Frigid air prickled at her flesh as she pulled her cloak around of herself, strong gusts of wind nearly toppling her on the spot. She pushed forward, boots leaving prints that filled in with fresh snow, her tracks buried. Panting between moments of thought, Ryzo was trotting alongside of Mirshann, moving in sync with her every step.
"How much further, princess?" the beast would growl, the words echoing through Miri's mind.
"Soon, my pup, soon," she breathed, her hot breath forming clouds of warm vapor, billowing behind of her like a smokestack.
Sighing as she pushed on, she noticed a small break in the wind, a refuge of sort. Hunkering down behind of the overhang, she took a moment to breathe, assessing her surroundings. Everything was covered in a soft blanket of white snow, the storm kicking up and sending flurries that inhibited her from seeing more than a foot in front of herself. She was mainly relying on Ryzo's sense of direction, and had continued on a straight path. At least she thought she had stayed on a path.
How had she ended up here? Well... Truthfully Mirshann had been dropped off by her friend and was instructed to wait for him at the base. There was no entrance she could find, and when the third day passed and she had no sign of her friend, she decided it was time to explore and find some food.
Dropping down onto her rump, she pulled her knees to her chest, her back leaning into the wall of the overhang. It was a sturdy old rock face, jutting out and offering a small refuge away from the blizzard billowing before her. She smiled, finally content after at least a half days trek through the snow. She had started at what she assumed was dawn, and it had to be at least afternoon by now. Ryzo plopped down next to his master and leaned into her with a heavy huff passing his frost bitten maw.
"Shall I find us a meal?" a low grumble escaped the wolf, his silver fur glistening as the wind rustled through it. He would cock his head to the side and look up at Miri from the corner of his eye, a fang peeking out from beneath his upper lip.
Chuckling softly, she reached a hand across and scuffed her nails into his chest fur.
"Hmm... if you have the energy..." she murmured, the warmth of her wolf companion almost lulling her to sleep.
He groaned but steadied himself, shoving Mirshann off of him so that he could stand. She gave a dramatic reaction, but corrected herself and smiled. Shaking his head, the action rolled down his body, his tail flicking before he took off.
"I'll return shortly. And no, I am not lying like they did," a howl followed these words, echoing off the snow.
Miri decided it wouldn't be too hard to start a fire under her little hovel. She found the energy to push snow and pack it down, forming additional walls creating a sort of igloo-esque structure against the rockface. She worked slowly, making decent progress by the time her companion returned, dragging the lifeless corpse of a snow hare.
"Ah, dinner. Good job, Ryzo," grinning as she spoke, she patted the large wolf on the head, adding in a few ear rubs as she did.
"Now I just need a bit of firewood, and hopefully there's a bit of sap..." she mumbled, although Ryzo could hear her thoughts, words just being projected thoughts. Leaving dinner behind, Ryzo would accompany Miri on her quest for any type of kindling. There was a thicket of woods he had found, but Miri had no idea. He would lead her.
The trek was short for Ryzo, but a bit grueling for Miri. The winds had kicked up again, forcing her cloak to be more of a nuisance than a help at this point. Sighing in annoyance, she would continue forward until she felt a break in the wind, the few trees nearby adding a cushion to the wind, cutting away an ounce of the chill.
Using her feet she kicked around in the snow at the base of the trees, looking for anything she could set ablaze. She knew the repercussions she would have to face from Ryzo. He hated fire, and she needed it to survive. He would forgive her.
Crunching back through the snow, Miri dropped her small bundle of firewood from her cloak, having used it as a makeshift log tote. Working quickly, she dug out a space for the fire to bounce the warmth off of the rock, and minimally melt the igloo structure she created. She made the pit small, the need for a large fire a moot point. She wanted to survive, not draw too much attention to herself.
Kneeling before the small pit, she produced a pocket knife after having scraped together a bit of bark shavings and a knob of hardened sap to kindle her fire. Striking the dull side of her knife against the flint, she produced a few sparks. Her fingers ached, the piercing chill cutting down to her bones. Wincing, she shook her hands after dropping her tools to the ground. She took a moment to breathe into her hands, pressing them to her lips and face, and blowing again until they were warm.
Chk.
Chk.
Chk.
Sighing, her breath added life to the fire as her second attempt proved successful after striking her knife to the flint.
She leaned down and breathed into the fire again, stoking the flame until it was happy enough to continue eating away at whatever kindling she fed it. Dropping it purposefully into the firepit she began stacking smaller twigs around of the flame in the shape of a teepee.
It wasn't long until the warmth radiated the entire enclosure, Miri having used her knife to punch a small hole through the top edge to allow the smoke to escape. Her time on her home planet was proving useful, the many skills of survival being some of the first skills taught to her. They were almost second nature at this point in time.
Settling down, she prepped the rabbit, leaving fur in tact, and dumped the entire beast onto the fire. This would prove to cause more smoke, and unbeknownst to her, the storm had died down slightly, only a light snow continuing to fall, giving way to view her smoke trail from her little hovel.
No one else could possibly be out here, could they?
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