The cave swallowed him whole.
Wooohh!
Snow slid from his shoulders as he staggered in, breath clouding the cold air.
"Haa..."
Saphira's eyes caught his face first.
Droplets of dried blood streaking, a tight jaw, and a set of unfocused grey eyes.
He looked shaken.
More ghost than guardian.
Her gaze rose to his shoulder.
Food.
Relief crashed against the unease twisting around the air.
"You came back... with food."
A quiet, restrained gratitude rang.
Riven didn't reply straight away, instead he plucked the carcass from his shoulder, dropping it onto the stone floor.
THUD!
The carcass hit stone with a heavy thud, the sound jolting through the air.
His silence seemed louder...
Only the faint tremor of fingers betrayed as he stepped back.
Drip. Drip.
His glazed eyes stared into the air momentarily, as if still outside in the storm, before he turned to her.
A faint nod in response.... one that didn't fill her with a-lot of hope.
Wooooh!
Then, hoarse and low, he finally spoke.
"We'll eat."
The words felt larger than possible, echoing against the walls like a promise, or a burden....
Maybe both.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Saphira's eyes stared at Riven before shifting to the food.
A thin dog it seemed, meat not in large abundance.
She turned back to him.
The blood, the tremors; those told more than his words could.
"...Thank you."
Woooh!!
Her whisper was almost lost under the faint percussion of wind, but it was all she could manage.
He didn't answer.
He only crouched, dragging the animal closer, the silence between stretched as long as the cold.
Drip. Drip.
Mael's Fang unsheathed as he floated the blade, before he lowered himself, meeting the hide of the beast.
Shing.
He had trained to fight.
To survive....
Nothing like this.
CHK!
The knife slipped, tearing too deep.
Flesh, fur, blood...
It was messy.
Unskilled.
Drip. Drip.
A mixture of blood dripped alongside, water from above sounded the caves beats.
Saphira winced, but moved closer anyway.
Her fingers trembled as she pressed down where he cut, trying to hold the body steady.
They both wore faces of struggle.
Chk! Chk! Chk!
Neither spoke.
They didn't need to.
Wooohh!!
The ever present storm outside pierced the air, and inside, the rhythm of blade and breath pierced their senses.
Flesh and fur clung stubbornly to the blade.
"haa...."
"haa"
Blood smeared across the floor, staining it darker than the shadows around.
'To think I'd be...'
Her chest tightened.
A princess, hands slick with blood, crouched beside a stranger.
Cold.
Yet she didn't stop.
She couldn't.
The hunger powered them through.
Chk! Chk! Chk!
"Haa..."
Breaths clouded and collided as a metallic smell rose.
Across from Saphira, Riven's grip steadied were hers faltered.
Woooh!
He said nothing, only pressing harder, his silence, a pressure against the Veil's howls.
"..haa"
His fingers trembled faintly.
Not from fear, only from the cold.
Wooohh!
Chk! Chk! Chk!
She dared a glance at him, those crimson eyes powering through the dark.
His expression was unreadable, but whispered countless thoughts.
The line of his jaw was tight, as features faintly turned dark.
Frostbite...
He was enduring it all.
She noticed quickly...
And in that moment, she realised; so was she.
Chk! Chk! Chk!
The carcass had finally gave way.
CHK!
A wet tear split the cave, the hide peeling beneath struggling grips.
Drip. Drip.
The smell hit sharply.
Raw. Metallic.
Thick enough to gag.
But it was food none-the-less...
"Haa...."
Riven exhaled, shoulders heavy as his blade dripped.
Drip.
"....We need fire", a hoarse mutter.
Saphira lifted her gaze from blood-streaked fingers.
"...How"
The word was almost inaudible, more a thought than actuality.
Woohh!
How had it all come to this?
Riven's gaze lifted at her thoughtful, pained expression.
Her throat ached, but she raised her palms.
She had to help.
She had to contribute more...
Or they'd die.
crack!
