(Author's note: Taroris asked:
Number 17 with Ornstein and Nameless King, for the whumps prompt list, please ^^
Drowning/Hypothermia
Arghl, of course Ornstein would prompt me to write a massive amount of words, so here you go, enjoy your prompt ^^ I went with Hypothermia, because I already used Drowning for another fic.)
It was the dead of the night and Ornstein was wide awake.
He tried to fall back asleep a few more times. He closed his eyes, buried himself under the blankets and tried to completely empty his mind, but it was of no use. Eventually, he gave up. He needed to get up and go outside.
Back in the cathedral, he always had donned his armour and went on patrol through the dark streets of abandoned Anor Londo, but he wasn't at the cathedral anymore. Regardless, he knew that he couldn't stay here, lying wide awake in bed with no prospect of rest.
Ornstein got up and shivered. It was a cold night. He had come to Arch Dragon Peak only a few months prior, and he hadn't known how cold it could get up here. There surely would be snow outside. Ornstein searched for some warm boots and a thick sweater. Once he was dressed, he was putting his hair into a ponytail. Finally, he put a pair of gloves on. As he was sitting there, considering if he truly was fitted for the cold, Ornstein went back to his luggage and got a scarf out. It was old and ragged, but it still held him warm. A dragon was knitted into the scarf, it had been a gift from a dear friend. Ornstein enlaced his neck with the scarf and went to the door.
The only thing that Ornstein took with him was his spear. He had discarded his armour shortly after arriving and he planned to never don his armour again. He only took his spear with him in case he needed to defend himself. His dragon slaying days were long over.
On the way outside Ornstein stopped to peek into the room of the Master. It still felt unreal for him, that he had found him. That he had been so close all the time, on a mountain that could be seen from Lordran. Ornstein never had suspect for him to be so close, and so he had searched the world before finally taking a look at this mountain.
The Master was fast asleep, cuddled in his blankets and looking peaceful and content, his long white hair all over the pillow. A smile washed over Ornstein's face before he frowned. The Master wanted to rekindle his relationship with Ornstein right away, but Ornstein had been... reluctant. Too much had happened. The Master never knew about the hardships of Ornstein in the cathedral, about his relationship with Smough and how hard the journey to find him had been. He had just lived freely without a worry in the world. Ornstein wasn't ready yet. Even though his heart screamed at him to just forgive his old love, his brain said no. He also couldn't deny this tiny sting in his heart every time he thought about how the Master had turned traitor.
It were these thoughts that kept Ornstein awake. A walk in the fresh night air would do him good, so Ornstein finally turned around and went outside.
The fluffy snow on the ground told him right away that it was cold. It seemed fresh, as if it had just fallen. It was crispy cold and Ornstein felt how his lips got dry. It wouldn't surprise him if he would have a few cuts from the cold on his exposed skin later. He wouldn't mind about it though. He only wanted to take a walk for ten to fifteen minutes and come back right away. He would hardly freeze to death in this short time, especially not with the warm clothes he had put on.
Ornstein picked a direction and started to walk. He wasn't too familiar with the monastery grounds, but he had a general idea where everything was. For now, he was searching for some alone time, so he went away from the monastery, down the mountain path. The snow crunched under his feet. Ornstein thought back at the time that Artorias had challenged him to a snowball duel. It had ended with a bleeding nose for Ornstein and lots of apologies from Artorias. In the end, they had gone inside to have a warm drink. That had been much better times.
Artorias had died in the meantime. It had been such a long time ago, that almost nobody recognized his name anymore. Ornstein had heard of a group that honoured his memory though, a group that fought the dangers of the Abyss. He asked himself if they would just end like his late friend, corrupted and being forced to put down by some nobody. He wished this fate on nobody. At the same time, he had wanted to get put down by that nobody, but it never happened.
Ornstein looked at the ground and at the footsteps he produced. Having died back in the cathedral would have made everything so much easier. Then he wouldn't have to walk through the snow and try to avoid thinking about how he felt about his Master or missing his dead friend dearly once again.
He often asked himself if the other Knights of Gwyn waited for him or if they already moved on. If there was something like an afterlife and Ornstein would enter it somewhen, he probably would get his ass beaten for having taken so long. Ornstein never wanted to live that long. It still had happened. Deep inside of him, Ornstein secretly only wished for it all to finally end.
His thoughts wandered back to his Master. He, as well, hadn't died. He had stayed alive. He spent all these years, decades, centuries, millenia... how did he spend them? He didn't look unhappy, but... lonely. He looked incredibly lonely whenever Ornstein refused to get hugged by him or he cut their conversation short and went elsewhere because he felt unable to think straight in his presence.
