A/N: Here's chapter eight! Winter comes in full force, and the colonists all react to it's changes differently.

Disclaimer: I do not own Rimworld


He woke up peacefully, his fiancée was not beside him when he sat up in bed, which wasn't really surprising. Phoebe was the earliest riser they had. So for him to wake up by himself, it didn't really surprise him (the only time she remained in bed was to do a quick, last-minute love-making session).

His eyes widened when he walked outside. Sure, it was the first of Decembary, but he didn't quite expect a snowfall like this. The snow was really coming down. Already it was piled up pretty thick, Cadmus's boots really crunched into the foot or so of snow that packed onto the ground. He took a few steps outward, still overwhelmed with how much the outside area had transformed.

"Cadmus!" He heard a soft voice call him.

He looked around, the falling snow was a little annoying, but not blindingly so. He found Phoebe, patting together a third small ball of snow on top of two larger snow balls. She then situated tiny pebbles into a pair of eyes and a smile.

She smiled when Cadmus finally walked over, "What do you think?"

"Careful." Cadmus grabbed both of her hands, holding them close to his chest, "Probably shouldn't make snowmen with your bare hands, they're freezing."

"I'm okay." She gave him a hug, "It's just snow."

"I know…" He said, "Damn…I can't believe this place turned into a winter wonderland so freaking quickly."

"I know." She giggled, "I think it looks beautiful, to be honest." She said, "Perhaps I'm just more of a winter person."

He shrugged, "Only problem is that moving around out here is going to get obnoxious." He said, "People probably shouldn't come outside unless that absolutely have to…"

"I suppose." She said, kissing him on the lips for a long period of time, "So what are your plans for today?"

"Uh…build…build…and more build…"

She rolled her eyes, "No…I meant what are you making?"

He thought about it, "I should probably knock out making another warehouse really quick, that shouldn't be too hard." He said, then he smiled and kissed her on the lips once more, "Then I'll start the wedding hall. And I'll make sure to make it real nice."

"Hey…uh, guys?" They heard another voice, watching Toni stumble over towards their direction. Stumble being the only accurate word to describe how she was moving. She occasionally jerked in the snow and held both her arms out, trudging towards them, "I…uh…didn't mean to interrupt anything…"

"It's fine." Cadmus said.

Phoebe's expression soured, "I should probably get back to the kitchen." She slowly departed.

Cadmus looked at Toni, "So what's up?"

Toni looked a little surprised at how quickly Phoebe's mood shifted, then she looked back at Cadmus, "What do you want me to do? Since…you know…I can't really garden and all…"

"Hmm…" Cadmus thought about it. Now would probably be an excellent time to ask what Toni's skills were. He already knew she was a great medic and gardener, and knew she couldn't cook or construct, but that was about it. A sinister grin etched onto his face, "I'm surprised you're asking me and all…you know…I thought you didn't need to take orders from me…"

"Ugh…I'm not doing it because I respect you or anything, dummy…I'm doing it because I'm bored…"

"Fair enough." He said, pointing towards the three wind mills in the distance, "First thing I want you to do is cut down any trees by the wind turbines. If the trees grow too big, we'll lose power. Then I want you to clean the base, really good. When the base is spotless, then go around and cut more trees down, I guess."

She nodded, "How many trees should I aim to cut?"

"As many as possible." He said, "I mean, I may not be using wood as the default building material. But I can make chairs and table out of wood, so having a backup stock would be useful. Especially since I'm making a new warehouse next anyway."

"Got it."

Cadmus let her go off to work, then he walked, (or shuffled) through the snow. Once he got inside the base, he wiped his feet off, trying his best not to track any snow. His next stop was for the warehouse. It was time to break out the stone bricks.

This would be the first room he was building inside the mountain, though it technically wasn't really a 'room' for people. He set up the stone bricks, hammering them together. This warehouse would be fairly bigger than the other one he built, just so that he wouldn't have to be nagged about making another one in a long while.

