Out in the Cold Again (Jynx)

[Sodrel Frostfawn]

Jynx didn’t seem to get that she wasn’t about to sit around and let anyone go after Amaya without her. There was no way she’d stay inside her Hold waiting for him to bring her back alive or…dead? She couldn’t believe he’d actually said that to her. Why didn't he just get out of her way? He was forcing her to stop when all she wanted to do was go. Her eyes flashed violet. “I will not go back to my Hold while you find her for me. You're not going to bring my dog back dead. I’m going to find her before something happens to her.” Maybe he would get it once she’d put enough distance between them.

[Jynx]

He didn't know what to do now. She was determined to risk her life for a dog. Where was the sense in that? Self-preservation was the highest priority, the ultimate goal of all creatures. Survival of the fittest. Kill or be killed. To willingly throw her life away for the sake of another was crazy. Of course he had risked his life for Hannah several times. But that was different, wasn't it? Or was it? The jumble of conflict thoughts and emotions inside him was confusing. But he knew one thing for sure: he was not going to let her go by herself. “Wait!” he shouted. He put on his boots and warm clothes as quickly as he could, tossed the backpack over his shoulder, picked up the staff, and ran after her. By the time he caught up with her she was already in a heated argument with one of the guards. “Miss, please. We can't let you go out in this weather. There's a full-fledged blizzard blowing in. You will die out there.” Sodrel was a full head shorter than the Icewatch guard. So there she stood, toe-to-toe with the soldier, looking up at him while he and his bear looked down at her. “You have no right to stop me from leaving the city,” she shouted. “Stand aside.” She tried to push by him but the bear moved to block her. Jynx stepped in between them, pushing her back with his body. He took a fighting stance with his eight-foot quarterstaff in both hands at a forty-five degree angle across his body. His hood was down, revealing long blond hair kicking wildly around his face in the wind. He looked the guard in the eye and said, “The lady wants to leave. I am her body guard. Do not make me hurt you.” There was a dangerous edge to his voice but they all knew he was no match for the Icewatch guard and his polar bear. Several long moments went by before the guard relented. “The Icewatch relinquishes all responsibility for your safety. Your lives are in your own hands now.” He stepped aside. The bear followed his lead, although with obvious reluctance. Jynx looked over his shoulder at Sodrel and said, “Stay close.” Without waiting for a response he passed through the Icewall Gates and into the white wilderness of the Northern Reaches. Amaya was out there somewhere. Maybe still alive but probably not. It didn't matter now. What mattered now was finding her, dead or alive, so he could get Sodrel back to the safety of the city. Deep down inside was a knot of fear. Fear that he might not be able to protect her.

[Sodrel Frostfawn]

She was so confused. One chime Jynx was arguing with her, pressing Sodrel to turn her back on her companion. The next he was her friend, helping her get through the gate she didn’t have a chance of getting through on her own. The yo-yo was making her dizzy, so she put him out of her mind and focused everything she had on finding Amaya instead. The snow outside was already high. When she stepped into it, her boot sunk through the soft snow, up to the middle of her calf. That wasn't good. With the way it was coming down, it wouldn’t be long until it was above her knee. She wouldn’t be able to get around in snow that deep. The reasons to find Amaya quickly were piling up. As if they weren’t high enough already... Snow blew by furiously. The cold hadn’t gotten to Sodrel yet, but Jynx’s coat could only be so warm. It couldn’t be much better for him than it was for Amaya. And he was worried about her? She stopped, put her hand to her ear and listened for Amaya's bark, hoping she was close by, but the gusting wind made it hard to hear anything let alone see beyond the end of her nose through the thick blanket of snow coming down. Her thighs burned already, but what could she do? She put one foot in front of the other and she kept going. Sodrel was determined to find Amaya, but now that she was outside of the safety of the city, something she’d rarely ever been, she may have actually been glad that she wasn’t alone. Although, after Jynx had managed to say all the wrong things to her, she wasn’t about to admit it. Just because she didn’t want to be alone, didn’t mean she wanted to be suck out there with him. “Amaya!” She yelled until her throat burned. “Amaaayaaa!” There was no sign of the frost hawks anywhere either, but she didn’t know if that was a good thing or if it was something else she was better off not dwelling on. She plowed her way through the snow. There was nothing but white wind, ice and an emptiness in her chest that spread deeper with every step she took that she didn't see Amaya's blue eyes staring back at her.