Ornstein didn't even know why he was so stubborn.
Ornstein raised his head and looked in the sky when he felt something cold on his face. It had started to snow again. He probably should head back before he couldn't see anything anymore. Ornstein turned around and froze in place. He wasn't on the path anymore. He had been so lost in thought that he must have left it without noticing.
That was bad. He better found the path soon, or he could turn into an icicle very soon.
Ornstein kept his eyes on the ground and started to walk in the opposite direction he had come from, hoping that he would find the path back to the monastery by following his footsteps. This worked well until he had to notice that the snow, which had picked up in intensity over the time, had filled in his footsteps.
With not being able to see the path and not knowing where he was, Ornstein felt a slight panic creep up into him. The master had warned him to not get lost out in the mountain when it snowed. When the snow picked up, he would lose all orientation, not knowing where he was or in which direction he could walk. Ornstein felt it right at this moment, the snow was flurrying so wild that every direction he looked into seemed to be a pure white.
It didn't help that Ornstein started to feel his fingers and toes. Even with the gloves and the warm boots he was wearing, he felt the cold seeping into his body. His fingers and toes were going numb and soon he wouldn't be able to feel them anymore.
Still, Ornstein picked a direction and started to walk. He just needed to find something, anything, he could orientate himself on. Ornstein was in luck when the direction he picked ended on a wall. It also provided some shelter from the blizzard, so Ornstein leaned against the wall and tried to find out where he was. He couldn't be too far from the monastery. Of course this only applied when he hadn't gotten lost even more on his quest trying to find a way back.
A particularly cold and strong wind gust hit Ornstein and he hugged himself in an attempt to conserve some warmth, when he got buried under a sudden, very cold pile of snow. Ornstein yelped when it hit him, the snow came crashing down with enough force to even knock a man of his size down on the ground. As he was still in a slight panicked state about the possibility of being caught in an avalanche, Ornstein noticed that the snow around him didn't move.
It was his luck that he took his spear with him, because Ornstein was able to melt the snow around him and free himself from the pile. Only that now his clothes were completely soaked! It didn't matter how warm they originally were, when melted snow dripped off them. The harsh winds and still ongoing Blizzard did nothing to warm Ornstein up and he knew that he had to find a warm place soon if he didn't want to freeze to death.
Ornstein decided to follow the wall and hoped that it led up. The monastery was pretty much on the peak of the mountain, he should find his way back like this. Even though his toes protested, his body was violently shivering and he could hear his teeth chatter from the cold, Ornstein started to move.
The shivering didn't stop. How could it, when his clothes were so soaked? While Ornstein had the brief idea to use the powers of his spear to dry them, he probably would set them on fire on accident and he preferred wet clothes over no clothes in this heavy weather. While moving felt easy enough at the beginning, he soon started to feel sluggish and even putting one foot in front of the other was becoming a chore. He raised his head when he heard a voice, but quickly had to notice that he must have mistaken the wind... he just didn't know why the voice had sounded so much like Artorias.
Ornstein didn't know how long he already had wandered, when he felt the tiredness he had craved earlier, washing over his body. As much as he wanted to sleep back then, he knew that if he fell asleep in this cold and in this weather, he wouldn't wake up again. He had to find a warm place if he didn't want to freeze to death. Though, as Ornstein put one tired foot in front of the other again and again, feeling how his strength more and more left him, he asked himself why he resisted. Hadn't he thought about wanting to die just earlier? He just needed to give in and let his body rest. The cold would do the rest... he had been alive for so long already, maybe after his death he would finally see Smough and Artorias and Ciaran and Gough again...
Ornstein hadn't even noticed that he had stopped walking and sat down on the ground. The snow barely felt cold around him anymore. In fact, he felt hot. He felt like he wanted to get rid of his clothes... Ornstein was just in the progress of removing his scarf when something big... and warm... picked him up.
"Ornstein, I am so glad,I've found you!"
Ornstein opened his mouth to say "Master?", but nothing came out. Instead, a rattling cough happened and Ornstein felt his body convulse under it. That cough wasn't because of the cold, this cough had plagued him for some while now.
"It's alright, Ornstein. I am here now. We'll get you into the warmth right away."
As soon as Ornstein felt the master's warmth, he recognized how cold he actually was. How strange... just a few minutes earlier he wanted to get rid of his clothes... but now he just relaxed in the Master's arm. What had he thought about earlier? That it was fine for him to freeze to death...? What had he been thinking? He didn't want to become a frozen dragon slayer in the middle of nowhere... as his thoughts engulfed Ornstein, he felt how his heavy eyes started to close. Sleep, he just wanted to sleep.
