ATTENTION 3/23/24
THIS STORY IS DISCONTINUED AND REWRITTEN UNDER THE NEW TITLE "FROZEN FIRE"
Please be sure to check it out on my profile!
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Epíphantos
Chapter Eight:
A Game to Play
The taste of death tainted the tongues of nearly every citizen of the Compound, with the weight of loss steady in their hearts. On this day, sadness drew eyes to their lowest, and no amount of consolation could quell the undeniable depression that always seemed to accompany a funeral. In the beginning of the Compound's establishment, funerals had been frequent and extensive, split in to several days in correlation to the death toll. But after the numbers had been catalogued and victims either treated or left to chill, the downwards arc had lessened its steepness.
Today, it was marked in the ledgers that two of the Compound's citizens would be joining that toll.
The mourning began early on in the morning, when Damon Gray appeared before his citizens' eyes on their viewing screens, his hands wielding the whiteness of his speech although his gaze never once slipped downwards. He asked his people for a moment of silence, to which every caring citizen obliged to without hesitation. It was on a day of mourning that the Compound became completely silent, save for the whirring of machines and the overhead lights.
When the moment was over and all silent respects were paid, their leader began reminding his citizens of an end that was not yet near, that the loss of Dick Belair and Sam Manson preluded an era in which the humans would win. He spoke many words of inspiration, even as his bravado was betrayed by the shaking of his voice. The citizens watched and they listened, but words were filtering through desensitized ears.
The speech ended, just as Damon Gray's eyes fell to his hands where the white paper fluttered uselessly. His garish face was branded with the darkness of his thoughts, so when his eyes finally lifted to the camera one more time, he told them, "They will forever be in our memory. When this war ends, we will remember what they did for us, the people of Amity."
To the citizens, the deaths of the Sam Manson and Dick Belair were reduced to numbers. Though the beginning of their day was spent respectfully mourning the deceased, the citizens would carry on in the afternoon, after the climax of their sadness ended with a funeral. It would be over, and they would move on, and live. They had already lost so many, so what were the deaths of two more?
The images on every viewing screen within the compound blinked, and then flickered with the seal of the Resistance.
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xXx
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Sam woke with a start, lurching from the softness of her bed and into the frigid air of the room. Shivering, she pulled the blankets over her shoulders. Her breaths wafted in icy fingers that tickled at her cheeks, yet she paid no mind to the numbness of her face. She didn't remember ever falling asleep, and it bothered her. How long was she asleep? Did anything happen to her while she was unconscious?
Running her fingers through her matted hair, Sam heaved a sigh and swung her legs over the bed. She looked around, noting the wall of ice that had once been an entryway, and barely suppressed an onslaught of anger. How dare he seal me in here, she thought. Her hands wound themselves into fists, and her thoughts darkened as she imagined all the lovely things she would do to Phantom if given the chance.
Unable to stand sitting around any longer, Sam began to dress herself. She pulled on her boots, encased herself within the furry white coat, and began the process of untangling the knots from her hair with her fingers. Her nose wrinkled at the greasy texture of her locks as they slid through her impromptu hand-comb. What she wouldn't give for a hot shower right now.
What she wouldn't give to be home right now.
Sam froze, her brows pinching together in confusion. Home. The word was foreign to her, too saturated with the woes of war and destruction. What was home to her? It certainly wasn't the Compound. She found herself mulling this thoughtfully as she settled her toes onto the frozen floor. She stood and stretched her muscles, relishing at litheness of her body, before she began to pace the small confines of her room.
The room she was in now was smaller than the last one she woke up in, but just as windowless, much to her chagrin. Just as before, her bed was a ledge of ice that protruded from the wall, with various blankets and furs meant to keep her warm. Aside from that, the room was vacant. She squinted at the ceiling, watching the undulations of the light sphere at her ceiling, and then another strange thought occurred to her.
Wasn't it dark when I woke up?
While it hadn't been pitch black upon her waking, the light had been noticeably dimmer. Now, however, it shone at its full capacity, which was so overwhelmingly bright that it stung her eyes and spotted her vision when she looked away or closed her eyes. But it had been darker when she woke up, hadn't it?
Sam's eyes narrowed as her mission formulated itself. She eyed her cot, and then looked upwards, noticing that the ceiling to this room was lower in comparison to the others she had seen so far. With carefully calculated movements, she stepped onto her cot, and began clambering up the outcrops of ice that jutted irregularly from the wall. It didn't get her much higher, but it was enough so that she was only a couple of feet away from the glowing sphere.
