Roxas raced in an almost blind panic through the dark halls, unheeding everything that had once frightened and awed him. His heart pounded frantically in his chest as he rounded the corner and finally reached his room. There, the boy quickly shoved some things into his bag and threw it over his shoulder, ignoring Marluxia's questions and running out again just as quickly as he had come.

Soon, a faint sound beat against the stone floors behind him, and Roxas knew even without looking that the beast's servants were following him. He didn't care.

"What have you done? The Master is furious!" Demyx supplied unhelpfully, stopping at the top of the staircase with Luxord just behind him. "It will be hours before he- Wait! Young master, where are you going?"

Seeing the boy sprint for the door, Luxord knew immediately where Roxas was going.

"You cannot leave!" he cried. "There's a storm brewing out there now! It's far too dangerous!"

Roxas looked back only briefly, as he shook his head and gulped for air.

"I-I can't stay here anymore! I'm going home!"

"Young master, please wait! It's too dangerous!"

"You promised!"

"Hang my promise!" Roxas snapped, pulling the heavy doors open and shivering as a cold, snowy gust of wind blew inside. "I'll not stay here and wait to die!"

The boy slammed the doors behind him and ran around to the stable, quickly saddling his horse. He tightened the girth with trembling hand, even colder now. But he had no gloves.

"Come on, boy. W-We have to go now..." Proulx snorted in response, looking at the woods fearfully, but stood still and calm enough for his master to finish tacking him up.

"I know, but it's better than staying here."

Taking a deep breath, Roxas pressed his head into the saddle and tried forcing himself not to tremble so violently. He wasn't really thinking clearly at the moment, but he couldn't be bothered to care. There couldn't be room for doubt now anyway. Axel's threats were painfully fresh in his mind, and Roxas knew he wanted to leave this cruel, dark place as soon as possible. He owed this horrible creature absolutely nothing.

He would just take his chances in the woods, and try to make it home to where he could at least be safe...wanted...loved...

The blond felt a particularly nasty tremor wrack his body, and he paused a moment to let it pass. It was a much colder night than it had been before and he'd never seen a storm like this in the city. Not letting it distract him too much, Roxas tugged a bit impatiently at the reins and led his skittish horse to the gate. He then brushed the ice from the cold bars with his bare hands and pulled them open before mounting up. Then, with some coaxing, he urged Proulx forward, soon galloping off into the snowy-white landscape...

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It was dark and cold, and the snow piled high around them, making the going slow and cumbersome. Even as tall as he was, Proulx struggled when they strayed off the path, and with limited light and the heavy white blanket covering the ground, Roxas could barely tell where the road was anymore. They had made it quite a ways from the castle, but it wasn't long before the little blond was utterly lost.

He leaned into his horse's mane for a moment, resting against it in the hopes of finding some added warmth there. It was so bitterly cold, even with the cloak wrapped around him tightly. Roxas breathed into his hands to lessen the numbing cold feeling and wasn't surprised when he saw a thick, warm cloud escape him. He couldn't be completely sure, but his fingertips looked almost blue.

From the silence of the woods and the darkness all around them, the boy assumed that it was some time in the early morning. He leaned heavily on his horse's neck and shut his eyes a moment. Despite his nerves and the blistering cold, he felt so very sleepy...

The wind began to howl a little, blowing through the trees and sending another nervous shiver down Roxas's spine. He looked up from Proulx's mane when the horse came to a stop in the middle of a large fork, prancing and pawing the ground nervously.

Roxas sat up and reined the horse in, realizing that he must have found the path again. They had come upon a sign post pointing in several different directions, standing alone and quite out of place in the surrounding blanket of pure white. One of the arrows probably led back to his village, and another might lead him back towards the castle, if he needed to regain his bearings. But there were more signs, and the words were scratched and illegible.

"W-What do I do?" he stuttered, squinting uselessly. "Which one is it?"

Proulx shrieked and shuffled to the left, just as a menacing growl drifted out from that direction.

The boy's eyes widened as he turned and saw what had found them. A large pack of mangy, flee-bitten of wolves descended slowly into the clearing, golden eyes gleaming viciously as they prowled towards them. Their bodies looked ridiculously frail, with prominent, thin ribs and bellies, and sick-looking patches of bald skin in various places. Their haggard appearance made them all the more terrifying, and Roxas knew with sinking dread what they had set their sights on for dinner.

"No, no, no...This can't be happening!" Roxas pulled back on the reins, guiding the now panicking horse to back up until they had room to turn. The wolves didn't stop stalking towards them, growling and snarling, gazes fixed on Proulx's flank.

In a split second, Proulx panicked and reared, giving Roxas little time to grab hold so he could keep his seat. He flung his arms around the gelding's neck and squeezed his thighs tightly, clinging for dear life as the horse bolted. It caught the rabid animals by surprise for a moment, but soon the snarling, snapping maws were trailing close behind, dogging them with every step with remarkable speed for such thin, starved bodies.

Roxas's heartbeat fluttered wildly as he tried in vain to steer the horse through the thick trees and snow. He risked a quick backward glance and gasped, noting how close one of the wolves had just come to slashing his horse's side. They were almost on either side of them now, and Roxas jerked his leg away before a wolf could take a daring snap at it. He desperately wished he had something to swing or throw at them, but he didn't dare loosen his grip on the horse's mane as they fled. Proulx ears were twitching frantically, his eyes practically rolling back in his head. Roxas feared that if he loosened his grip in the slightest, he'd fall into the very jaws of death.

