The wind howled through the valley as I shuddered near the flickering flame. Snow pelted down upon my frame as a bundle of warmth shivered by my side. I wasn’t sure when this being snuggled up by my side, but I was grateful. Whoever they were, they had buried their head deep in my chest, which while stealing warmth from also saved my life. An unrelenting blizzard had blown into the forest earlier that evening, trapping me far from my cabin. It didn’t take long for the cold to set in as it nibbled on my extremities. All the winter weather gear in the world can’t save you from sub-zero temperatures forever. Hell, every who lived this far north knew that. Yet, all I could do was sit snuggled up with this stranger.
I don’t remember falling asleep that night, nor do I remember placing more logs in the fire. However, when I awoke the following morning, the flame danced with fervent passion in the early morning sunshine. My companion sat upon a log near the flames, scratching her nails against the bark. Despite my grogginess, there was something feral about the woman. Her fingernails were sharp and pointed. Her physical frame was leaner than even the most athletic humans alive. It took me a moment to realize her feline-like eyes were boring deep into mine, and I found myself equal parts concerned and intrigued. I’d met society’s oddities before. A man with four arms and six legs. A young woman with bat wings for arms. A soldier with superhuman hearing and eyesight, which she said made her world kaleidoscopic. Yet none of them felt as though they were from another realm.
“You should quit staring at me, you naïve fool.”
Her voice was startling yet somehow smoother than anything I’d ever heard. I climbed to my feet as my rickety, half-frozen joints cracked and popped. It was either fortune or fate that saved me from that blizzard. It wasn’t my place to question what I didn’t understand at that moment. I needed to get back to my cabin but in the midst of the blizzard, I’d lost my sense of direction. My companion rose to her feet, kicking snow into the fire pit. The flames coughed and sputtered as the untouched logs grew covered in a thick layer of ice and snow. I gathered what little I had carried in my pack: a now frozen thermos, a small metal shovel, a box of matches, and a small pack filled with cured meats. I hadn’t accounted for a blizzard to almost kill me or an accomplice to save my life.
I trudged my way through the snow, heading east toward the large mountain overpass. My muscles groaned with each step while I shivered with each gust that blew through the valley. A few moments later, another set of footsteps crunched alongside mine. Neither of us spoke a word for hours as we trekked through the snow, though I suppose my mind was elsewhere. The clouds warned of impending snow, though the midday sun remained just as irritating as the light glittered off the snowpacks. The nearest settlement would have been due east assuming I wasn’t blown off course, though I had an unsettling tide of doubt lapping against the shores of my rattled mind. My muscles burned and sweat stuck to my skin as exhaustion overtook my desire to return home.
“We’ll set up camp here for a while. I don’t think I can travel another mile on my feet alone,” I sighed.
“You’ve got great instincts for a fool,” the woman said, sniffing the air several times for good measure. “I smell a faint hint of your scent trailing on the wind.”
“You can smell that far away? Do you know how much farther till we reach my cabin?”
“You should rest. My definition of not far would be torturous for you in your current state boy.”
It took an hour for the two of us to set up camp. I had devoured a few scraps of the jerky, yet the meat provided little sustenance. Whatever nourishment it bestowed was paltry compared to the miles I marched through the snow. I struggled to heave a pile of wood through the snow, igniting the frozen logs after numerous failed attempts. The warmth rekindled some sparks of hope within my heart.
“I brought dinner in case you’re hungry.”
My companion carried a large deer slung over her shoulder without so much as a glance. The colossal beast was unlike anything I had ever seen. For a famished young man, this woman was a blessing from the gods. Huddled next to the flames, I sat and watched as she carved open the deer with her nails.
“Do you want help dressing the deer? I’d feel bad if I let you do all the work.”
“No, I’d be fine doing everything on my own. You need to save your strength for later. Though I suppose you can start paying me back by telling me your name,” the woman said, tearing out entrails midway through her sentence.
“Sure, my name is Vincent. I’m grateful for your help in saving my life. If I can do anything to repay you, please name it and I’ll do my best to fulfill the request.”