"No, Ornstein, you can't fall asleep!", Ornstein jerked awake as he felt a sharp pain on his face. He was wondering a brief bit how he could feel it, his whole skin felt so numb, but it was definitely there.
"Please, you have to stay awake a little while longer. I will talk to you, Ornstein, concentrate on my voice. Just don't fall asleep."
Ornstein raised a weak arm and gave the Master's shoulder a squeeze, telling him that he understood. The Master held his words and started to narrate all kinds of tales, especially tales of their time together in the cathedral. Ornstein would have been impressed about how much he remembered, if he wouldn't have been so tired. Once in a while his eyes fluttered shut, but he opened them right away when he felt pain in his face. It was hard to resist though, the Master's chest was so warm...
Finally, after what felt like hours , Ornstein was out of the wind and the snow. The moment his body was back in a warmer place, it started to protest about having been out in the cold for so long and he started to violently shiver.
"We need to get you warmed up right away.", the Master said and bellowed some orders to the snake people in that strange hissing tongue. Ornstein was too out of it to keep much thoughts about it, he just wanted to warm up.
The Master brought Ornstein to his bedroom... the bedroom of the master, not Ornstein's, and put him down, then removing his wet, no in the meantime, they had frozen, clothes. Ornstein, still shivering, didn't protest when the Master rubbed him dry with a big towel, frowning as he looked at his toes.
"You got yourself some frostbite.", he said. "This will hurt for a while. But first, we need to heat you up. Your lips are all blue, your body temperature surely is too low."
Ornstein simply stared when the Master got undressed and laid into bed with him, putting the blankets over them both. He then felt himself engulfed by the strong arms of the Master and being pulled closer to his chest. Now that they both were naked, Ornstein felt the warmth of the Master even more than earlier, when he had been fully clothed. He had been the prince of the sun, the firstborn of the sun, a god of light, and even though he didn't have any of his titles anymore, his body still radiated the same heat Ornstein had loved so much back in Anor Londo.
He curled himself up in the Master's embrace and finally allowed for his body to get the rest he so desperately had craved earlier.
Ornstein awoke again before it was dawn. The Master still held him in his arms and looked at him with his amber eyes.
"Are you feeling warmer, Ornstein?"
Ornstein nodded and then tested if his mouth and tongue would move, before he spoke: "Why did you come looking for me? You were fast asleep when I set off."
"I went to check on you when I had to get up anyway to take a leak.", the Master replied. "I saw you missing and knowing you and your habit of taking a stroll when you can't sleep, and knowing that you weren't on the privy, because I just came from it, I had to go look for you after I saw the blizzard outside."
The Master's gaze darkened. "Ornstein, you should know better than to go outside in this kind of weather."
"It... it hadn't snowed once I set off...", Ornstein tried to defend himself, it was a weak attempt, he knew it.
"Still, the snow was fresh and you ran straight out into a whiteout."
Ah, that was the word for it. Fitting, because Ornstein surely hadn't been able to see anything other than white when he got caught in the blizzard. He felt how the Master's embrace around him tightened.
"Don't scare me like that, Ornstein. I just found you again. I can't lose you so soon again."
Ornstein was about to retort that he had been the one to search out the Master and not the other way round, but he assumed the Master probably had searched for him through other methods. Through the eyes of the sunlight warriors for example... He also felt too weak to argue.
"I am sorry.", he simply said.
"I am just glad I found you in time."
"Master... how did you find me?", Ornstein didn't have a clue how he had done it. Either he had been very close to the monastery, or the Master had some kind of special radar to locate him before he froze to death.
"That's easy.", the Master chuckled. "You never stopped being one."
"Never stopped being what?", Ornstein was clearly confused. What was the Master talking about?
"A warrior of sunlight.", the Master replied. "I just have to follow the golden signature all of you carry around with you. Even though you have been an excellent dragon slayer on your own, you have always preferred to work together with others. This signature has never left you. I just needed to walk in the direction towards the nearest sunlight warrior."
Ornstein felt himself blush a little, however it was possible with his blood still feeling like it had frozen in his veins. It was true, he had never left his Master's covenant. He had stayed true to the end with it even in Anor Londo, always having fought at Smough's side.
"You feel a little warmer, but you still haven't your original body temperature back.", the Master said as his forehead touched Ornstein's, who suddenly felt a lot hotter than before. "I have told the serpent man to bring some warm soup and prepare a bath. We need to warm you up from the inside and the outside."