Like with the other storehouse, he didn't bother wasting bricks to make a floor, instead he smoothed out what was already there. Since he didn't need to worry about a floor, he was finished with the stockroom in record time, nor did he really use up that many of Meowski's bricks.

So the storeroom was done. Cadmus took a few steps back. He might've made it a little too big. It took up much more of the inside of the mountain than he had hoped for. With the warehouse, and the little battery room, he would say that the interior of the mountain had room for either two more large rooms, or three or four more small ones. He opted for putting the wedding hall and the rec room in here, making them as large as possible. And any other rooms would be built strategically around the wooden parts of the base, so that they'd be protected by stone. He nodded to himself, happy with the results.

He left the mountain, seeing Toni dusted off some of the dirtier sections of the hallway, "God…I think the winner for dirtiest member goes to Meowski…"

"That doesn't surprise me." Cadmus said.

"It's even worse now that Lady and the muffalo come inside all the time to get warm. They leave dirt around too." She said, heading outside the base again, "I guess I'll start cutting down trees."

Cadmus followed her outside, "Alright." He said, then the sky suddenly went dark, "What the hell?" He looked up. In addition to getting a couple snowflakes in his eyes, he noticed that it was now pitch-black, "No way…it's nighttime already?!"

"No…you…it's not…idiot…how would it become nighttime that easily?" Toni snapped, looking up at the sky with him and pointing at the sky, "See? It's an eclipse."

"Eclipse?"

"Yeah." She said, "The rim world has three moons, and they all have shitty patterns. So sometimes it gets dark at the most random times."

"Damn…"

"It could be worse." Toni said, "At least the crops are all dead. Eclipses are a nightmare for plants…depending on how long they're active. I guess it'd be worse if we were using solar power."

"Huh." He said, "Got a good point there."

He and Toni went their separate ways. Part of him felt bad for Toni, doing all the grunt work that everyone hated doing. But since she wasn't gardening, he had to put her to use. And everyone was doing something to vital to the group to stop. And then there was Meowski, who felt that she was just too good for that. Largely he had gained respect for the middle aged ranch owner, but that little fact about her still annoyed him.

Now it was time to get working on the wedding hall. Worse comes to worst, and Phoebe and Cadmus are the only couple ever to get married in there, then it would be an extra fancy dining hall.

He got another batch of stone bricks, building the walls, doors, and a secure roof over the entire building.

Or at least he would build a roof if he could.

Unfortunately, he made the building too big. It wouldn't be able to support a roof on its own. Cadmus had to ponder this one for a few minutes. He really didn't want to be responsible for a roof collapse injuring or killing himself or his friends.

He eventually grabbed more bricks, making pillars, these would support the roof. He mapped the distance of where each pillar should go, and he built four of them at equal distance away from each other. He then made the roof.

He wanted to build more, he really did, but he was already exhausted, and he would have to build the floor, and the furniture, route power in. This was already a nightmare.

"Hey buddy, still in here?" Toni peeked in the cave.

Cadmus turned back, putting his hammer down, "Yup, still here."

"Jeez…it's dark in here." Toni walked towards the prototype of the wedding hall.

"No darker than outside, I bet." He smiled, "Especially with that eclipse."

"Wanna play horseshoes? Everyone's outside playing right now."

"Even Genevieve?"

"I mean…no…I asked Genevieve to come outside, but she muttered something along the lines of 'high heels and snow are a death sentence' and stayed at her desk."

Cadmus laughed, "Typical Genevieve. Alright, let's go."

Outside, three of the women were playing horseshoes. Phoebe and Meowski were tossing the shoes now, with Toni and Cadmus joining them. He was surprised. The snow had lessened to a flurry, but it had done its damage. The snow that previously went up to Cadmus's ankles went up to his knees. Of course, the snow around the horseshoe pins was cleared out, but the way getting there was still just as bad as going to hell and back.