A faint shimmer danced in her trembling hands; fragile, stuttering.
Then a spark leapt.
Another.
Wooohh!
It sparked faintly, catching faces with hues of orange.
A flame had curled into being.
Crackle!
Light licked the stone walls, painting shadows tall.
Riven's eyes were caught by the flicker.
For a heartbeat....it felt like it wasn't just him enduring.
Crackle! crackle!
The ball of heat floated above her palm, magic powering its life.
Her face slowly strained whilst holding its creation, magic drawing faint lines of exhaustion beneath her eyes.
The ball wavered, sputtering once, before she steadied.
Drip. Drip.
A clenched jaw in response.
"Don't burn yourself out." Riven muttered, gaze lingering on her hand.
The rough words filled the air.
Drip. Drip.
"I won't" she whispered, voice resolute...though her fingers trembled slightly.
Woohh!
They needed to cook the meat.
Crackle!
The glow wavered against her palm, fingers twitching as she forced it to hold.
Riven moved without a word.
Drip. Drip.
Steel rasped faintly as he drew Mael's Fang close to the girl.
Shing!
Her eyes darted...
"What are you--"
The blade caught the edge of the blanket draped around her shoulders.
Drip-
One sharp cut, and a strip of cloth fell to his hand.
"Don't", he muttered.
"Not with mana alone."
He could see she was tired.
He kneeled, winding the strip around a piece of fur and long bone, then thrust it towards the flame cupped in her palm.
Drip. Drip.
SHAAH!
The cloth caught, as smoke curled upwards.
A fire blooming sharper, steadier.
CRACKLE!
A makeshift torch.
Made from effort and the resources around.
He lifted the flame as she stared, wide-eyed.
"Now you can rest", he said simply.
Drip. Drip.
Riven planted the torch in a crack of stone, its light spilling wider.
Saphira's gaze lingered on the torch, its flame steady in stone.
Her lips pressed, as a breath trembled.
"....haa"
Her golden hair shone further in the orange light, the flame showering her face in warmth.
How could he think of that?
After carrying blood and cold back with him...he still thought of her.
Crackle!
Drip. Drip.
It was then it happened--
a warmth had touched her chest more than the flame touched her skin....
Wooohh!
Whilst she stared, Riven moved to the strips of meat placed to the side.
Mael's Fang caught the fire-light in a dull sheen, it offered a faint sound.
With hands steady, he pierced the strips along steel.
One by one...
Eventually, the sword itself had become their skewer.
CRACKLE!
He angled the sword towards the flame.
Hisss!
The meat met flame with a hiss, as wafts of life floated in the air.
Smoke curled faint against the cave roof.
Woohh!
Saphira's gaze lingered on the sword, then on him.
His chest rose slower than before, flames heating the pair.
Those shaken eyes held more....life.
His hands had finally steadied.
They were surviving...
CRACKLE!
The flames crackles filled the cave, its warmth wrapped them in fragile comfort.
The faint drips overhead.
For the first time, this cave felt less like a hideout...and more like a shelter.
CRACKLE!
Neither spoke, but the silence wasn't heavy.
It was only tired.
Only human.
Outside, the wind screamed under an endless expanse.
But here?
They had carved out a single moment...
Hisss!
The meat had cooked slow, edges searing where flames burned.
They waited, close to the fire, breaths faintly clouding.
The storm outside was put at the back of their minds.
Just this one moment...
It was then they ate in silence.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Hunger dulled every thought as no words were said.
The act itself was like defiance against the frost outside.
They had food, fire and fight in them.
Something that was rare, whether it was just for a moment...
When the last strips were gone, they didn't move far.
CRACKLE!
The torch crackled, shadows bending across the walls.
Without realising it, they had drawn closer to its glow.
Closer to each other.
CRACKLE!
There was no storm.
No blood.
No fear.
Were they not allowed fire?
Warmth?
They deserved it....
A single, fragile peace.