"Hmmm...", Ornstein only said. He felt safe and secure in his Master's embrace... he didn't want to get up. His muttering turned into a whine when the Master moved to stand up and Ornstein felt all the cold at once in his body, violently shivering once the body warmth of him had left.
"Oh no, Ornstein, I am sorry.", the Master said and wrapped Ornstein into a second blanket. "I won't be gone for long, I just need to see what takes the serpent men so long. It has been over two hours now."
"I.. How long have I been asleep?", Ornstein asked, his teeth chattering, making the words come out stuttered.
"Not long, actually. A little longer than an hour.", the Master answered. "I will come back in a minute, don't worry."
"Yes... thank you...", Ornstein said and wrapped the blankets around him. His eyes felt heavy again, but he didn't feel like he could fall asleep with his body shivering so much. He truly had underestimated the mountain. Or maybe deep inside of him he had wanted to not come back. iI can't lose you so soon again. The Master's word still hang over him.
The Master came back only two minutes later. Ornstein hadn't even noticed that he had put a loose robe on, but of course the Master wouldn't run around naked around the serpent men (though it felt a bit like a pity, his body surely deserved to be seen). He let the robe fall on the ground and crawled back into bed, taking Ornstein in his arms again. Ornstein cuddled himself against the Master's chest and his shivering slowly halted.
"The soup will be here soon.", the Master said. "As long as we wait, I will keep you warm."
"Thank you, Master...", Ornstein said, closing his eyes as he rested his head on his Master's chest.
"I am not your Master anymore...", the Master said. "You can call me by my name."
His name... Gwynfor, no, Faraam. He had left his old name behind when he got banished. Ornstein opened his mouth to say it, but nothing came out. He probably would never be able to call his Master by his name.
Luckily, the Master didn't take it as offense and simply as Ornstein being too exhausted, shown by him rubbing circles in Ornstein's back and whispering soothing words to him. Words that didn't reach Ornstein's ears, but it was nice to hear his Master's voice.
After a while, or at least it felt like a good while, someone entered the chamber. Ornstein slowly opened his eyes as he heard his Master say some words in the tongue of the serpent men. A bowl was placed on the nightstand and the Master took it, dousing a spoon in it.
"Ornstein, say aaaah.", the Master prompted Ornstein and the knight wrinkled his forehead.
"Master, I can eat myself.", he said, not wanting to be treated like a little child.
"I am just teasing you, Ornstein.", the Master said, but there was a certain disappointment in his voice to be heard, as he gave the spoon over. He continued to balance the bowl of soup on his lap however, all while Ornstein slowly ate. As it turned out, the soup had needed a while because they needed to let it cool down. It wouldn't have been good for him to eat something very hot while his body was still low in temperature itself. The warmth of the soup was exactly right however and Ornstein could feel some of his strength returning after he had finished the bowl.
"How are you feeling?", the Master asked, embracing Ornstein once again once the empty bowl was put on the nightstand.
"Better, I think...", Ornstein answered.
"Your skin still feels very cold.", the Master said. "It's time for your bath."
"Oh, alright...", Ornstein said and put the blankets away, only to remember that he was, in fact, stark naked. He quickly put the blankets over himself again, even though the Master was the only one to see him. The thought of anyone coming in and seeing him like that was too much.
"I am getting you some warm robes.", the Master said, as Ornstein wrapped himself completely with the blankets. He didn't like his naked body very much, all the scars on it... it made him feel self conscious. Neither the Master nor Smough had ever minded them, but each scar only reminded Ornstein of his losses. The one on his chest, caused by the Chosen Undead, was a special painful reminder. The wound that should have killed him, but hadn't. Not even Smough had succeeded, to caught up with his feelings for Ornstein to go through with it, only having taken a tiny part of his soul for himself.
The Master returned and handed Ornstein a thick robe, which he quickly put on. He then pulled the blankets back and got up, only to realize that his legs felt like pudding. He fell back on the bed and quickly hugged himself when his shivering came back, now that he was away from the comfort of the bed.
"Let me help you, Ornstein.", the Master said and Ornstein felt himself being picked up. He also felt his face flush, however it was possible with his body temperature so low.
"Master, let me down...", he said, his voice strained and weak, "If anyone sees us like this..."
"The only ones here are the serpent men and they don't mind.", the Master said. "Now let's get you into that bath. I will come in with you as well."
"Alright...", Ornstein said, feeling too weak to struggle much.
