All was quiet, as nobody dared speak a word. Naofumi marveled at what could be described as the coldest of colds, far surpassing that of the harshest winter lay upon Yak-Yakistan and its people. Even colder than the night Yago nearly tried to do him and his party in. Naofumu dared not get up too quickly for fear of his bones breaking off at the slightest bit of resistance. His eyes stung, watering as if drenched with a blistering heat with no end in sight. A stinging, thrumming headache began to make itself known, and his moniker came detached from his arm, laying at his feet. ''Ugh.''
The port side houses and equipment that graced Yak-Yakistan were all but in shambles; a mixture of either having been charred beyond recognition on account of the firebombs, used as impromptu weapons in the ensuing fighting, or frozen to pieces by the wicked cold.
In some form or fashion, Naofumi found himself a few hundred feet away from where he had sworn he stood his ground before the skies quieted and were blanketed in a wave of blistering cold. The small group of Yaks he set out with the bolster the vanguard were nowhere to be seen, and he hadn't caught wind of Storm Song. ''Hello? Anybody out there? Hello?!'' Naofumi trudged past fallen house debris, the crunch and shifting of the heavy snow that piled up on his position making for a slow start. Within a few minutes of walking around the battlefield and calling out for survivors, Naofumi began to reassess the situation at hand.
''U-Ugh. . .over, h-herre.~'' Naofumi paused, hearing the sound of what sounded like a Yak call out to him. He hadn't quite noticed that he was stepping on a comrade.
Naofumi stepped back, minding his footing while his hands got to work digging a sizeable hole to bring the downed Yak out of. Touching the snow of Yak-Yakistan was unbearably cold, but he would press on if it meant helping another. What he did not expect was to pull out Prince Rutherford.
''F-Friend Naofumi? You ok?'' Prince Rutherford asked, blowing snow out his nose, resulting in the mop locks of his snow-covered hair flopping about temporarily, revealing a diagonal scar running the length from the bottom of his right eye, nearly to his nose. And while Naofumi was relatively certain that his experience in Melromarc (in some parts) was outclassed by his friend, he remained surprised by the gaze of a fighter still present in his eyes. It reminded him of Valiant. ''Where Pony Storm Song?''
''Not sure, but more importantly; we need to get a count of everyone.''
Naofumi huffed and helped to brush some of the snow off the prince, a pit gradually beginning to form in his stomach the longer he looked on with him to either confirm the dead or help rescue the living who were buried beneath the violent barrage of snow. If this happened when it did, then it told Naofumi at least one of two things; The Ice Chain broken, and as for the other, that Raphtalia and Filo. . .
No. Impossible.
''I have to go; I. . .need to check on them,'' Naofumi scrambled to get his bearings, his eyes laser-focused on the mountain in the distance that housed the chain deep below. Prince Rutherford called out to the hero, only for his words to fall on deaf ears. As if a growing beacon to be answered, he ventured forth in a type of autopilot, his breaths coming out in ragged, guttural exhales, amplified by the cold air. While not feeling it initially, Naofumi's body began to work against him, constricting in places as his gait shortened with each step closer to his teammates. On his menu, displayed a message for him that he chose to ignore if it dealt with anything but the status of Raphtalia and Filo. He would be strong enough to hold out; for them. He needed to put eyes upon them, to hold them close and not let go. ''I'm coming, girls.''
Naofumi would-
THUD!
Falling onto his side, one of the last things that Naofumi could see was a sliver of the sky untouched by firebomb smoke or the unyielding cold; the shape of Storm Song coming towards their position. ''G-Guys. . .''
Naofumi awoke with the mother of all headaches.
He was lying in a cot, perfectly swathed in a blanket to protect him, along with a cool rag over his head. He could see a wood ceiling, reinforced with nails and insulated with heat-retaining material. Attempting to get up, he was forced back down by a strong, but gentle hoof.
''Rest, Friend Naofumi.''
Naofumui grumbled, the stinging pain in his head causing him to hiss. ''Prince Rutherford?''
''You had great fall. Not sure of what at the time, but Pony Storm Song, Friend Filo, and Raphtailia say work body too hard.'' Prince Rutherford's voice was somewhat hushed, no doubt to not cause any unwarranted discomfort to any other patients. ''We. . .have news.''
Hearing those words was never a good thing, but then again, being used to hearing kind of good news was far and few between anyways. ''W-W-here?''
''Filo and Raphtalia are safe, most of the Yaks managed to hold the line, and Night Order looks to be held back for the moment, but the Ice Chain was chipped. Haven't heard a word from Starswirl, but we can deal with him in a little bit.'' Storm Song walked over to Naofumi's side, seeing her face littered with fresh open wounds and her eyes maintaining a soft appearance. ''Good to see you again, kid.''
Naofumi grunted, feeling his headache slowly subside a bit to where he could begin to sit up. ''What about Valiant? And Melty?''
''They're. . .ok,'' Storm Song sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck in response. Nafoumi hummed. ''We should focus more on you, right now.''
''What happened?''
''No getting around you, huh? Well, get yourself dressed and follow me.''
Darkness. That was it. Just. . .darkness. It was almost something to laugh at; the concept of the absence of light, and all that it entailed. In the words of those who tried to delve further into the topic only served to have more questions than answers. Voices came in and out. Throbbing, pulsing, pulling, grabbing; all of it hurt.
What happened?
She tried to remember, whatever little detail to help boost her memory. She. . .remembered the sensation of running, the cold air, the shouts and shrieks, the thrumming of war drums, and the metallic taste that spread throughout her mouth. Her body jerked and shook uncontrollably.
And despite all that, all of it; she could hear, faintly the voice of;
Mother?
''Wake up. . .''
A hand took hers in a comforting, but firm grip, while a mass nearly tackled her further into her bed. ''Melty!''
''Wha? Am I?''
''It's ok, you're safe.'' Raphtalia's voice pierced through the veil of pain and discomfort. ''Valiant got you out of there.''
''Melty! Filo was so worried!'' Melty could feel her friend nuzzling her head into the crook of her neck. Rubbing her back and feeling the urge to cry, Melty agreed. While she hadn't given the two of them a chance to properly talk before the battle, it was the very battle itself that began to build upon her resolve to want to do better.
''I'm happy to know you guys are okay. What about Prince Rutherford and Naofumi?'' Melty's thoughts went to the one person who she knew would possibly be the most affected by the battle. ''And Valiant? Is he?''
''Right here. Nothing to worry your little head about, squirt.'' the voice of Valiant gave her a level of comfort she hadn't known was there. ''But, we really should be focusing on you right now.''
Melty was confused for more than one reason. ''Why say that? And more importantly, can I take off this blindfold?''
The room went silent after her question as Filo took hold of her other hand.
''Oh, uh. Melty, I don't know how to say this, so let me ask you; what's the last thing you remember?'' Valiant's voice came right up close to hers, his tone cautious and tense. She hadn't heard the guard sound so careful with his words, which made her wonder about what it could.
''I remember me and you going towards the docks to assist, and we ran into some trouble.''
''What else?'' Valiant asked, his tone seeming to become more tense.
''I remember sounds, the cold air, and then,'' Melty felt her head throb, her hands clinging up. Another surge of pain and a torrent of tears flowed from her eyes. ''Then my eyes hurt. W-What's wrong; why can't I see?''
Melty heard a huff and grunt from Raphtalia and the sound of Filo full-out bawling. Her eyes were open, she was sure of it. It couldn't be real; it just couldn't!
It was never easy to deliver bad news, but Valiant always took it on the chin somehow. ''You're blind, Melty.''