bakerstreet | SNOWED IN

[She grits her teeth when she hears his footsteps behind her. If she were as immature as he was, she'd radio Ironwood to ask permission to stab him.]

I'm sure my hair will remain as it is and do. not. interfere. with. Atlas. protocol.

[Said with the confidence of someone who probably can walk out of battle completely unruffled, even if she grinds out the rest of that declaration.

Then something else comes through to her earpiece. She stops.]

What?! But - !

[A lesser person might have slumped their shoulders but Winter just seethes. Still, best not to argue with the person that signs her checks. It's the only money she's making since Jacques cut her off without a cent to her name.]

Looks like you are coming, just don't get my way!

[She picks up her pace as she heads towards the door feeling aggravated enough to breath fire.]

Not really...

[But it's been more than half a day since he's last eaten, and soon, the dull emptiness will eventually give way to gnawing pain. It's the last thing Shiro needs to add to his already mounting list of aches and worries.

He jabs a rusty metal stick -- probably once served as a curtain rod or something similar -- against the burning wood pile.]

But I can go for something light. What's on the menu?

[A tiny grin cracks his mouth apart.]

Filet mignon?

[ qrow actually snorts, amused by winter's displeasure. he then shakes his head and tuts, before properly holding his sword this time. if winter needs his help, it's likely going to be a fight. and he's more than happy to oblige.

he's a better fighter than winter, anyway, but he won't say that out loud. not now. it'd be much better to have her realise it on her own. ]

Please, I should be the one giving you that warning.

[ voicetesting! ]

[She strides out her hand on her weapon as she listens to the instructions and coordinates from her ear piece. She ignores Qrow. He's not the worth the effort. She has a job to do and him being there or not is not going to change that.

-Time skip to the location-

And sure enough when they arrive Beowolves are attacking heat generator. She moves in quickly to dispatch them. She can distant hear Qrow fighting as well.

As the last ones fall, she hears another message, not all of it before it cuts out and what she does hear makes her blanch.]

Something's changed. The storm just got worst.

[Her mouth forms a grim line.]

We are going to need to find shelter.

[The Chilly Academic doesn't go out on fieldwork much, and it's just Axel's luck that the one time he really wanted -- what was it again? Some crystallized whatsit off some Heartless -- he decided he needed to make sure Axel didn't leave any unsightly scratches on it in the process of getting it.

So there they were, waist deep in snow with Thunder spells zapping them every five seconds, when Vexen decided to help.

More frozen water is not Axel's idea of helping blizzard conditions. He feels vindicated by the fact that the mountainside above them had made an extremely ominous rumbling noise less than ten seconds after Vexen pitched in. So he'd grabbed Vexen and dived for the closest shitty, icy cave he could spot in the mountainside, and then there had been an avalanche, and now here they were, probably under about twenty feet of snow.

Axel was scowling. It was pitch-black in the cave, so it wasn't doing him any good, but he was going to keep scowling anyway. It made him feel better.]

Just so you know, I'm putting this in the report.

[ with fighting the grimm over and done with, he takes out his flask of whiskey and downs it, making sure winter sees what he's doing. it's amazing she hasn't snapped at him furiously yet, which is honestly what he wants to happen.

at the mention of shelter, though, he doesn't even look the least bit fazed. ]

Well, considering the weather, we might really have to. [ he wants to scout the area now to see if there's anywhere nearby that they can use for shelter, like a small and unused cottage, but he isn't sure if the fine young lady would even want him out of her sight. ]

Should I go look for a place, or would you rather do it yourself?

[ you know what prompto regrets the most? sleeves. they're a perfectly reasonable, sensible creation! amazing! life-saving! so... why doesn't he have any on? because layers and staying warm in motion and adrenaline... it was totally fine earlier, a little light trickling of snow dropping down, the excitement of an amazing photo -- it was great. super easy to ignore a little chill.

now they're lost and he's cold and, okay, maybe a little panicky. how was he supposed to know there was going to be a blizzard? there was literally no way he could have known asking noct to come out for a photo op would lead to their freezing deaths in some cave! and yep. noct would go and say that. prompto has been shivering since the start and he feels and especially hard shudder, skin crawling at the reminder that, yeah, there probably is something living here. goosebumps prick up on his arms at the idea of just what could be lurking inside. ]

Dude, [ he whines, rubbing frantically at his cold arms and the goosebumps. he jogs in place, all creeped out and freezing. ] When have we ever gone into a cave and not been greeted by something nasty? Here's good enough, right? We don't have to go further in to even find out!

[She could strangle him.]

Do you really think now is the time to be intoxicated?! [She whirls around and pierces him a glare that's like the glow of Paladin's laser beams.]

I'll go. It won't do to have you falling off a cliff.

[She strides past him and pauses only for a moment to make a parting remark.]

Besides, alcohol lowers your body temperature.

[ he just shrugs his shoulders, not even answering. geez louise, someone really needs to get that stick out of her ass.

in any case, if winter begins to walk to find shelter, he'll follow, not intending on leaving her behind. he even offers her the flask. one of the few kind gestures he's ever given her. ]

How 'bout it?