Not expecting it when it happened, Sam almost fell from her awkward perch when the thing blinked at her.
She skittered on the ice, but was fortunately able to keep from falling. Cautions this time, Sam began to look at the glowing-thing more critically, and when she did she nearly gasped. What had at first been an amorphous congregation of energy now reformulated itself before her eyes. She had to squint and focus intently, but now that she saw it she was amazed at how obvious it was.
It had eight spidery legs that embedded themselves into the ice, with its swirling, shelled body emitting the light. Through the ice, she could see the talon-like edges of its feet, where bluish energy crawled into tiny, feathery receptors, and pulsated in time with the swirling light of its body. Beady, red eyes glared at her from the small protrusion of its head, which was only noticeable due to the serrated pinchers that twitched with every pulse.
It blinked at her again, and as it did it released a sudden flash of blinding light. Unprepared for this, Sam's previous luck fizzled out when she jumped and fell with a strangled yelp, plummeting to ground below her. Her rear hit the ground, even though her legs caught the edge of her cot, causing her to nearly flip backwards as she fell.
"Oh, that felt awesome," she grumbled to herself, slightly dazed.
She was so intent on detangling her legs from the blankets on her cot that she hadn't even noticed when the wall of ice began to disintegrate, or when a hulking figure ambled in and crept up behind her. At least not until it said, "Excuse me?"
"Gah!" Sam jumped again, rolling so she was kneeling with her arms bared before her, battle ready.
She had never seen a female Yeti before, but there was no denying the creature's femininity as it stood before her with wide, amber eyes. She looked much like the male yeti, with white fur accented with blue, and a muzzle full of gleaming teeth. However, unlike her male counterparts, she was missing the encasement of ice for limbs as well as the massive, curling horns at her head. Her fur seemed softer, her features more elegant, and her frame was definitely slighter. Instead of a warrior beast, she seemed more like a gentle, willowy giant.
Sam frowned at the female yeti, more than a little wary, and pulled herself out of her crouch.
The yeti stuttered momentarily, but was able to collect herself with a deep breath of air. She shifted from foot to foot, uncomfortable in her presence with Sam. "I am sorry for startling you, human Sam. I am *Tsuel." She gestured to herself briefly. "I came to see if you would like breakfast?"
Breakfast? Sam's stomach lurched at the thought, and she couldn't decide if it was because of hunger or unease. Probably both. The yeti must have sensed her apprehension, because she quickly added, "It will be just you. Frostbite and the twins are not here, nor is anyone else."
"Ah, sure," Sam said. For some reason, she couldn't find it within herself to feel any sort of animosity towards the female beast. She seemed too genuine to Sam, too gentle, even though Sam was quite sure the yeti could rip her apart at any moment she wanted. Just because Tsuel was smaller than the males didn't mean she was any less dangerous.
Tsuel smiled brightly. "Great! Follow me!" And then she spun, disappearing through the widened gap in the ice.
Sam began to follow her, wincing at a stab of pain in the back of her knee that had been a result of her fall. Good going, Manson, she thought while she limped out into the corridor where Tsuel was waiting for her.
"Are you alright, dear?" Tsuel asked with a frown.
Dear? The yeti called her dear? "I'm fine," she said through a tight lipped smile. "Just slipped on the ice."
"Do you require medical assistance?"
"No!" Sam said a bit too loudly, startling the yeti as she leaned away from Sam in surprise. "No, I'm fine. Really."
She offered Tsuel what she hoped was a reassuring smile.
This seemed to mollify Tsuel. She nodded once, and began making her way through the corridor ahead.
Sam suddenly found herself in conflict. With Tsuel's back to her, now was her chance to flee. She looked quickly around her surroundings, noting the sets of tunnels that wound away from her sight, and she stepped forward, unsure. Her eyes flicked again to Tsuel, and then down at her feet. She could try and flee, but because Phantom had placed her somewhere unfamiliar, she was unsure on where to go. Sam was fast, even with an injury, but where would it get her? She might be able to get away, but then what?
"Sam?"
Sam jumped at her name, her widened eyes meeting Tsuel's in a moment of alarm. The yeti's brows were pinched, her head cocked slightly and her ears perked. She seemed to know exactly what Sam had been considering, but she made no move to intervene. She didn't seem angry, either, which surprised Sam. If anything, she just seemed curious.
