Eva is not doing well. Neither is Rou.

Oh gosh oh gosh oh gosh!

Breathe. You got this Sam.

We have been hiking for a few days straight, trying to get to the peak of the tallest mountain in the region, Mount Faron. Rou isn't doing good in this icy climate because of his body-type's disadvantage, and Eva's probably doing worse than she's letting on because she doesn't want me to worry about her!

Oh gosh...

We had gotten through a few mystery dungeons though, and I'm proud of that at least! I never used to go in dungeons before I met Eva, and now I don't feel so much like a wimp anymore! I just wish I could celebrate that under different circumstances. Right now, we have to focus on getting to the summit.

I don't want Rou to know, but I lost track of where we were yesterday. The wind and snow has covered the old markers for the path, and without those, my map is useless! If only there was a friendly Nosepass nearby whe could tell us which way was north or something. But then we would likely get turned around again later.

Ughh... why can't I be more smart with these things?!! I bet Eva has all sorts of skills back where she's from, and then Rou is strong and smart with fighting, why aren't I better with navigating?!! It's the only thing I'm supposed to do here!! Ugh! I get so frustrated at myself.

Sigh. I know I shouldn't be so mean to myself. Maybe I should give myself more credit? I mean, we made it this far, and it can't be that hard to find the summit in all this snow, we just head up.

At least Eva's here with me. I swear, with her here by my side, I can do almost anything! I just feel so... confident when I'm with her. Is that because she's human? Or is it just her personality? Either way, I don't care. I just like having her around!

I should probably check and see how Eva and Rou are doing.

I look back to see Eva still dragging the sled we made for Rou. Some snow is in her fur, and I can easily see her breath in the cold air. Rou is still there, bundled up tight in his cloak. Leevan really did know what she was doing when she made these clothes!

"You okay?" Eva asked me.

"I'm fine! Let's keep going!" I said, facing back forward and continuing our march. I gotta keep the moral up. Gotta stay positive!

We hiked up through the snow some more. The wind was definitely getting stronger, and as we walked I could feel the snow chilling my claws and feet. Before I had tried to avoid it, but now all I could do was just march through the snow and ignore the cold sensation. I was honestly a lot more surprised at how well I was doing in this weather. I had expected that the cold and the snow would make me freeze quickly, but so far I was fine. Snow and ice was just cold water, right? Shouldn't it be having a greater effect on me-

I was in the middle of these thoughts when I heard a yelp behind me. I spun around to see Rou and the sled, but no Eva! "Eva!" I called. "Eva where are you?!!"

"Down here.."

I looked down into the snow to find a sort of crevice in the ice. Eva had fallen inside and was bracing herself from falling any deeper.

"Eva!" I exclaimed in a panic.

"I- I think I'm okay Sam, just find something to pull me back up with."

I looked around, other than the occasional frozen tree, there wasn't much in this chilly landscape. I untied the rope from the makeshift sled and lowered it down to her. She caught it in her mouth, and wrapped it around one of her paws. She held tightly as I slowly pulled her up.

Once I got her back up, she tried to walk- only to stumble and fall back down into the snow.

"Is it bad?" She asked as I took a look at her leg.

"I'm no doctor, but I think you're leg is broken..."

"Maybe we can make a stint?" She immediately said, looking around for a stick or something.

"Eva, you can't walk on this." I replied, pulling out some fabric to wrap it with. "I think you need to be on the sled with Rou."

"No! I can do this!" She said getting up and trying to walk, only to be able to take a step or two without limping.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Y-yes. I'm sure. Let's keep going."

"Okay..."

I cleaned things up and wrapped up her leg. We then trekked onwards for about another hour, me constantly keeping an eye on my two friends behind me. I had started pulling the sled, and Rou still had not woken up since before the fall. He was still breathing, but it was definitely due to the cold.

Eva was still limping. She was stubborn, I'll give her that, but I could tell that this was taking a toll on her.

Eventually I offered for her to ride on the sled again, and this time she accepted it. I helped her onto the sled, and upon doing so we woke Rou.

"What.. what happen?..." Rou asked in a small, weak voice.

"Eva-" I started before Eva shushed me.

"I'm just a bit tired, that's all." She lied. I guess she didn't want Rou to worry. "I'm just going to take a rest."

"Oh.. okay..." Rou replied as he fell back asleep.

Honestly, Eva was looking tired too.