Cadmus's eyes shrunk when he saw what was a couple feet away from them. Animals were much rare in winter, and thus, easier to pick out. But this one was huge, and as white as the snow. Its fur was very elegant, and its horn was quite sharp and pronounced. The noble creature looked as if it were the size of a house.

"What…what the hell is that dinosaur?" He asked.

"Ah, I was just tellin' Phoebe." Meowski said, "That there's a Thrumbo."

"A…what?"

"Thrumbo." Toni said, "Very rare creatures. Probably the biggest and smartest living thing on this planet."

"Folks'll pay a mighty fine price for its horn. Or even its fur." Meowski said, "A lot of meat in 'em too. But boy, are they not to be trifled with."

"Damn…" Cadmus said, "So…so are we safe?"

"They're usually very peaceful." Toni said, "And very smart. Legend says that they know how to talk…they just choose not to."

"Damn near live for ages too." Meowski said.

"It's too risky to tame or hunt it though." Toni said, "It's better to let it just roam around."

"I mean…" Cadmus said, "It's winter…so I doubt it'll be here long, there's no food for it."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Phoebe smiled.

"What?" His eyes shrunk, "Is it a carnivore?"

"No…" She giggled, "Just watch."

The Thrumbo looked around, spotting a leafless tree it favored the most. It then ate it whole.

Cadmus's jaw dropped, "No way…it ate a tree?"

"Yes." Phoebe said, "Dendrovorous, I believe the word would be."

"Holy crap…"

"Okay." Toni said, "Score is Phoebe, fifteen. Meowski, twelve, and I have zero." She grinned at Cadmus, "Bet you can't even top my score."

"Tch." Cadmus picked up a horseshoe, throwing it.

"Pfft…wow…" Toni laughed and laughed, "I didn't think it was possible to miss that badly!"

"This why I'm building a rec room."

"Alright lil' girl." Meowski smirked at Phoebe, "Ya ain't taking me down without a fight."

"I don't know." Cadmus felt his head, "This freaking eclipse is making me feel like I'm at an all-nighter party or something…"

Phoebe perked up, her stoic expression shattered, at least somewhat, "Do you all hear that."

The other three looked around, "Hear what?" Cadmus asked.

Phoebe didn't respond, she cocked her rifle.

"Uh…why is she getting her gun out?" Toni looked nervous.

"Wait…I hear it too…" Cadmus said, "Sounds like…hissing…or something…or screeching…"

Their answer came in the form of a few tiny black dots. At least that's what they looked like far away. Once they got closer, they saw that it was a small group of rats, and they all looked positively rabid.

"What the hell?" Cadmus got his axe out. One of them hissed and jumped for Cadmus, biting him hard on the arm, "Ow, damn it!" He slashed at it with his axe, turning it into mush in no time.

Meowski and Toni were also quickly covered in bite and scratch marks, but the rebellious rodents were no match for their clubs. In a few minutes, there were a small group of rat corpses on the ground.

"I do apologize." Phoebe said, putting her gun away, "Shooting at those rats would have been dangerous, especially with how close you all were to them."

"But like…why did they even attack?" Cadmus asked, "Was the eclipse making them crazy?"

"I'll explain when we get inside." Toni said, "It's time for dinner anyway, and we need to get patched up by Genevieve."

Genevieve looked surprised when they all came inside, like a concerned mother, "My, what happened?"

"Some rats decided that they were done with us." Cadmus shrugged, "Patch up Toni and Meowski, I should be fine."

"No, no." Genevieve grabbed his arm before he walked off to the dining room, "That bite will get infected if I don't treat it. Come here."

After everyone was patched up, they all sat around the table for dinner. "I've never seen anything like it." Cadmus said, "A pack of rats…just…attacking in unison like that."

"They were manhunters." Toni explained.

"What?"