After some time, many of the wolves had actually given up, deciding that their potential meal was too quick and healthy to be taken down easily. The weather was also whipping harshly about them now, throwing snow and wind in their faces as their target hastened onward. Roxas felt his tears freezing to his cheeks, it was so cold. But there was nothing he could do except hold on and pray that Proulx knew where he was going.

Several wolves that kept up the chase, however, and Roxas guessed that these would not be deterred. Banking a hard right to try and shake them, Roxas looked around frantically, wishing for some familiar scene to guide them.

'Please…please just let me go home...'

Then, without warning, Proulx stumbled on something hidden beneath the snow, and Roxas cried out as he was flung headlong from the saddle. He instinctively kicked free of the stirrups and rolled forward, hoping to avoid being crushed should his horse fall on top of him, and quickly found himself tumbling into a deep bank of cold, wet snow.

The little blond shook his head to clear it and quickly began digging himself out, clawing for purchase as the white powder slipped between his frozen fingers. When he was finally free, Roxas shivered violently and rubbed his arms in a desperate attempt to warm them. Now he was soaked through to the skin, spelling trouble for them if they ever managed to escape the wolves, which now seemed unlikely. But Roxas had little time to think coherently when he heard a shrill cry, and saw that Proulx was attempting to fight off several ferocious, angry wolves by himself. He was bucking and kicking at them, only narrowly avoiding the snapping teeth.

"Get away from him!"

Roxas ripped a low-hanging branch from a nearby tree and rushed to the horse's side, swinging madly at one wolf who was about to pounce on Proulx's unguarded left flank. At least four wolves accosted them now, and they each took turns charging and lunging, only to be kicked hard by the horse's hooves. Roxas covered him from the rear, knocking away those wolves that tried to sneak past.

"Get back!" Roxas shouted, taking out a young wolf's legs as it leapt back, snarling in pain.

But while the boy wasn't paying attention, from out of the darkness a wolf lunged and crashed on top of him, sending him sprawling back into the snow with a cry of pain.

As Roxas blinked, feeling dizzy and short of breath, he gasped fearfully at the dark, fuzzy shape sitting heavily and painfully on his chest, weighing him down deeper into the snow. Yellow eyes narrowed at him hungrily, and the large mouth opened, revealing several sharp, pointed teeth. It licked its chops briefly, breathing a foul, hot breath right in his face.

"Proulx, help!" He looked to the horse, who was surrounded and barely keeping himself intact. Proulx called back to him, trying to reach him but cut off at every opportunity.

He was on his own.

The wolf on top of him snarled, and Roxas squeezed his eyes shut as he waited for the teeth to rip into his throat...

But there was no new pain. There was a yelp, and the weight on his chest was gone. The boy blinked in confusion, which quickly became panic again when he saw that, in place of the ferocious wolf, the dark, hulking figure of Axel now towered over him.

The redhead was standing on all fours, his hackles raised and teeth bared threateningly. His venom green eyes were narrowed in animalistic rage, his body prone and poised to kill.

Axel moved over top of him then, as the wolves began to take notice of him. He leaned low over Roxas and snarled at the wolves, who answered with equal hostility, turning away from the panicking horse.

With a mighty roar, Axel charged forward and slashed at the lead wolf, leaving a gaping, bleeding mark as the animal yelped in pain. The other wolves tackled the beast and clawed at his face and back, but Axel slammed them into the trees and fought back with his bigger, stronger claws...

Roxas laid there frozen in a daze, desperately trying to catch his breath as he watched Axel tear into another wolf's side, scarring the flesh and painting it and the surrounding snow red with blood. The boy tried to sit up weakly, unable to tear his eyes away from the terrifying scene before him. He wanted to move away from the slaughter, do anything but just lie there helplessly, but the cold and fatigue wracking his body kept him still, glued to the spot where he'd fallen. He could only listen to the rapid pounding of his heart and watch with hazy eyes as the wolves were tossed like rag dolls and slammed into the trees with teeth-chattering force.

One by one, they yelped and ran back off into the darkness, their fading howls and footprints the only sign that they had ever been there at all...

Axel panted raggedly, stooping back on all fours to steady himself and catch his breath after the tiring fight. His bright green eyes moved slowly over his surroundings until they finally landed on the fallen boy, and they slowly softened out of the narrow, angry slits that they had become when he had been fighting.

"Roxas," he panted harshly, "are you hurt?"

The little blond's chest was heaving painfully now. The cold was spreading a slow, deathly chill over him that made it hard to even twitch his fingers. Nothing felt very distinct except his throbbing head and a strange sting in his side, and there was a warm wetness there when he touched it, wincing faintly. He couldn't think, or even breathe almost...

"Roxas..."

The voice was fading into darkness along with his vision. Roxas fought to stay awake; he needed to escape, but the pain and fatigue were too much for him. The boy let out a soft, shuddering breath in the cold, as his hazy eyes drooped shut. He succumbed to troubled, restless sleep even as the wind howled all around him, whipping at his hair and flesh mercilously. The last thing he saw were familiar green eyes, suddenly soft and caring, watching him from the darkness...