[center][img]https://i.ibb.co/88KWNj5/OTbanner.png[/img]
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[color=FFC6C6][u]Level[/u]: [b]6[/b] - [u]Total EXP[/u]: 77/60[/color] [color=2e2c2c]------[/color] [color=BC8DBF][u]Level[/u]: [b]2[/b] - [u]Total EXP[/u]: 19/20[/color]
[color=gray]𝙱𝙿[/color] [color=gold]●[/color][color=gray]●●●●[/color] [color=2e2c2c]----------------------------[/color] [color=gray]𝙱𝙿[/color] [color=gold]●[/color][color=gray]●●●●[/color]
[color=lightgray]Word Count: 877 (+2 exp)
[b]Location[/b]: Sandswept Sky - Split Mountain[/color][/center]
[i]One step at a time.[/i]

The last leg of the journey almost seemed possible, at first. Filing in behind Big Band and moving forward like the world's slowest arrow, the Seekers pushed through the blizzard. Snow was piling up by the second, numbing their legs and slowing them down. Wind pushed against them and forced them to stop at times. But they persevered, little by little. Primrose held tight to the people clinging to each of her hands and focused on channeling the flame of Warmth through her palms and into theirs', staving off as much of the cold as she could. The summit was so close. If they could just bear the storm for a little longer, they could make it... there was no way that their journey to the top had been in vain as Laharl suggested before he split off. That just wouldn't do. All they had to do was keep walking forward.

[i]Easier said than done.[/i]

It was getting harder and harder to progress, because somehow the mountain had more to throw at them. Earlier Therion had felt that the wind was so cold it was cutting his skin - now that actually was the case, it's speed and power tearing holes in his shawl, and Primrose's cloak. When her white scarf was ripped away from her neck she gasped, and immediately regretted it as the cold soaked into her throat. She clamped her mouth shut and stubbornly continued walking, practically dragging Therion with her. At some point the Seekers had to let go of their formation, but so long as they could hear Band's music over the din of the storm then they would be able to keep together. That was the hope at least. Only, the wind's roar had grown so loud that his notes barely carried, and the snow so heavy that visibility was nearly zero. 

These conditions were on and off, but frequent enough that being lost on the mountain was a real possibility. The two that had gone on ahead were still nowhere to be seen, and they only had a couple minutes on the rest of the Seekers -  and after a particularly harsh burst of wind when Primrose looked at the group, it seemed like it was missing a couple of members too. Confused, she swept the area with her eyes and spotted Panther, Skull, and Mona a little ways behind them. 

Then another gust picked up the snow and colored everything white, forcing the Seekers to draw in on themselves for what little protection that offered, and when it died down again the three were no longer lagging behind but completely gone.

[color=D34C25]"Panther!?"[/color] Primrose made to move to where she'd last seen the Thieves, but she didn't get farther than a single step back. The hand in hers squeezed tightly, bringing a short lived relief that the dancer hadn't just been dragging around her friend's frozen corpse. It also stopped her in place, and when she followed the arm it was attached to up to Therion's face she met his cold eyes. He pulled her forward.

[color=D34C25][i]"What are you doing?"[/i][/color] Primrose hissed at him, her voice stuttering from cold and barely rising above the wind. [color=D34C25]"They c-could die if we leave them."[/color] 

[color=BC8DBF]"[i]We will[/i] die if we waste t-time looking for them."[/color] As soon as the words left Therion's mouth he knew Primrose would be pissed at him. Sure enough he felt the heat of her stare even through the blizzard. He met her frustration with stubbornness, keeping their hands locked tightly together and pressing his lips into a thin line. He didn't know what most of these weirdos did to gain the dancer's favor, but she did always have a soft spot for those younger than her.

[color=BC8DBF]"They know where we're g-going. They'll either g-go up or back d-down,"[/color] he said to reason with her. They really shouldn't be stopped here, the blizzard was too dangerous to stand around in. Right now more than anything Therion just wanted to get to the summit and then get off of this mountain as soon as possible. Primrose shared his sentiments there, but she still looked torn between continuing on and searching for the teens. She looked to the remaining Phantom Thieves, particularly at Necronomicon. Although Primrose probably would never be able to truly understand how the persona functioned, she knew at least that she had some way of tracking or sensing people. 

[color=D34C25]"Alibaba?"[/color] She asked, no need to voice her question out loud to the spacecraft. She let Therion drag her forward to regroup with those remaining, hoping that Necronomicon had some kind of read on the missing Thieves. Maybe Panther and Skull were already calling out to let everyone know they were alright, but their voices were being drowned by the storm. The wind switched between smothering sounds and carrying them, cutting them up - shouting from further down the mountain could be heard, but the words were muddled by the blizzard. Primrose wondered if Laharl hadn't changed his mind again and was on his way up, maybe he would run into Panther and Skull in that case. Some wishful thinking passed through her mind that once the Guardian of this area was defeated the storm would subside and they'd be able to rescue anyone left stranded. Of course, that lead back to the mission at hand: they had to reach the summit first.