The Southwestern Wilds, T.A. 3015, Early Winter
"Chilly," Alahn remarked, stating the obvious.
The elegant black creature next to Firefly shook himself and puffed out a breath that turned white as it left his body. River's glistening coat hadn't thickened in preparation for winter, unlike Firefly's wooly layer of gold, and Alahn was worried the horse would freeze.
He had no such qualms about River's rider. Jay didn't even seem to feel the cold, even though "wet" was still an issue.
The human stroked his bearded chin. "Well, elf, what are we going to do?"
River turned one ear in his direction, which, aside from the whistling wind, was the only input he got.
"Not much food left, and winter will be in full force soon. We need a plan."
Jay chirped, and River set off down the hill, half-trotting and half-skidding.
"Onward it is," Alahn told Firefly. "I tell you, those two..."
His horse snorted.
. . . . . .
"W-w-we n-need sh-shelter," Alahn decided through chattering teeth a few days later. "It's too c-cold to be out here in the dark." He was sheltering at Firefly's side, which would've been more helpful if the horse was turned sideways into the wind instead of with his back to it; River would probably be doing the same if the larger stallion didn't shy away every time he approached. The black horse was standing in misery nearby, shivering. Jay was unaffected, and seemed not to understand what his friends were complaining about.
"C'mon, elf." Alahn trudged through the snow to retrieve Firefly's saddle. "We'll f-freeze if we s-stay."
River trotted to Jay and bumped into the elf repeatedly until he grabbed his things and hopped bareback onto the horse, and off they went. In fact, off they went so fast that they were over the hill before Alahn had Firefly tacked up. "Elf!"
No reply.
. . . . . .
Alahn didn't bother telling Firefly how bad their situation was; if the horse was capable of understanding, he already knew. They were all alone in a snowstorm that was becoming a blizzard, and where their friends were, he had no idea. With darkness and snow obscuring their surroundings, they'd have to wait until after the storm to find out... if they lasted that long.
Alahn shuddered and pulled his coat tight. It was too late now to wonder what they'd been thinking, wandering out here alone in winter; now all he could do was hope they made it through. At least Jay wouldn't freeze, he thought dazedly.
He flexed his fingers. Thank goodness for his riding gloves, but his hands were still going numb, and his feet would be next.
It was surreal. So recently they'd been galloping over the grasslands, feeling invincible, and now they were going to die.
"Keep your mind straight," he scolded himself. It was the cold and exhaustion messing with his mind.
Firefly valiantly kept up his trot even though the snow was piling up. For some hours now he'd been following something, pricking his ears up now and then and adjusting his course, and Alahn let him lead. The horse probably knew more than he did.
He was about to give up when he heard what Firefly had been following—the unnatural keening of one of their traveling companions.
"YES!" he yelled. "Go! Go, Firefly!"
The tired horse pinned his ears back but let his rider kick him into a stumbling gallop.
"JAY!" Alahn yelled. "JAY, WAIT!"
It turned out the shouting wasn't necessary, as they ran almost straight into their friends, waiting at the top of a hill. Below them, a dim golden glow indicated firelight.
Alahn almost fell off Firefly in his relief.
. . . . . .
The humans of the village were very surprised at being roused from their sleep by Alahn's semi-delirious shouting. "Come to the barn!" a woman yelled finally, after the door of every wood-walled house had flown open and the occupant had demanded to know what was going on.
A few moments later, Alahn, Jay, and Firefly were safely inside the somewhat warmer—which wasn't saying much—barn. River was nowhere to be seen.
The blond-haired human female who had directed them here looked them up and down; she was dressed in practical-looking clothes, but her hair was messy, so she hadn't been keeping watch. "What do you think, Tiger?" she asked the cat at her feet.
The half-grown gray tabby moseyed forward and sniffed Firefly's hoof. The horse was familiar with cats, and he snuffed curiously at the kitten's fur. Another tabby cat emerged from the shadows to investigate Alahn, and a cream-colored one approached Jay. All three must have approved, because they purred and rubbed against the visitors; Jay was already stroking his cat, but Alahn's fingers were too frozen. More glowing eyes watched from the shadows, reflecting the light of the woman's torch.
"You're good," the woman decided. "You can sleep in the loft, and your horse can stay with the cows if he's friendly." Several sleepy-eyed bovines watched them from a sectioned-off strip on one side of the barn.
"T-thanks," Alahn managed. "You've saved us."
She snickered. "It's not even that cold. Anyway, I'm Annabelle."
"Alahn," he replied, successfully keeping his teeth from chattering. "And Jay, and Firefly."
"Hi, Alahn and Jay and Firefly," she replied.
. . . . . .
"Don't you ever do that again, elf," Alahn scolded. The effect was lessened by the number of cats rubbing against him, and by Jay's utter lack of attention; the elf was preoccupied with his own cat. "What's a tiger, anyway?" he asked the gray tabby.
She batted his hand.
"I hope River's okay," the human remarked. He would have thought about going out to look for the horse, but he knew there was no way the wild stallion could be coaxed inside.
Jay clicked absently, gazing in the general direction of where he'd left the horse.
The human looked that way, too, then shook himself and crawled into his sleeping bag. "Nothing to be done about it now. Go to bed, elf."
He never knew if Jay did, because he was out before the cats began to climb on him.
Any relationship to actual cats or sisters is entirely coincidental, any family members who think otherwise are imagining things.