——————————-

It was getting worse. We stayed another night here on the mountain. This time in an old dugout we found. It was barely still standing, and likely before mystery dungeons started popping up everywhere. I repaired it best I could, and we huddled together for the night.

I woke up in the night, to the noises of Eva and Rou shivering. I hadn't realized how easy it was for me to get to sleep here. They must've been waking up the past night or two with this cold. I brought the rest of our stuff closer to maybe insulate us better, and tried to bring my body heat up a little more. It would eventually tire me out faster, but keeping my team warm was my number one responsibility.

I didn't get much sleep, and when it was time to leave again, I decided to just get up and go. This mountain journey was far harder than anything else I had ever done, but I knew complaining would do no good. Rou and Eva were so cold and sleepy, and we just needed to get to the top as soon as possible.

I pulled them along for the entire day, trying not to think of the cold and the snow constantly brushing against my tail. I could tell my flame must be lower than yesterday, but that's what happens when you stay up all night keeping others warm. It was worth it, and so I didn't want to complain.

Today got worse as it went on though. We were not only lost now, but the wind had kept increasing, as well as the snow falling down! By evening, it had become a blizzard! Snow was everywhere, and I could hardly see where I was going! It was horrible!

I decided to ask Eva if we should dig a hole and maybe wait it out. I went over to them and nudged her. They both had ice clinging to them, and she wasn't waking up. I tried again. Breathing faintly, but no response! Same with Rou! They were both freezing too, barely warm! I started to panic.

"No no no!" I said, starting to hyperventilate. "No, this can't be happening! Not them! Not Eva!"

I looked around and spotted what looked to be a dark figure in the distance.

"Hey! Hey you there!" I shouted, dragging the sled with me over to the figure. "PLEASE! HELP US!!"

As I got closer, I was wondering why it was just standing there. Then I saw.

... it was just a dumb, dead frozen tree trunk. Just a log of wood sticking out of the white snow, in a blizzard.

My heart sank. What do I do now? Eva and Rou were going to freeze to death, and then I would too. There was no way we could make it back, we passed that point days ago. Will the blizzard ever even stop? I don't know how long they last on mountains.

I pulled my friends over and sat down next to the tree. It was no use. It was so cold. So cold that I didn't care. I didn't have the energy to bring us all up the mountain, that was just wishful thinking. I sat there and cried for a few minutes.

"Pos?" I eventually asked. "Can you hear me?"

"Yes." Pos' voice emanated from Eva's necklace.

"Can you send out a psychic signal, a distress call for us here?"

"I'm... I'm sorry Sam. The stone doesn't work that way... only those close enough can hear it."

I sat in silence for a few more minutes.

"Then what should I do Pos?" I finally asked.

"Well, I would just try to protect yourselves from the elements as best you can. I'm afraid I don't have anything else that I can help you with. Sorry Sam."

"It's- It's okay Pos. I-i-if you can't help, you can't help. Thanks anyway."

"Good luck Sam. I'll try to think of something too."

"Thanks."

The pendant stopped glowing, and I was alone again. I sighed deeply and then got back up. I tried to think about what I could do to protect my friends. I could put them inside the tree trunk maybe? But it has so many holes on it, there's no way it would protect us.

I then had a memory. Back when I was little, I was telling my mom about something I had read in a picture book. Something about... Piplup? That's right! They had carved out houses in ice and packed snow together to keep warm in the winter months! If they could stay warm using snow, maybe we could too! I brought the sled as close to the tree as I could to shield them from the snow, and then I got to work.

I dug into the snow deep enough that we could all fit inside, trying to remember how I had explained it and what the pictures had shown. I then used the snow I removed to pack it into a wall to shield the opening from the wind. I packed it best I could, and I could feel myself getting more tired. No. I have to stay awake.

I brought everyone inside the snow cave and felt myself shutting down. No.. I-I need t-to keep going..

I-I k-kept packing the snow up around the opening b-before I realized s-something important. If anyone is going to f-find us, they n-need to know w-where to look!

I got out and tied my bright green scarf around the tree trunk. I-I-I t-tied it t-t-t-tight! I then went back into the hole and covered it up.

I left some small h-holes in the entrance for air, and also because I was too tired to continue. I slowly curled up around my friends. They were s-so c-c-cold. Let me keep you guys warm, p-please guys... d-d-don't die.

"Don't die."