My companion chuckled to herself as she sticks cuts of the deer on skewers. The sun languished just over the horizon, illuminating just enough to haunt the encroaching darkness. Despite my reservations, I couldn’t help but enjoy the moment. There was nothing to fear except freezing to death. Somehow, I just couldn’t see that happening. Snowflakes glittered as they sank to the ground in white fog. As the snow fell faster and faster, I gathered enough wood to build a small canopy. It wasn’t all that impressive, but it was big enough to fit the two of us and stop us from freezing.
“It looks rather quaint, but I’m sure it’ll prove useful. Despite knowing you for only a day, I can tell you are quite well-versed in survival. I suppose I could give you my name, fool. I am called Nora.”
Nora handed me a skewer as she sank her teeth into her kill. She chomped into the deer like a fearsome predator, tearing flesh from the bones. I took the skewer into my hands and sank my teeth into the deer as well. My taste buds burst to life as smoky flavors danced upon my tongue. Maybe it was just my imagination, but I could’ve sworn that the flavor profile changed as I was chewing. I huddled under the canopy, bracing against the tree. Outside of being stranded in the snow once more, the night was serene. The snowflakes skittered across the darkening sky as the glow of the fire came into view. I hadn’t noticed when Nora crawled her way into the canopy, but her warmth drew my attention back from the snow. She curled up and snuggled against my chest once again, her rhythmic deep breaths lulling me back into that trance once again as I stared at the snow dancing in the chaotic tempest.
A shuffling at my side stirred me out of sleep’s wondrous embrace as Nora stretched and yawned. My arms were wrapped tight around Nora’s waist while she had coiled her arms around my upper back, squeezing me like a teddy bear. Despite sleeping sound all throughout the night, I couldn’t shake a deep-seated exhaustion. My body, now a high-end graphics card, was roaring and ready to take on the world, yet my mind and soul were an old voyager era stick of RAM. An odd combination to say the least. It was a wonder that I could focus on even a single thought.
“Morning Vincent, you look like you slept well. I trust you’re ready to head home now,” Nora purred.
Nora’s purr sounded quite feline, which sent a bead of sweat down my neck. A primal terror shot through my system like electricity, and Nora looked up at me, a quizzical expression painted on her face.
“My body is quite ready for anything, though my mind is an ocean locked in a hurricane. It’s hard to concentrate on anything for too long without causing me pain.”
Nora’s smile flickered for but a moment, her razor-sharp teeth flaring. It was as if my emotions were tattooed to my forehead. Despite her reaction, I took a deep breath and centered myself. She did help save me from the blizzard no matter what her intentions may have been. So, I pulled her closer, stroking her hair. I wish I could say it was to soothe Nora, but it was more to soothe my own fears. However, Nora did appear to calm down some as the radiance did return to her smile, even if only a little bit.
Nora had lifted her head, looking me dead in the eye and said, “We should get going. I imagine you would like to take a nice warm bath, wouldn’t you?” I smiled at her, before sniffing under my arms. I gagged as soon as the scent touched my nostrils. I smelled as though someone took three-day old sweat and steeped it in a tea kettle.
“Yeah, I’d like that. I smell awful.”
“As someone with quiet the sensitive nose, you don’t smell nearly as bad as others I’ve met. In fact, your stench is quite bearable. If it wasn’t I’d have slept somewhere else, Vincent.”
The two of us rose and crawled out from under the canopy. The entire surrounding area was blanketed in so much snow and ice that the tree limbs were barely visible. Where the fire once burned was an uneven pile of snow and the deer cuts remained trapped somewhere beneath the dense snow. My stomach growled as we started marching once again through the valley. Each step was a war as I trudged through the white waist-deep blanket. Nora seemed to have no difficulty at all as she eased her way through each step, bounding through the treacherous terrain. My breaths ran ragged as the minutes turned to hours without even so much as a sighting of my cabin. Perhaps my cabin had been buried under the snow, and we had passed it. Or maybe the roof was just above the surface, peeking through like a lost artifact in soil. Whatever the case was, my legs were liquified jelly and quivered after every step.
“How much f-f-f-farther till we r-r-r-reach my cabin? I don’t th-th-th-think I can w-w-w-walk another m-m-m-m-mile through this s-s-s-s-snow,” I shouted.
“We’re almost there darling. Just keep walking for me. I promise you’ll have that bath in no time.”
