As an escort, Shinook had made a name for herself with her ability to help people across the ice field surrounding the Capital, but it didn’t mean that she couldn’t occasionally take the odd job away from home.
This time, she had to accompany someone from the Capital to the nearest harbor, some rich Thedale merchant that needed help navigating the frozen tundra of her homeland. It wasn’t a path she’d expected trouble on, but Lumiska had insisted on coming along regardless, claiming they could use this as an opportunity to indulge themselves with a private getaway in the port-city. Shinook had readily agreed; it was rare for them to take any sort of vacation, and the seaside air would be a welcome distraction.
They’d travelled without a hitch to their destination, and she’d seen her client off to the sun’s dimming rays reflecting like ambers on the water’s surface. Before long, even her eternally grumpy mate had unwound long enough for the two of them to enjoy a lovely evening together. They eventually went to sleep, gently swaddled by the waves’ ceaseless melody.
---
It certainly wasn’t as pleasant when next they woke.
Last night’s soothing lullaby had turned into a raging cacophony. Loud shouts from the harbor could barely be heard over the crashing of the sea against shore and ships alike. Thinking of cutting short their little escapade, the pair headed out just as snow started to join the darkening weather. Between a breath and the next, it had begun to fall so thick they could barely make out the buildings which had stood in front of them moments ago. With the wind and the damp seaside atmosphere carpeting everything and everyone with ice and snow, it wasn’t long before they had no choice but to seek shelter until the worst of the storm had passed.
Their long fur allowed them to better withstand the cold, but it did very little to protect them from the lumpy and heavy snow that stuck to their paws and legs like glue. The clumps very quickly weighted them down and made walking around a pain to be avoided.
Fortunately, nearby warehouses were opening their doors to the poor souls unfortunate enough to have wandered out and so they followed the throng towards the promise of safety and warmth. Once all had gotten under the cover of the fish-smelling building and they couldn’t see or hear anyone else making their way inside, they closed the massive sliding doors. Somehow, the weather outside seemed to be getting worse as they huddled near the heating crystals to melt the frozen clusters of snow from their fur.
The crowd of unexpected refugees settled in for the long wait, split in small groups of hushed conversations, as if talking too loudly would anger the storm further. Hours passed slowly, with the wind and hail beating a relentless tempo on the warehouse’s metal frame, when something else suddenly started banging on them.
Reoseans and humes startled at the unexpected sound, and looked at each other worryingly, unsure of the noise’s origin. When a claw could be seen in the door’s interstice, it became clear someone was trying to come in.
Someone *big*.
And they weren’t alone.
Once the massive tyr and her unconscious companion had made their way inside, the black-winged giant barking harshly at them for help, people seemed to get over their shock and quickly sprung into action.
Shinook made her way closer to the center of the commotion, even against her mate’s whispers to stay out of this. She would never turn away if she could help. He knew that, of course, but nothing would ever stop *him* from trying to keep her out of potential harm.
Even as they tended to the downed vayron, she could see how they kept a wary eye on the equally wary tyr, and the standstill was slowing a very time-sensitive process.
This was ridiculous.
“Alright everyone!”, said Shinook in a friendly tone, “Could some of you see about finding if there are any cloths lying around? We don’t want to shock his system by heating him too fast, but we need to get rid of all that snow and get him dry as soon as possible.”
Apparently glad to have an excuse to be out from under the strange tyr’s glower, many went about, scavenging what they could while some braver folks got to work on gently untangling the snow from where is stuck on the poor vay’s coat.
When the ones who’d gone scouring came back with many cloth tarps used to cover merchandise, she instructed them on the best way to warm and dry without risk of causing harm. Luckily, at some point during the process, their white-furred newcomer had begun shivering again.
Progress.
Meanwhile, she and Lumiska slowly lowered themselves near him, careful of how much heat he could handle. This wasn’t their first time having to deal with this level of hypothermia; they knew exactly what they were doing.
Dazed, she suddenly remembered the other visitor to their haven, “Ma’am?” she called out, unafraid, “You should probably come closer too, all that ice can’t be good for you.”