With a final longing glance at a tunnel to her left, Sam said, "I'm coming."
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xXx
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Breakfast was a much less stressful endeavor than her previous dining experience.
Sam spun her spoon within her bowl, relishing the steam that sprung free from her hot food and over her face. Her hands were clasped firmly, soaking in the warmth and the rejuvenating feeling of blood rushing through her veins, clearing the numbness away from her fingertips. She had yet to understand where the food came from, but she wasn't complaining. It had been a long time since she had oatmeal—or, at least, what tasted like it.
She couldn't resist her smile as she inhaled the sweet smell of maple and apples. The taste of it was amazing, even before Tsuel had offered her a cup of a thick, syrupy liquid that tasted surprisingly close to sugar. She stirred the stuff into her bowl, and from then on decided that what she was eating wasn't just food, oh no, it was absolute heaven. None of the rationed Compound grains could come close to tasting this good. She sighed happily as she ate a big mouthful of it.
Across the table, Tsuel was chuckling. "I am glad you enjoy my cooking. I was unsure at first, when Frostbite first told me I would be serving a human, what you would eat." She shook her head, her smile wide. "I went a bit overboard last night with the choices. But I am glad things seemed to work out for you!"
Realization dawned on Sam and she gasped, nearly dropping her spoon into the bowl. "Wait, you cooked everything last night?"
"I did, yes. Is there a problem?"
"Uh, no. I just . . . there was a lot there . . ."
"Oh!" Tsuel was laughing again, deeply. "Yes, I am quite used to that. Dinners are held here often in the chief's castle, so the addition of a single human was hardly an imposition. My, Frostbite and the twins alone can eat enough to feed an army! As I said, I am just glad we could find something you would like."
Sam's mind was reeling for multiple reasons. So she was in a castle, then? That would certainly explain a lot. She also couldn't believe how open Tsuel was being with her. With the other yeti, Sam had felt as if she were under constant observation. They had either been frightened of her, angry with her, or saw her merely as a tool to use for whatever they were planning to use her for.
With Tsuel, she felt warm and safe, and that feeling scared her more than anything so far. She should not be feeling this way. Even if the yeti weren't ghosts, they were still the enemy. They were still the existing force between her and her return to the Compound, to her kin. She had yet to find out what happened to the other Warriors, so the last thing she should be feeling right now is complacent. Complacency was dangerous.
Swallowing a mouth full of hot grain, Sam decided to redirect the conversation. "So, are you like a servant for Frostbite, or something?"
"Hardly," Tsuel said with a snort. "I just cook for him and the cubs. I was a nanny for the children when they were growing up, and because they liked my cooking so much, Frostbite decided to keep me on as a cook. I would have stayed last night to see you through dinner, but I was required elsewhere."
"The children? You mean—?"
"Danny and Ellie, yes."
"Huh." Sam churned her spoon around in her bowl. For some reason, the words "growing up" resonated strangely to her. She believed Frostbite when he told her that the yeti weren't ghosts, but in regards to Da—Phantom and Elle? She wasn't so sure. She chewed on her bottom lip, pushing a glop of grain around into a large pile in the center of her bowl. Everything was so strange.
"So, what happens now?"
"Now?" Tsuel hummed, rapping her claws thoughtfully on the stone table. "Well, I can't say exactly what, but I do know that Frostbite plans to introduce you to the villagers today. He and the twins left early this morning for *Cinomrah, but he said he would be back to hold a gathering in the late afternoon."
"Cinomrah?"
Tsuel frowned, her eyes widening in alarm. "I, er, well . . ." She sighed. "I am not supposed to tell you anything yet. But—oh well, that bear of a yeti can cry about it later. Cinomrah is one of the bordering mountains outside Ec'Nelis, our town. It is the largest and the most spiritual, and it is where Frostbite takes his children to train."
Again, Sam found herself completely amazed at the sheer honesty Tsuel was expressing. She didn't have to answer Sam's questions, but she did anyway. It was then that Sam decided, very tentatively, that she may actually like this yeti. She was utterly enthralled with the words that fluttered like music from Tsuel's muzzle. There were mountains? There was a town? Villagers? Just where the hell was she?
There was a sound of knuckles rapping against stone, accompanied by the words, "Knock, knock." Both Sam and Tsuel jumped at the suddenness of it.