My head pounded as the blood rushed through my veins. I had lost feeling in my fingers and toes an hour ago, and my legs were succumbing next. My lips chafed and cracked as the skin froze solid. Still, onward I marched, following a stranger I met a few days ago. A stranger who saved my life twice now, but a stranger all the same. Each breath burned and I swore I could taste my own blood with each exhale. The afternoon sun taunted me with its futile radiance as everything swayed in the wind. The mountain before me laughed as I trudged along through the snow.
“Foolish man, do you think this woman is here to save you? She’s only after a meal! She used your emotions to restore her youth! You are condemned now,” the mountain sneered, its deep booming voice echoing off the walls of my mind.
“What did you seek to accomplish in your life?” the sun whispered, her soft voice singing in my ears, “Tell me so that I may impart your dream upon another youth.”
I collapsed into a soft, warm embrace, sinking deep into the most comfortable bed I had ever felt. Finally, at last, I received the bed I was promised. The wind sung a sweet melody while the trees performed the chorus. I was connected to everything, everywhere, all at once, leaving not even the smallest of bacteria behind. I had become the very warmth I sought to find. I was now the home. I was the cabin. The cabin was me. Yet, as I reached out my hand to assimilate into this wondrous communion, something snatched me away from it. The warmth was consumed by a frigid cold so deep, I could feel it in my bones. Blood froze onto my lip as my body shuddered, bouncing up and down upon something. Fallen from the warmth of heaven into the depths of ice-cold hell.
“Hang on Vince, we’re almost there. Your scent is so potent on the wind. It just another mile further,” a voice shouted.
There was a shrillness to the voice. I held as best as I could, my fingers straining to even bend. They’d likely need to be amputated. My heartbeat was nothing more than a slow drum. Even drawing air into my lungs became a contest of will. It took every ounce of strength to keep my eyes open. The mountain loomed over the horizon, taunting me with its thunderous laughter. Yet, I held on just the same. Perhaps it was the earnest desire to see my cabin. Or maybe the yearning for warmth. But something inside of me refused to die. Even as my mind swam through the endless cacophony of singing and bellowing, I could hear something pulling me onward.
“We’re almost there. Can’t you see it poking through the snow just up ahead?” the voice cried.
In the distance I could see its light brown logs as the two of us approached. My body responded like a robot, merely acknowledging the last directive given. My body hung limp, still bouncing as my savior leapt atop the snow. Each footfall would land upon the very surface never sinking even a little. Despite my weariness and fatigue, I clutched whatever vestige of warmth I had left. From my orientation, I could tell I was lying flat, but I wasn’t sure why. Not that I cared either. Although I hadn’t eaten all day, not even a single hunger pang riddled my core. The sun sings a distant lullaby as she descends under the horizon, leaving us stranded in the dusk of her glory.
“Why do you leave me behind mistress of warmth? What drew you behind the mountain’s shadow?” I whispered.
My voice was only loud enough to be a murmur but, in my eyes, my words were the very roar of thunder itself. I fought to move my jaw, even enough to speak once again. It was a grueling effort resisting the frostbite taking hold of my body. My mind revived its clarity even if for but a brief instance.
“Whatever you’re muttering about Vince, keep talking. As least that lets me know you’re still alive,” Nora barked.
“You’re a f-f-f-f-fox now. I thought fox-spirits w-w-w-were only native to the Asian t-t-t-territories.”
“We can migrate to different regions through objects and our connections to the people around us. By the way, you should hold on tight!”
Nora charged straight into the cabin door, breaking it off the hinges. I rolled off her body as she brought her front legs down for me. Even within the four walls of my cabin, my body shuddered within my clothes. Tears streaked down my face as my eyes warmed. As I looked up, Nora had reverted to a more human form, sporting three fox tails and fox ears atop her head.
“You’re quite powerful for a younger kitsune. I can only imagine how strong you’ll be once you’re f-f-f-full-grown,” I said, coughing up blood onto the floor.
Nora rushes to my side, clutching me in her arms. Warmth radiates throughout my body as her hands rest in mine. The rhythm of my heart stabilizes, pushing this newfound warmth all throughout my ice-cold limbs. I look down at my fingers, the blackish-blue shocking me to my core. Nora leans her head against mine, humming into my ears a somber tune while her yellow-green eyes shine bright. Exhaustion claws its way through my mind, breaking down the final foothold of my resilience as my sight fades to black.
