The Beast and The Brain.

It started to snow, hard. The wind picked up and suddenly it was a white out. J woke up from the howling wind and vaulted off my back to restrain the horses so they didn’t panic. I growled angrily at her recklessness. It was far to easy to get lost in a white out, as it was even with my good sight I could hardly see anything around me, J must be completely blind.

“J!” I growled turning back towards the horses.

“I’m here.” She yelled back, “We have to find shelter, it’s too dangerous to be out here!”
I nodded my head, “Where are you?”

“Move back about fifteen feet.” I looked down at the snow and followed my trail back until I came upon the horses and J. “We’ll get lost if we split up in this weather, but if we try tramping through the snow without me leading we could all get lost and freeze to death.”

J nodded in agreement, “I have some rope. I’ll tie it to your tail and hold onto it.” It only took a few moments to tie the length of rope and secure the horses together. Then I made my way off the road and began searching for some pine trees, and outcropping of rocks, anything to get out of the storm.

Minutes slipped by, but there was nothing worth stopping for. A deep irritated rumbled emitted from my chest as I frantically pushed my power towards my eyes to try and see better. I looked back at the horses, J was bent over the next of Shadow, trying to keep as much heat locked into herself as possible. She was shivering visibly. The horses wouldn’t last long either, their coats weren’t meant for this kind of cold.

I blew out a breath through my nostrils. I needed to think of something and fast. I looked around and spotted three pine trees that were growing in a rough triangle. I moved towards it. It wasn’t enough to shelter us from the storm but I had an idea. I walked towards J and nudged her with my nose, “Stay here, don’t move, I’m going to get us some shelter.” I bit the rope off my tail, and J nodded her head. Her lips were blown and her face was white and windblown. Had I known the storm would be this bad I wouldn’t have risked it.

I worked as quickly as I possibly could. I allowed my power to feed and grow my body to a larger size then I tore at the snow with talons and dug like a dog. I kicked the snow towards the pine trees. I used my tail to move large portions of snow as well, but each moment that passed I felt that I wasn’t move quickly enough. After a while I gave up digging and began stacking the snow between the pine trees and soon there were walls of snow between them.

I went back to J, “Come on, hurry up, lead the horses and go in before me.” J slid off the horses and walked slowly through to the pine trees. She led the horses into the small shelter and stopped. “This isn’t going to protect us.” Her voice shook from cold, but there was still an insulting tone that was aimed towards me, typical J.

I grew to my full size, my wings and tail brushed against trees but I moved forward, extended my wing over the trees and walls of snow and used it as a ceiling. I curled my head into the shelter and then blocked the entrance with my body. It darkened instantly, and my eyes adjusted. J stood near the horses, her breath came out in a great smoke every time she breathed, but sound of the wind seemed distant, and the shelter was already warming from my bodies’ heat. J worked slowly with stiff hands to unsaddle the horses, and then she unpacked blankets and pulled them over the horses. After they were taken care of she came over to me and sat against my neck right behind my jaw. She curled her cloak around herself and leaned against my warm skin.

“Thank you.” She said quietly.

I let out a warm breath that melted the snow in front of me, “What else are partners for?”

A small smile touched her lips, then she closed her eyes and together we waited for the storm to pass.

~ ~ ~ ~

“And I thought winter was coming to an end.” Hours had passed and storm outside had let up a bit but I was still a bad storm and we both decided it was safer to stay put for the time being. It was warm in the cocoon I had created with my body. Not warm enough to melt the snow, but close, and I sometimes lifted my wing to allow some fresh air in.

“The southern mountains are known for late season storms, this is probably the worst and last they will have. Next week it could be forty degrees and sunny for all we know.”

J started a very small fire to allow some light and to heat the food. The horses rested gratefully together and munched on some grain that J divided out from our supply. My body ached and I wanted nothing more than to stretch my joints and move around, but the safety and comfort of J came first.

“Here, eat.” J came over with a small portion of our food.

I shook my head, “A human size ration will do no good for me J. If anything it will only make me hungrier. I have enough energy to support myself for some time yet; I’m hardly even using any energy, save the food, or better yet eat it yourself. You look half starved these days.”

She wanted to argue, I could see it in her body language, but she bit her tongue and went back to the fire. She knew it was pointless to argue me at this point, after all I could decided to turn into a human and then we’d all be miserable.

Soon after she ate J rolled out her bed roll then brushed down the horses. We didn’t speak much, for there wasn’t much conversation to be had. Then she laid down and stared at the small fire, “Good night my friend.” She closed her eyes and turned over, she didn’t wait for a reply.

I smiled a little bit, “Good night.”

~ ~ ~ ~

I was afraid to fall asleep. I was afraid that I might roll over in the middle of the night and expose ourselves to the weather or worse roll over, and crush J. No, I decided it would be best to stay awake. Sometime after darkness fell I pulled my neck out and kept watch on the forest, but it seemed still apart from the snow.

No animals crept around searching for prey. I didn’t even see any birds in the trees. I felt as though J and I were the only living creatures in the forest. So after a while I stuck my head and neck back inside where it was warmer. When the fire started to die, I used my mouth and dropped some sticks into it and then settled back down and watched J’s figure rise and fall. It was early morning when my large meal started wearing off. My exposed body was starting to feel cold.

It stopped snowing at some point, and by morning, the sun was dazzling and bright. The world was covered in ice and fresh snow. Once the sun rose far enough I pulled my wing back and stood up. I slipped into my human form. I bent my fingers and rubbed my shoulder. My muscles ached and I was shivering without control.

I stumbled towards the fire. The still morning air was frigid and it stung my lungs. I dropped to my knees and reached my hands towards the fire. The shook uncontrollably, I suddenly felt as though all my body heat had evaporated. J turned and sat up.

She pulled the blanket from herself and blinked from the light. She spotted me and I gave her a small smile, my stomach suddenly lurched and I leaned over and puked on the ground next to me. “I don’t feel so good.”

J jumped out of her bed roll and dropped to my side. She gripped my shoulders, “Asher what’s wrong?” She grabbed my chin and made me look at her.

“My head…” My vision spotted red and suddenly it went black.