"Frostbite!" Tsuel exclaimed with her paw at her chest. "You nearly frightened the life out of me!"
Sam turned to see what could only be a sheepish smile on the larger yeti's face. "I apologize, Tsuel." Then his gaze flickered over Sam, and his large head nodded once. "Good morning, Sam," he said in a pleasant voice, "I trust your night's sleep was sufficient?"
Before Sam could answer, Tsuel rolled her eyes and said, "It may have been better if you put her somewhere less frozen. The poor dear was nothing but shivers when I came upon her this morning. We should put her in the twins' old quarters. If you remember, they couldn't handle the cold when they were little, either."
Frostbite sent Tsuel a dark look that instantly had her looking away from him and to the floor, as if she had said something inappropriate. "I will look into it, thank you, Tsuel."
The female nodded and scrambled to her feet. "Ah, yes, okay." Her tail swished behind her as she made for a quick leave of the dining hall, but before she left she paused by Sam and placed a large paw at her shoulder. "Good luck to you, dear," she said warmly, "I will most likely see you during the gathering, but until then I hope all is well." And then she was gone.
Any sort of comfort Sam had been feeling vanished once she was alone with Frostbite. She felt her muscles tighten, her brows drawing together as the pair continued to look at each other. Tsuel had been a breath of fresh air, obviously having no part of whatever the governing body of the Far Frozen consisted of. As kind as Frostbite had been, he was still a leader, an alpha, and the calculative narrowing of his red eyes unnerved her immensely.
"So," he began, "I see you have been making friends."
"You could say that."
"Hm." Frostbite's brows lowered as he considered something, but the look vanished after only a moment. He smiled. "I am sorry if I seem unhospitable. I want us all to be friends, Sam, but you must understand my reservations for your learning so much so soon. Or am I wrong?"
Oh, so this is the game he wanted to play? Sam smiled right back. "No, I do, but you must understand what little of a threat I am without my gear. What could I possibly do?"
It was the closest she had come to a threat with him yet, open and ambiguous. He seemed unperturbed by it, however, merely nodding his head in agreement. "One should assume. But the last thing I want is for you to be underestimated. You are more powerful than you think. Even without your weapons."
Sam frowned, not expecting this. How do I respond to that?
Their conversation was quickly slipping into unexplored territory, one that teetered on the threshold of political warfare. He had been nothing but friendly to her so far, but that didn't mean he wasn't just as cautious of her as she was of him. Even with the large bulk of him towering over her, armed with teeth and claws and whatever the hell else he had in his unseen arsenal, he remained wary of her. Scared of her, even; of what she might be capable of.
Sam couldn't help the slight laugh the bubbled up from her chest. How amusing for him it would be if he knew just how weak and defenseless she was in comparison to him. Without her weapons, she was nothing. But then, she thought as she stuffed a spoonful of the rapidly chilling grain into her mouth, maybe I should let him be wary of me. He knows nothing about me. For all he knows, I do have secret, deathly powers.
Arching an eyebrow, she swallowed her circumspection and bravely asked, "So, what's up?"
After a few heartbeats of uncertain silence, Frostbite queried, "Up?" His eyes flickered upwards, towards the ceiling, where one of the strange ice-eating light-spiders clung. "What do you mean, 'what is up?'"
"I mean, what do you want?"
"Oh, right," he said. He stepped away from the entryway and settled himself where Tsuel had sat earlier, right across from Sam. He crossed his paws over the table, and she couldn't resist eyeing where the mark should have been from when he cut his skin with the knife last night. She was only slightly surprised to see it was no longer there. "I am not sure what Tsuel has told you, but it is my intent to hold a gathering in your honor."
"What if I don't want to go?"
"That would be . . . unfortunate, but I will not force you attend."
"Why not?"
"Because," Frostbite said, meeting her stubborn gaze. "That is not the kind of relationship I want us to have. You are our guest."
Sam's eyes narrowed. "The word 'guest' implies that I can leave whenever I want. But I can't do that, can I?"
"No, but not for the reasons you think."
She arched an eyebrow. Frostbite sighed.
"I understand why you are skeptical, Sam, but you are not here because we brought you here intentionally. Humans are not the only creatures of our universe undergoing the effects of war. You can't know this, but Pariah Dark's influence over his armies is increasing exponentially." He looked away from her, flexing his icy arm and causing the sinews within to ripple. "It will not be long before your human realm experiences the potency of raids."
