when the sun sets. Popo's mom had said that at the rate we'd been training and working at, we'd probably finish the whole affair by fifteen hours. Nothing should get in the way.
Ms Fuyu smirks at us. "Tired yet?"
"I'm as fine as can be. We'd better hurry up and get up this mountain so we can say we've accomplished something!" I grin back, pulling up a confident posture.
Popo yawns, "How far up are we?"
"Just under halfway up."
My head snaps up as I suddenly hear my dad's casual statement. "Wha-? But hasn't it only been-"
"An hour? Yeah, but you're fast learners. Didn't take you long to catch up to us, did it?"
There he goes again, showering us with compliments. It's the way Dad's always been, and I love him for it, but I sometimes feel as if he doesn't pay enough attention to how amazing he is too.
"Once we get back to Yukino, I'll be able to give you both your Climbing bands. Junior ones, mind, but it'll really say something."
"Mm...I don't want us to seem like show-offs, though, Mom. I-I mean, I'd be really glad to get my band, but..." Popo's voice trails off.
"Hey, you don't need to worry about that, Popo. I know the whole wow-weird-ice-powers thing has always been really hard for us both, but I'm pretty sure most people are used to it at this point."
He sighs. "I know, it just sort of bugs me anyway."
Suddenly, my dad decides to stand up, so he's looking over all of us. "Well, I have told you both time and time again that what you have is simply a blessing. I understand your abilities may be used for what might seem like the worst, but...they are just as beautiful as the next snowflake."
"Very metaphorical as usual, Mr. Tsubaki." Popo's mother chuckles. "But he's right, Popo. So don't stress over it, okay?"
And she smiles her beam of comfort our way, like some kind of magic medicine only she can procure.
Once again, we're enshrouded by silence minus the howling wind we're caught up in. There's not much need for conversation when the important thing to focus on is making sure we stay put on the mountain.
Don't fall.
Admittedly, the fog is significantly thicker now that we're at a higher elevation. I'm not sure how to describe my feelings at the moment – a satisfying warmth in my stomach seems to have grown from the triumph of knowing I've- we've made it this far, yet… maybe it's just the piercing chills starting to get to me. But I feel almost sick at the same time, as if in a darker corner inside of me what little fear I have of this journey is going to burst into an ugly grotesque beast that overtakes me completely. I know I shouldn't be worried. Today is a normal climbing day for Dad and Ms. Fuyu, and here they are, stuck on a tiny mountain trying to teach two amateur fourteen-year-olds how to actually get up a mountain. I kind of feel sorry for them; they could have been out on a good adventure with the rest of their climbing clan, though it was their choice to remain here with us. I struggle to think about what I'd choose in such a situation (it's not as if the time won't come for me). Choosing to stay behind and stick to the easy stuff? At least they have less on their mind for now, even though it isn't that easy for me.
Don't fall.
"Can you both still see us down there?" my dad hollers to us. He doesn't direct his gaze towards us when he speaks, his focus understandably instead on the slopes above him.
"J...just about!" I reply, squinting to barely make out his figure. Dad and Ms. Fuyu have already reached the next small area of flat ground to wait for us. There isn't much room for mobility in said space, but it's of no concern, since the next glacier is just ahead of them.
"Good. Now, you'd better hurry up! We can't stay here for long."
That's a fair point. We need this training over and done with, though it's been tiring enough.
As I follow Popo once again in his every step, I call out, "Are we almost at the top?"
"Yeah, we just- we just have a few more jumps to make, then- then we're there!"
I indulge in a wave of relief splashing over me as soon as I hear those words. This wall, by far, is the wall that's taken longest to ascend. At least soon it's going to be over. Soon, we're going to be another step closer to accomplishing this mountain! According to Dad, the next glacier ahead's the last one before the peak. I can already imagine the glory and victory that'll course through my veins as we step atop the mountaintop, hands linked, taking in the amazingly vast view of the valleys nestling our little village. And we'll have done it with-
"What the hell?!"
My head shoots up, Popo's yelp of horror overwhelming my relief with sudden panic instead. Panicking is the worst thing you can do on a mountain.
Don't fall. Don't fall. Don't-
It doesn't take long for me to realise what's stunned Popo like a bolt of lightning.
DON'T FALL. DON'T FALL.
It's right there, growling so menacingly and… disgustingly bloodthirstily. It's hungry, and it wants food. Nothing's going to soothe its desire, that dark and monstrous lust it has for life. Not even the mallets they, so close yet so far away, wield and brandish against its baring teeth.
No. It's going to take more than that.
But don't they have more than that?