Renya
As an escort, Shinook had made a name for herself with her ability to help people across the ice field surrounding the Capital, but it didn’t mean that she couldn’t occasionally take the odd job away from home. This time, she had to accompany someone from the Capital to the nearest harbor, some rich Thedale merchant that needed help navigating the frozen tundra of her homeland. It wasn’t a path she’d expected trouble on, but Lumiska had insisted on coming along regardless, claiming they could use this as an opportunity to indulge themselves with a private getaway in the port-city. Shinook had readily agreed; it was rare for them to take any sort of vacation, and the seaside air would be a welcome distraction. They’d travelled without a hitch to their destination, and she’d seen her client off to the sun’s dimming rays reflecting like ambers on the water’s surface. Before long, even her eternally grumpy mate had unwound long enough for the two of them to enjoy a lovely evening together. They eventually went to sleep, gently swaddled by the waves’ ceaseless melody. --- It certainly wasn’t as pleasant when next they woke. Last night’s soothing lullaby had turned into a raging cacophony. Loud shouts from the harbor could barely be heard over the crashing of the sea against shore and ships alike. Thinking of cutting short their little escapade, the pair headed out just as snow started to join the darkening weather. Between a breath and the next, it had begun to fall so thick they could barely make out the buildings which had stood in front of them moments ago. With the wind and the damp seaside atmosphere carpeting everything and everyone with ice and snow, it wasn’t long before they had no choice but to seek shelter until the worst of the storm had passed. Their long fur allowed them to better withstand the cold, but it did very little to protect them from the lumpy and heavy snow that stuck to their paws and legs like glue. The clumps very quickly weighted them down and made walking around a pain to be avoided. Fortunately, nearby warehouses were opening their doors to the poor souls unfortunate enough to have wandered out and so they followed the throng towards the promise of safety and warmth. Once all had gotten under the cover of the fish-smelling building and they couldn’t see or hear anyone else making their way inside, they closed the massive sliding doors. Somehow, the weather outside seemed to be getting worse as they huddled near the heating crystals to melt the frozen clusters of snow from their fur. The crowd of unexpected refugees settled in for the long wait, split in small groups of hushed conversations, as if talking too loudly would anger the storm further. Hours passed slowly, with the wind and hail beating a relentless tempo on the warehouse’s metal frame, when something else suddenly started banging on them. Reoseans and humes startled at the unexpected sound, and looked at each other worryingly, unsure of the noise’s origin. When a claw could be seen in the door’s interstice, it became clear someone was trying to come in. Someone *big*. And they weren’t alone. Once the massive tyr and her unconscious companion had made their way inside, the black-winged giant barking harshly at them for help, people seemed to get over their shock and quickly sprung into action. Shinook made her way closer to the center of the commotion, even against her mate’s whispers to stay out of this. She would never turn away if she could help. He knew that, of course, but nothing would ever stop *him* from trying to keep her out of potential harm. Even as they tended to the downed vayron, she could see how they kept a wary eye on the equally wary tyr, and the standstill was slowing a very time-sensitive process. This was ridiculous. “Alright everyone!”, said Shinook in a friendly tone, “Could some of you see about finding if there are any cloths lying around? We don’t want to shock his system by heating him too fast, but we need to get rid of all that snow and get him dry as soon as possible.” Apparently glad to have an excuse to be out from under the strange tyr’s glower, many went about, scavenging what they could while some braver folks got to work on gently untangling the snow from where is stuck on the poor vay’s coat. When the ones who’d gone scouring came back with many cloth tarps used to cover merchandise, she instructed them on the best way to warm and dry without risk of causing harm. Luckily, at some point during the process, their white-furred newcomer had begun shivering again. Progress. Meanwhile, she and Lumiska slowly lowered themselves near him, careful of how much heat he could handle. This wasn’t their first time having to deal with this level of hypothermia; they knew exactly what they were doing. Dazed, she suddenly remembered the other visitor to their haven, “Ma’am?” she called out, unafraid, “You should probably come closer too, all that ice can’t be good for you.”
2024-08-27 16:55:36
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