"What do you mean?" Sam asked. Her blood was suddenly thinning into ice, so she buried her chin into the fur of her coat. Appetite gone, she pushed her bowl away. "What's going to happen?"
Frostbite was silent for a moment, his eyes grave. Then, he said, "As Pariah Dark's energy regenerates, so does his influence over the lesser ghosts. It has been nearly twenty years since his last appearance. When he wakes, his power will be unfathomable. Virtually unstoppable."
"Wait, twenty years? I watched him destroy Amity Park two years ago!"
Frostbite laughed without humor. "You think that was him? If it were, none of you would have survived. No, it was abundant energy congregating to form his image, his will, but it was most certainly not him." He shook his head. "This is why I need you, Sam. We all do."
"What do you expect me to, exactly?"
"Rally your human kin. My children already intend to unite the Infinite Realms, but we will not be complete without the humans." His eyes met hers, fierce and determined. "Together, we all may be enough to end Pariah Dark, and this war."
"So, let me get this straight," she began, crossing her arms. "You take me away from my world, my people, and you actually expect me to swallow my hatred for whatever the hell you guys are and help you? Are you nuts?"
"I only intend for you to help us so we may help you."
"I might have been able to stomach that if I weren't currently being held captive against my will," Sam snapped, her patience finally wearing thin. Self-preservation, be damned. She was done playing nice with him. "What are you going to do if I refuse? Chop me up and serve me on a shiny platter like whatever the hell was on this table last night? Find another human and try again, rinse and repeat?"
For the first time, Sam watched Frostbite's calm demeanor stiffen into anger towards her. Shiny, sharp fangs peeked from underneath his snarling lip. "Is that what you think? When have I ever expressed any sort of antagonism in you regard? I have been nothing but kind, wanted nothing but your safety!"
"And yet Phantom sealed me in that stupid, tiny—and not to mention freezing—room. I woke up here, trapped,"—she stabbed her finger towards him—"was attacked, and you actually call me a guest and expect me to help you! If you really wanted to help you would send me home! Not keep me here! I don't even know if my friends are still alive!"
Frostbite pinched the bridge of his muzzle and took a deep, deep breath. "I am truly sorry you are here. But as I have said, it is not for the reasons you think. You cannot leave, not because you are forced here, but because there is simply no way back."
The ice in Sam's veins seemed to still completely, washing the color away from her face. "What do you mean 'no way back?'"
"It is why my son has returned with you," he said. "Portals between our worlds form naturally, shifting between the barriers of space and time because of an electromagnetic rift. However, since the raids, the barriers have shifted, destabilizing the portals. We have ways of predicting when they will reappear, and the next one will not be for some time. I would send you home if I could, Sam, but I cannot."
Sam felt as if the floor had been pulled from beneath her feet. Her stomach was twisting almost painfully, rolling and churning along with the realization that slowly dawned, became tangible right before he eyes. "How—how long are we talking here?"
"By human standards . . ." There was a pause as he considered his words. "Thirteen months."
Thirteen months.
Sam felt her horror surface suddenly in a torrent of revelation. Thirteen months! That was just over year! Sam's head was shaking, and for the first time in the presence of anyone, tears pooled within her eyes, making trails along her cheeks. A lot can happen in a year. Too much.
"There's no way back until then?"
She knew the answer before he said it.
"No, there is not."
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xXx
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Tucker was numb, oddly detached from reality as he watched the Mansons bury an empty urn. For the life of him, he couldn't fathom that the vase was for Sam, because there had been no ashes to bury, no body to mourn. Without the weight of her incinerated remains, Tucker couldn't find it within himself to feel the sense of closure that is usually accompanied by the death of a loved one. The churning of his stomach continued with roll with a single word.
Gone.
Tucker paled, quickly wiping the sheen of sweat from his upper lip.
Gone. Sam wasn't gone. He refused to accept it. She was alive—somehow, somewhere. Damnit, she was! She was! He removed his glasses and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. He looked around until he saw Mr. and Mrs. Fenton, clutching each other with tears in their eyes as Sam's parents began dumping the first symbolic shovelfuls of dirt into their daughter's gave, sealing away the embodiment of her person in the form of an empty lavender urn.
