The shuffling and footsteps of the Betrayed were hard to hear above their breathing. There was no doubt in Torina's mind that the group hadn't spotted them, but would have easily snuck up and stumbled upon them if they hadn't entered the fissure when they did. In the meantime, she tried to focus and stay warm. The latter bit was getting more difficult by the minute.
Beneficial effects of the healing potions she took earlier in the day were long gone by now. Gone were the tremors of too much energy, replaced with slight shivers from cold. Her body was not built for this all-encompassing sort of cold. The end of her nose tingled uncomfortably. She wanted so badly to sniffle or to blow her nose but the noise would no doubt attract the Betrayed outside.
After long minutes, the movements got softer and further away. She managed to tremble out the words for the aura whisper shout and confirmed their shapes were moving away, not staking an ambush. Gelebor waited patiently for her to report on what the dragon shout told her.
"They've left," she said. "Not planning an ambush."
Words were difficult. The moment she could use her limbs, tongue, and hands again, all moved stiffly. Everything protested against her as she stood.
Gelebor moved more easily than she did. His hands reached for hers and she didn't pull back. The fingers in her gloves were sensitive but the heat from his hands was welcome. He took note of how hard it was for her to move, especially the hands he held.
"Can you cast anything? Something to warm yourself?" he asked her. Casting a flame or heat spell on yourself was safer and easier than someone doing it for you.
"I...don't know," she said truthfully. "I'll need to warm up first."
Gelebor looked between her face and hands a few times then said, "Hold still."
The gentle chime and gold aura of a healing spell spread from their hands and upwards along Torina's arms. Though not technically a heating method, the healing soothed the pain from sitting still in the cold for too long. As he pulled his hands out of hers, he moved them along her arms and shoulders, up towards her head. Every so often he would rest them against her briefly to allow the magic to soak in.
"Your legs?" he asked.
Torina blinked away the stars in her eyes from the healing spell. Her lips didn't feel so numb after his help but her mind was still playing catch up from the gentle way he healed her.
"I can do that," she said.
Gelebor regarded her seriously before backing away. She missed the gentle sound of his healing spell as soon as it faded away. "I'll make sure there's no one else outside while finish healing yourself."
"What about you?" she asked automatically.
A soft look crossed his serious expression long enough for her to catch it. "I'll be fine. Snow elf. Remember, my fiery friend?"
Cheeks tinged slightly pink, Torina watched him take a few crouched steps out to peer through the branches. Her hands obeyed her now. The muscles in her body relaxed as she sustained a short flame cloak spell in order to warm herself. It was so cold that the walls around her melted a bit from the heat but refroze before the water droplets could hit the ground.
Before he returned she'd swallowed another health potion and was halfway through a stamina potion. His eyes locked on the glass bottle for several long moments.
"You haven't been-"
"It's fine," Torina interrupted. She sucked the last bit from the green bottle and stored the glass away for reuse. "They would freeze if I allowed them to just sit in my pack, which would be a waste. I'm ready. The chest is just a bit ahead."
Gelebor looked prepared to argue with her about the use of potions but refrained, moving to keep up with her instead. Pieces of a puzzle were forming before his eyes and he found it harder and harder to hold his tongue on the matter. A private discussion with Serana would be his next move to confirm or dissuade his suspicions.
Small spikes on the bottoms of her boots clung to the ice and snow beneath her feet. With them, Torina kept sure footing on the icy ledge on the way up to the resting place of a half-hidden chest. It resembled the others she'd found scattered throughout the valley, possibly the remains of families attempting to hide their valuables from invading Nords or Dwemer, or perhaps pushed from destroyed homes during the avalanche that had destroyed much of the settlement.
"This should only take a second," she said, planting her foot into a break in the slippery wall.
"What do you expect to find?"
Torina paused her climb to answer Gelebor. "Anything, really. Though I'm sincerely hoping in one of these caves or chests we'll find some clues to what happened to the Falmer - the Betrayed. A journal, maps, enchanted jewelry or weapons - anything."
Gelebor nodded and folded his arms. "I doubt it, given the conditions of most books I've found here since my return above ground, but there is room for hope."
"The books I found out in the Vale were in perfect condition through some ancient magic of sorts," Torina reasoned, referencing the books she showed to Gelebor before taking them to Urag go-Shub with the snow elf's blessing. The guardian of the Arcaneum had far more advanced restoration techniques than he had access to.
"Of course," Gelebor conceded. He waved his hand towards her. "Our librarians were diligent though...ah, no matter. We can discuss this when we aren't out in the Vale. Continue, then."
Standing below her, Gelebor watched as she pulled a lockpick from a sleeve pocket of some sort. It took her several minutes and a few tries but at last, "Ah, there. These locks have a definite trick to them, very different than the iron locks on nord chests and - oh!"
As she attempted to lift the lid to check for valuables inside, she lost her footing and fell directly onto Gelebor. The snow elf, to his credit, didn't try to move out of the way and managed to use the tight space to their advantage. Instead of tumbling into a heap on the ground, he caught her, then they swung into the wall and stayed upright. Gelebor huffed slightly as his back hit the ice behind him.
With her back to his chest and arms in the air from attempting to get a grip on the ice above, Torina looked up. Her cheeks were even pinker than before. He looked down at her and tried not to burst out laughing.
"Are you this much trouble with Serana as well?" he asked teasingly.
Cheeks aflame with a full blush by this point, Torina's eyes narrowed from surprise to a scowl in half a second. Though she pouted she didn't deny his accusation. That only made it harder for him to not laugh.
The two lingered for a moment longer like that once Torina found her footing. Gelebor could feel the way her muscles still trembled from cold, or exertion, or the effects of the potions he caught her drinking. There wasn't much space for her to move away from him as it was. She twisted in his arms to go back towards the outcropping but he stopped her.
Time slowed and the air drained from the space as the mer looked at each other. Standing this close they were nearly chest to chest so the shorter Dunmer was forced to bend her neck slightly. Gelebor watched her with a conflicted expression. Returning his gaze, Torina watched him and waited for his next move. Tingles not associated with cold or potions fluttered up and down her arms, lifting the tiny hairs, setting her on high alert. She didn't feel as though she was in danger but the feeling was a rush all the same. She had no clue what to expect next.
"Torina, I…" Gelebor's voice faded.
"Yes?" she whispered.
He opened his mouth to answer but no sound came out. Instead, he swallowed, and his shoulders sagged a bit. "We must hurry. We don't know if the Betrayed's patrol will pass by again soon."
Torina was more disappointed than she'd care to admit. Her mouth melted to a frown and she nodded. Stiffly, she said, "There isn't much in there, anyway. Let's get out of here."
She pulled away and he let her. When he offered her a steadying hand to go back up to the chest she hesitated before taking it, using his hand as a foothold instead this time, careful to set her hand where the gripping spikes on her toes and heel would not scratch him. Satchels and pockets heavy with their small number of spoils, the mer cautiously made their way from the fissure and back to the wayshrine. The prelate greeted them fondly before they stepped through the magical barrier.
Neither spoke another word until wishing each other a good night, parting ways on the balcony of the citadel. As she went inside before him, Torina almost looked behind her where the snow elf stood near the railing, but stopped herself and slipped inside.
If she had, she would have seen him staring into the distance, his cloak hood thrown back, brilliant skin and hair almost glowing in the moonlight.