"Okay…this planet has tons of problem with psychic waves, psychic drones, and just people and animals descending into insanity. Usually it's just one animal that gets ticked off. But sometimes its entire herds, or packs. Those mice were a manhunter pack."

"Rats."

"Whatever."

Meowski nodded in agreement, "We should all just be plenty thankful that it was rats that attacked us, and not anythin' bigger or stronger."

"Jeez…" Cadmus said, "This place gets more and more dangerous each day…"

Genevieve took a sip of her berry juice folding her hands together, "So…Cadmus? How are you faring with the new buildings?"

"We have another warehouse up…but…I only built the outer foundations of the wedding hall…and the pillars." He said, "Damn…this shit is getting pretty hard with just me doing all the building…I didn't have time to build a new freezer yet…"

"A new freezer can wait, honestly." Toni said, "With no crops, we won't have any more food. So the food count will go down if anything." She said, "The freezer will slowly get emptied. I mean, there's hunting, but…hardly any animals worth hunting are outside now…so…we probably don't need a new freezer until halfway through next year. Besides, the animals can't graze anything anymore, so they're eating from our food storage too."

Cadmus nodded with the others, swallowing hard when he heard Toni say 'years,' like it was such a casual fact that they'd be staying here for that long. He knew it'd be stupid to doubt Genevieve's genius, he knew she was trying hard, but honestly, he hated it here. He wasn't sure how many people were with him, but he wanted to get back home as soon as possible.

Phoebe finished her plate rather quickly, standing up after she pushed it forward. She gave Cadmus a brief smile as she left the room to head to their bedroom, signaling that she wanted Cadmus to follow him.

When the pair left, Toni sighed and hugged herself, "I really hate how cold it is in here…have I mentioned that enough?"

Genevieve nodded, "It is rather cold." She said, "Though I honestly think it could be worse."

"Pfft, I keep telling that edgy idiot, and he keeps saying, 'well, its warm where the heaters are, so just stay in your room, then!' Pfft, moron. It's easy for him and Phoebe, they have jackets."

Meowski gave a shrug, "Doesn't bother me much, none."

"Well it bothers the hell out of me." Toni said, "I'm gonna freaking demand that we build a clothes-making station or something. I'll gladly fashion my own clothes. I made everything I'm wearing now."

"A place to tailor would be a wise idea." Genevieve said.

"I oughta tell that idiot to get working on the workshop, but he's so gaga for Phoebe that he wants to build his little dream wedding first…ugh…pisses me off…"

Meowski stood up, "Whelp, I'm headed for bed." She said, leaving the room, Toni soon did the same.

Genevieve decompressed a little, alone in the dining room. She was usually the last one to bed, and consequently the last once to rise. She'd be either up researching or up contemplating her thoughts. And boy, did they seem to multiply as the days went on.

Every time she told Cadmus or the others how long it was really going to take them to get back home, it felt like she was betraying them. Like she was actively enjoying their suffering. Was she doing enough? Should she somehow research even more? Forego sleeping altogether? Should she abandon her training with Lady?

That last idea was stupid. Honestly, Lady was the only thing that kept her sane sometimes. She liked talking to Cadmus and Phoebe, but recently, they've been so involved with themselves in their so-called 'newfound' relationship that they've been leading her by the wayside. And Toni and Meowski? Well, they seemed nice, but, Genevieve wasn't one to trust people so quickly.

Part of her liked it that way. Being aloof, away from the others. Inside the heart of the heated base while all the madness was happening around her. She preferred it, having a shaky history with human contact ever since what happened to her. She liked the warmth of friendship, of comradery, but didn't like the work and risks to take to get it.

She took a shaky breath, her face looking more resolute. She was going to get them off this dreadful rock. No if's, and's, or but's about it. They didn't call her a genius for nothing.

Tonight was a night for giving Lady a big hug and sleeping in her cozy bed.


A/N: Seems like they got off easy with those rats. Maybe when their wealth grows, things'll get a little bit tougher. Thanks for reading!