He was cold.
That was the first thing he realised as consciousness slowly returned. His bare fingers ached and he was lying on something hard and even colder. Half of him was numb.
He would have groaned, but his throat was a parched desert with no voice.
It took him a few extra moments to realise he had no shirt on and was probably part of the reason why he was so cold.
Something moved off to his right and he realised that opening his eyes was probably a good idea.
White.
Glaring, sun illuminated white.
It shot through his pupils hit his corneas and knifed into his brain. Oh god.
But there was something moving nearby and survival instincts that were very much unhappy with his current situation demanded he gather further information.
He blinked watery, aching eyes.
Snow.
Ice.
Rock.
Seal.
He blinked.
Moving should be an option, but his body was refusing to respond.
The cold was pain itself.
There was a seal.
It was a little seal, perhaps a baby, and it was slithering slowly in his direction. Its gorgeous brown eyes latching onto Virgil one moment and peering around the next.
There was a light in those eyes. A familiar light. Gordon?
But there was something about how the seal was moving. A hesitancy that spoke of fear. Very un-Gordon-like.
Virgil attempted to move, but again nothing happened.
What was going on?
Where the hell was he? And why was Gordon a seal?
The seal grew closer and Virgil's sense of rising panic grew. He still couldn't move.
Gordon, because yes, it was definitely Gordon, Virgil could sense his apprehension and worry, shuffled close enough to touch his snuffling nose to Virgil's frozen cheek.
"Gords." It was a whispered rasp and he desperately wanted to reach out and touch his brother.
The seal whimpered.
Just as a metal cage sprung up from the snow around them, sealing his brother in with Virgil.
Gordon barked in a panic but there was suddenly someone else.
Pain.
And oblivion.
-o-o-o-