PLEASE DON'T FALL. PLEASE. PLEASE DON'T FALL. DO NOT-
The rope tugs tightly on my waist as Popo swiftly leaps from shelf to shelf. There, there, there- no! I told him not to- his foot slides, slipping off a shard of ice that shatters, its fragments falling, falling into the abyss below us. Tension around my waist starts to steal the breath away from me, his fall painfully tightening the ropes between us. But the greater stabs of the cold mute my voice, preventing me from letting out any sounds of pain. There's enough pain playing out right in front of me. Their grunts and moans as the beast attacks them further. Yet, here we are, unable to step in, though we are steps away.
ARE YOU LISTENING?! DON'T FALL! YOU CAN'T. DO NOT FALL.
"Hurry!" my desperate voice chokes out. For me to rush ahead of Popo would only put us in more danger.
"No! Not here!" Ms. Fuyu's normally collected and composed vocals gasp. As we peer up, we're met with her now widened eyes. Her fighting spirit is burning evidently, but is it enough to defeat what's before them?
And then, there's Dad. Papa. My father. My guardian. He only says one word.
"Run."
He meets us with these bloodshot eyes that have replaced his usual kind and happy gaze.
"Run back!"
I don't say anything to Popo for a moment, because any words that need to be exchanged are already being exchanged through our silences.
The quietness stings, but neither of us will admit it. There's no need to. We both already know how it makes us feel.
"I'm so sorry, Nana."
I blink, studying Popo's face, his expression, his eyes. The moment I see his tears sparkling, trickling down his cheeks is when I truly understand it – his sorrow. It's one we share, for obvious reasons, but what I've wanted this whole time is for him to open its doors to me. True, he let me into him as soon as we became close, closer than just acquaintances. And it only made sense that it took him some time to open this door for me too.
I slowly exhale, ready to listen to what he's going to say.
"What are you sorry for?"
"You don't have to lie to me. I know it was my fault. So, you're right to blame me."
I almost can't believe the words he's spouting out of his mouth. Why… how did he come to that conclusion?
"When did I say I blame you, Popo?" He makes no reply or sound, except for a few sniffles he can't really help. "There's no one to blame. No one but that monster."
"I don't think you understand what I'm trying to say, Nana." Popo sighs, before he starts choking out mumbled sentences.
"Mom only stayed because I asked her to. I- I told her I wanted her to stay with us instead, that we'd- that we'd… I, well, I only asked her because..." He trails off, hesitating for a moment before he continues.
"I was worried. I thought letting Mom and- and your dad stay would keep them safe. Because the peaks the village team's gone to explore, they're… they're deadly, Nana. But what if-"
"Popo."
Slowly, he turns his head to look at me with confused and desperate eyes.
"Please don't think about the what-ifs. You shouldn't. What-ifs are a waste of time."
I pause, suddenly realising how harsh I sound. I decide to retry conveying my thoughts into words for my best friend.
"If those peaks are as deathly as you make them sound, then perhaps they're just as dangerous, if not worse. So I'll start off by telling you not to even consider the thought that it would have been better that way."
Inhaling, I continue.
"We can't dwell on the past anymore, Popo. It won't help anything. Because, usually, stuff like that...it happens because it has to, right? We can't undo time, as much as I'd love to be able to."
"Um...when you climb a mountain. Sometimes you...you lose things. But you can't go back down to get them back, because they're gone by the time you try and get there. Dad and your Mom, they- I'm...I'm sure that they want us to keep on climbing, Popo. We can't give up now."
I don't expect Popo to respond at first, but to my surprise, he abruptly sits up, just staring at me in shock, until he suddenly pulls me towards him.
"Why aren't you angry at me, Nana?! I don't get it! This is all- it's my-"
After he stops (lightly) shaking me up, I have no choice but to snap back, "I don't have anything to be angry at you about, idiot!"
"I don't get why you blame every stupid little thing on yourself when you don't need to, Popo! You do realise how many people care about you too, right? You- you have to let other people help you too… Popo."
Popo only glares back, supposedly annoyed that I'm still trying to talk sense into him, and that I don't plan on stopping until he gets it.
After a short quiet moment, I gently wrap my arms around him, drawing us both into an embrace. "Please listen to me, Popo. Nothing was your fault, okay?"
I try to hold him as tightly as possible, hoping my body warmth might add some kind of extra comfort the way his does. Popo doesn't reciprocate my hug, his arms miserably hung at his sides, but he doesn't need to. I'm okay with just being a shoulder for him to cry on for now.
That's how we stay for the rest of the long night, my hand softly running its fingers through his messy hair, while he quietly sobs into my arms.