From the Fentons, his eyes shifted slightly passed them where he saw Valerie Gray. She looked beautiful in her black shawl, dark ringlet hair swept and concealed beneath her bandanna. She must have sensed his stare, because her head suddenly snapped up to look at him. There was an instant flurry of emotion that caused her eyes to water, and she shook her head at him, meeting his eyes for the first time in what seemed like forever. Even from here, Tucker could hear in the voice of the girl he once loved say the words she should have said long ago:
"I'm sorry."
Unable to continue meeting his glare, she turned away and fled. Tucker saw flashes of her springing hair as she trotted towards the elevator and disappeared.
The Mansons wept and wailed loudly as the last fall of dirt settled upon Sam's urn. Tucker felt his heart shatter as Maddie Fenton ran towards Sam's mother and enveloped the sobbing woman in her most crushing of hugs. Jack Fenton and Jeremiah Manson exchanged grave nods of acknowledgement, each too devastated to meet the eyes of the other. The Warriors from Sam's posse were there, too; they stood with their shoulders sagged, for they had just witnessed the back-to-back burial of two of their brethren.
Jazz was beside him, and surprised him as she abruptly lunged and buried her nose into the collar of his shirt. He could feel the tears as they seeped into the skin on his chest. He held her then, and he held her close.
Those in attendance of a funeral often stay within the lowest level of the Compound, the graveyard, and continue with their mourning and comforting of each other well into the evening hours. But today, things would be different. Today, things would change.
The funeral came to a sudden, overwhelming halt—
Tucker barely had time to register the resounding of the Compound's emergency alarms before the screams started—
They were under attack.
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xXx
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"So, you are willing to try?"
Sam sighed, raking her hand through her hair. A headache was throbbing at her temples, stinging behind her eyes. "I don't really have a choice, do I?"
"You do. You could choose not to attend, and refuse all attempts of civility. We will not force you to do anything you do not want to do."
"But if I'm going to be here this long it kind of defeats the point, doesn't it?"
"We would find a way to leave you in peace until the portal reopens."
She pinched the skin between her eyes and pulled, hoping it would somehow alleviate the pressure. "What do you want me to do, exactly?"
"In order for an alliance to form, we must first learn what we can about each other. My intent is for you to become a valued member of our society. The more trust that we establish, the more I will reveal to you the secrets of the war, and of Pariah Dark."
There was silence as Sam began to ponder the consequence of each variable. She leaned forward and pulled her now chilly bowl of grain close, touching the skin of her forehead to the cool surface of it. She hoped it would help to numb the pain, as well as calm the erratic turmoil of nerves thundering within her head.
"I'll try."
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xXx
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For the first time in what felt like years, Sam took her first shaking steps out from an encasement of ice and stone and fear.
Her booted feet crunched on the snowy earth, and she had to nestle deep within recesses of her coat as a bitter wind ripped through her clothes like wildfire. She inhaled the crisp, cold air, savoring the freshness of it, and whatever hesitancy she had been feeling evaporated the moment her eyes adjusted to the brightness of the outside.
She never realized how green her own world was until she stepped into another that was anything but.
Colorful, celestial moons arced lazily over a grayish-blue sky, and at every horizon she could see snowcapped mountains that towered so high she had to strain to see where they ended. The wind danced with fluffy bits of snow, swirling and twirling around her. Sam's eyes lowered as she took another step, cupping her hands and allowing the snowflakes to settle gently on her palms. They melted almost instantly, but she had just enough time to see the intricacy of each one before they vanished.
Her entourage, which consisted of Frostbite at her left, and Frostbreath at her right (Icefang was behind her, but Sam was effectively disregarding his existence), followed her as she walked slowly through the snow and towards the heart of the village.
Huts constructed solely of ice were everywhere, some more elaborate than others. Most of them were rounded at the base, with rooftops the spiraled high. Every building was winding and free, lacking any sort of conformity. Different shades and colors of ice gleamed from every direction, shining beautifully under the natural light. Through open windows, Sam could see in many of the huts the comforting glow of light, while others remained hidden within their curtain furs. Looking behind her, she was surprised to see that the 'castle' was actually the base of a hollowed mountain.
Frostbite led her through a throng of wary yeti, the villagers, where they stood gathered together at the edges of the worn pathway, watching her. Whispers followed her as she passed, their gazes never once flitting away. Clutching to the legs of some of the females, Sam was astounded to see what could only be children as they peeked shyly at her. One of them even smiled.