On the way to the bath Ornstein asked himself why he even bothered. The Master had carried him back into the monastery and he surely had been seen by the serpent men, Ornstein had just been too out of it to register. It also wasn't like anyone would be there to judge them. It wasn't as if Ornstein was still a knight. He relaxed in the Master's arms and only flinched when he felt the robe covering him being removed. He then was gently set into a basin of warm water. It wasn't hot, it was just pleasantly warm. Ornstein laid his head on the edge of it and closed his eyes, hearing some splashing noises as the Master entered behind him.
"The water had to cool down a bit to not shock you.", the Master explained. "With your body temperature so low, we need to gradually warm you up."
Ornstein managed to raise his head to look at the Master, tiredly blinking.
"Do I have to move?", he asked.
The Master chuckled and shook his head. "No, you can just stay in the bath and let me handle everything. Just don't be surprised if you get a bad cold the next few days, but we will make sure that you get healthy again soon."
Ornstein could feel how the Master stroked over his hair and closed his eyes again, leaning into his embrace, resting his head on his chest. He was still so warm, not even because of the water, the Master always had been naturally warm. Ornstein always had craved this warmth, had felt safe and secure in his godly influence, but now the Master wasn't a god anymore. He had never lost his warmth though... which made Ornstein think that maybe it never had been the godhood that he had craved.
The Master gently moistened Ornstein's hair with the warm water. "Why have you gone wandering outside anyway?"
Ornstein opened his eyes again, waiting a few seconds before he replied.
"I couldn't sleep. I normally manage to fall asleep when I go wandering around for a bit, so I did. I... lost my way and before I knew it, it had started snowing."
The Master hummed as his calloused fingers went through Ornstein's curls and massaged his scalp. The Ornstein from the past would have purred at this treatment, but the present Ornstein just felt so very tired.
"You know you can always come and sleep in my bed.", the Master said. "Like when I warmed you up earlier. I gladly hold you, so that you can sleep better."
Ornstein wasn't opposed to the offer, but... there was a certain knot in his throat. He just couldn't rekindle their relationship as easily as the Master wanted.
"Master...", he said and he felt mortified when the next words came out sobbed: "I can't... not yet. So much... happened. I found someone... someone who never left me alone. Someone I wanted to die with. But I didn't die. For some cruel reason fate left me alive, left me with the knowledge that he died and I didn't. I couldn't stay there anymore, I had to go. Somewhere. Anywhere. I just..." I just needed a goal. Ornstein didn't finish the last sentence, his face feeling hot and flushed, the salty taste of his tears on his lips.
"When I was out there I thought it would be better for me to freeze to death.", Ornstein instead finished his rant, unaware that the Master had pressed him against his chest and rubbed soothing circles in his back.
"I don't know everything that happened to you.", the Master said. "And I want for you to share it at your own pace. I won't force you to rekindle our relationship, as much as it would joy me."
The Master cupped Ornstein's face in his hands and gently forced him to look into his eyes, clear amber eyes, that were equally sharp as they were gentle. "I was overjoyed when you found me here, Ornstein. I thought I would never see you again. I knew you were still alive, but I never thought you would come back to me. I had already let you go, for you had moved on. I won't force you to do anything that you don't want, but please, Ornstein...", the Master gently lifted Ornstein's chin and now Ornstein could see some tears in his eyes. "Please never say again that you should have died."
While Ornstein could still feel a tear or two running down his face, no new ones fell out of his eyes after the Master's words. Ornstein hadn't even considered the Master's feelings in all of this, having been purely too self-absorbed in his own thoughts, in his own negativity, in his thoughts about how he just wanted to stop existing.
"I am sorry.", he choked out, hating how broken and weak his voice sounded and he felt like bursting into tears right again when the Master replied with.
"You don't have to."
(Author's note: Wow, I got carried away! Ornstein is just too fun to write for me.
I know there is heavy stuff in there... I have this headcanon that Ornstein was lowkey suicidal since a long time, but he never wanted to actively do it, it was more like a "If I die here, that would be fine." kind of way. He is just so tired and he has lived for so long, that he asks himself why he even is still alive. If you yourself have some thoughts, please get some professional help ASAP however, Ornstein's mindset is not healthy and NK was right to call him out on Ornstein saying that he wanted to die.
There are a lot of issues between NK and Ornstein when they find each other again on Arch Dragon Peak. Feel free to ask about my headcanons about it or maybe one day I turn it into a story, if you guys are interested in my take about NKstein take.
Anyway, this got even more angstier than intended, but I hope you enjoyed.
Also, props for Death Stranding to letting me experience a whiteout. I tell you, they are scary. You can't see shit and you don't even know where up and down is anymore and that was in a video game!)