[Jynx]

Snow was coming down heavily and mostly horizontally in the hard wind. Jynx was glad it was coming from behind them and not blowing in their faces. They had been wading through deepening snow for a bell or so when Jynx called a halt. He didn't know what to do. They had no idea which way Amaya had gone and they would freeze to death if they stayed out her much longer. He leaned in close to Sodrel and shouted, “I'm going to see if I can see anything from the sky.” He stripped his clothes off and became a hawk again. As soon as he spread his wings the wind picked him up like a leaf and tossed him into the air. He fought with the turbulence and brought his flight under control. Mostly. In point of fact, the wind was whipping him all over the place as he gained some altitude and attempted to circle. The wind was stronger a thirty feet and pushed him forward mercilessly. He found himself unable to turn and fly into. Finally he gave up, swooped down close to the ground and came to rest on a boulder that was mostly but not entirely buried in snow. Then he saw the frost hawk. It was lying in the snow about twenty feet away, its neck ripped open. A powerful gust knocked him off the boulder and he disappeared into the deep snow. He needed to find shelter, and soon. But first he needed to find Sodrel. He let out a long, descending kee-ree. And then another. And another. Then he listened. He was afraid. Afraid that Amaya was dead. Afraid that he was going to die. Afraid that Sodrel was going to die. Afraid that he would once again fail. He should never have let her leave the city.

[Sodrel Frostfawn]

At some point, her faith started to slip. Her belief in herself, the trust she’d blindly put into Jynx—it all wavered. The certainty she felt when she left the protection of the city walls behind her vanished with it. Jynx forced her to stop her wreckless wandering and took to the sky again, leaving her alone with her dwindling hope and mounting fears. Amaya… Her chest tightened another notch, threatening to cut off her air supply. She thought back to how restless Amaya had been that morning and couldn’t get past her reluctance to leave. It was like she knew something was going to happen. If only Sodrel had listened. This was all her fault. Amaya was no antsy puppy. She should have been able to read her better after six years together—she should have trusted her intuition. The blizzard they were knee deep in was no surprise. What had she been thinking? Jynx. She’d been thinking about Jynx. About getting another massage from him. Really? That's what she'd been thinking? She couldn't deny it. That's what was on her mind. Only briefly had her thoughts gone to helping Amaya feel better. Again, she questioned her dedication to someone she considered family. She started to doubt her ability to care for any of the animals she’d been raised to love. If I'd never made her go out… She caught a blurry glimpse of Jynx’s wings through the snow and heard him cry out. The sound cut through what was left of her courage and the emptiness was all that remained. For the first time, she was afraid to look into his eyes. “No bad news. Please…” she whispered. Her knees went weak and she fell forward into the snow.

[Jynx]

She came into view not thirty feet away, first as a ghostly shadow barely visible through the veil of snow and then emerging clearly against a swirling white backdrop. Fighting her way through knee-deep snow she said something he couldn't make out and collapsed about ten feet from him. Jynx shifted into human form and waded over to her. “Sodrel,” he shouted. The wind was blowing hard and was bitterly cold against his bare skin. She looked up at him with utter despair in her eyes. “I found something.” He said as he took his pants from her and pulled them on, falling back into the snow as he did. “A frost hawk. Dead. Throat ripped out.” His numb fingers fumbled as he pulled on both shirts. “Might have been Amaya.” He tried to sound hopeful but he knew it was unlikely that the dog had anything to do with the hawk's death. On the other hand, a predator like a wolf or sabertooth wouldn't have left it there. It would have dragged it away to some protected place where it could each it. He pulled on his boots and wrapped himself in his cloak. He was shivering uncontrollably. Picking up his pack and quarterstaff he shouted, “Come on. Get up. Do not give up on me now.” He grabbed her by the arm and heaved her to her feet. He practically dragged her to the dead bird. It was almost completely buried in snow. Huh, he thought. It was not covered in snow when I first saw it. That means it died very recently. He touched the bloody neck and his hand came away with blood on it. Not frozen yet. If Amaya had killed the hawk, she could not be very far away. “Call her,” he said to Sodrel. Then he cocked his head and listened.