Its mother noticed the direction of Sam's eyes on her grinning child and began to growl. The surrounding males shifted, concealing the child from Sam's view, with bared fangs and narrowed eyes of mistrust.
Sam quickly averted her gaze, looking instead to where Frostbite was directing her. There, at the center of the village where the huts came to a circular formation, Sam could see the clearing and a platform of ice that erected from the snow. It wasn't steep, so she was easily able to clamber up it as the three yeti males followed her. Once there, Sam was immediately nervous. She shifted, pulling her furry coat tight around her shoulders, hoping to hide from the prying eyes of the suspicious villagers.
You can do this, she told herself.
There was silence as Frostbite looked around, seemingly meeting the eyes of his people. And then, before he could say anything, there was an intense noise as the sound barrier above them shattered. Sam had to shield her eyes as she looked upwards, watching as two humanoid figures plummeted from the sky and landed on the platform beside Frostbite with a resounding crack.
"I thought you two would be here sooner," Frostbite muttered under his breath, glaring at his children.
"Sorry, dad," Elle said. "Blame Danny."
"Hey!" Phantom nearly shouted, only to be hushed by Frostbite.
"Enough! You two are late, and we must proceed."
Sam crossed her arms over her chest, self-conscious as the twin phantoms turned to look at her. Elle's gaze was as cold as ever; she looked Sam over once and then turned away with an indignant sniff. Phantom's gaze was harder to bear. He cocked his head and smiled slightly, but Sam refused to acknowledge him, still pissed off from the events of the previous night.
Frostbite stepped forward, and his children followed. They stood in a line, with Phantom at Frostbite's left shoulder and Elle at his right. In a loud voice directed at the crowd of yeti, he said, "I have called you all together for a very important reason today. As you are all aware, my son, Danny, has returned from his absence in the human realm. These past few moons have been tough for the Far Frozen, and I am sure you are all grateful for his return."
Hoots and howls of agreement resounded from the crowd. He raised his paw to silence them.
"Coinciding with my son's return, we have been given a very rare and unique opportunity." Sam's heart leapt to her throat when Frostbite turned to look at her, gesturing to her with his arm. "For the first time in history, we will be welcoming a human within our midst. Now, I want you all to aide in welcoming her, as she will be with us for quite some time. She is here to learn our ways, and you will all treat her with the respect she deserves."
The whispers started again as the crowd shifted, hundreds of eyes widening, straining and pushing amongst each other to see her. Sam felt her face burning. She wished more than anything that she could disappear, be consumed by the ice beneath her feet. Frostbite was looking at her again, expectantly, but she frowned at him in confusion. What was she supposed to? She had no idea.
Frostbreath, who had been silent up until this point, came to the rescue when he quietly whispered to her, "He wants you to step forward."
"What?" Sam replied, aghast. Step forward so they all could see her? No thanks!
Turns out, she didn't have a choice in the matter. A force from her back roughly shoved her forward. Sam shot a glare over her shoulder at Icefang as she stumbled, right into Phantom, who caught her arm easily and stilled her. She resisted the urge to unleash the venom of her glare on him as well, embarrassment flushing her cheeks.
Frostbite smiled down at her, unperturbed by her mortification. He placed a hand on her shoulder as he said, "I want you all to meet Sam of the Very Vegan, Slayer of Ghosts. I am sure many of you have heard of her before. She is a warrior to her kin, and has felled many of the ghosts under the servitude of Pariah Dark."
There was an abrupt and collective gasp from the crowd. Sam allowed her eyes to drift to the wide-eyed yeti, and somehow she met the gaze of Tsuel, who stood as close to the platform as she could get. Snuggled into the fur of her arms and chest was an infant. Tsuel smiled at Sam, and then very delicately, she lifted the paw of her sleeping babe and proceeded to make it wave. It was then that the shocked silence of the crowd shattered.
At first, Sam didn't comprehend what it was that she was hearing. The whooping, the hollering, the whistling—it was enough to send her senses into overdrive. She stood frozen, her eyes wide and as panicked as a deer in headlights. She had expected anger and resentment, but this? This couldn't be right.
The yeti were cheering.
* Tsuel - Pronounced "Sool"
* Cinomrah - Pronounced "Sin-nom-rah"
"In the light and alive" will be the new heading to each chapter. I will be adding it to the others shortly (when I fee like it).