[If you're interested, I can AU Mary to his time (is he Union or Confederate?), or if you feel like putting him in hers, that would be WW1. I've never done a Civil War AU of her though so that might be fun.]

[The smell invades her nostrils and the memory of woman shouting at her flashes before her vision briefly. She curls her lip and it's all she can do not to slap that thing out of his hand. Or better yet, pitch it out into the snow banks.]

No.

[It's a one worded statement but said so hostility that anyone with sense would not argue with her. She had made a promise to herself, a silent promise to her siblings, even Whitley though he was a brat, that she would never touch that poison.]

[ Staring down the business end of Chisolm's revolver isn't new, and at least half of the other men have drawn on Faraday if he caught them by surprise. The first couple of times, Faraday had stilled, watched them with narrowed eyes as he offered some quick, half-hearted joke. (Even while part of him wondered, Hell, what'd I do this time?) With time, Faraday learned it wasn't any true hostility, but a deep-seated instinct that came to them as easy as blinking, as breathing.

He only wishes they could take on a slightly less terrifying tic, is all.

This time is no different: Faraday catches the glint of metal, lets bullshit flow from his lips to properly announce his presence. His magician's patter, used to disarm the men holding guns to his face – except Faraday never expected to have to use it on the men he considered friends. ]

Oh, good. A fire and a couple'a' blankets. Suppose that means we'll last till midnight before we freeze to death.

[ A thread of humor weaves its way into his voice, despite the complaint. Snow clings to his clothing still, and Faraday pats it away, cringing when it melts and chills his skin. A quick shake divests him of the worst of it, and he trudges toward the fireplace, leaving the pile of snow to slowly melt in front of the door. There's a slight limp to his step; the bullet through his thigh, courtesy of some bastard in Rose Creek, does him few favors in the cold.

He eases himself down before the hearth, sighing with relief as the heat of the flames pushes away some of the cold. ]

The bastard we're chasin' better be worth all this trouble, Sam.

Woah— [ he holds both his hands up, still smiling, as if he's not even remotely scared despite the hostility she's showing. ] Geez, I feel like I pushed a button or something.

If you don't want it, then more for me. No need to get all angry.

[ so he downs the rest of it before putting the flask back in his coat pocket. ]

You don't need to worry about me getting drunk and acting weird. Just sayin'.

[ considering he's... always drunk, anyway. ]

[Winter could not think of enough synonyms for the word imbecile at that moment so she bottles it and continues her onward march. She pulls out a compass. Why Ironwood trusts this man is beyond her.]

It's unfortunate that there's nothing to be done to prevent you from acting like a fool. Hampering your judgment in these conditions...it's a wonder you've lived this long.

[She glances around and breaks her diatribe to access the situation.]

If I remember correctly, if we keep moving northwest we'll run into an old inn. It was abandoned after bandits besieged it, but the Grimm made short work of them. It's four walls anyway. And maybe they left something behind that we can use.

[Oh, is that how it is?

Contrary to popular belief, JJ actually likes his other competitors. He's taken a bit of a fondness to this one, even with the sharp attitude. Seeing someone so young and talented actually reminds him of... well, himself. There was a saying that most Canadians were born on the ice, so he'd been skating for quite some time. It's always nice to see budding young talent, too.

Especially because this kid has a drive. It's weird, especially because he looks so angry, but certainly that's not at JJ himself. Maybe it's just Yuri's face.

With a shrug, he takes a sip of his own drink, but sets his arm with Yuri's to rest on his thigh.] Alright. For when you're done, then.

[And a smile.] You did really well out there today.

You really don't know me that well if you think my judgment's been clouded just because I've been drinking.

[ he snorts, and starts leading the way to northwest. he's got an animal's sense of direction, so he's a lot better than this. ]

Come on, Princess. Let's not waste any time, unless you want to turn into a literal Ice Queen.

[ then he looks around. ]

No subjects here, though. Sorry to say.

I'm not royalty.

[Her tone is clipped.]

And I don't have any use for subjects. [My father is the one who likes to be fawned after.

It is strange how he seems to know where he's going. Though she supposes that if one were to spend most of their time traveling the wilderness they would pick it up. She's never asked him what exactly it is he does. If, in fact, he can tell her. It's not like she goes around talking about assignments that are classified.

And she doesn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that she's curious.]

Hey!

[noct gently swats at the unasked for ruffling! hands off the princely coif! you're ruining his precisely styled messiness, dude!

and well, his rice is edible and it's pretty hard for fried rice to not be good as long as it's not over-cooked, so he's definitely off to a great start. noct would have absolutely told him in no uncertain terms if it was inedible.

he doesn't reply right away about the homework but eats another bite or two as he shrugs.]

Mm. [swallows the bite] No way. It's more fun making you look bad.

[... actually he's just got a really busy schedule the next few days - or well, he would if not for this snow - and wanted to get it out of the way. Well, 'wanted' is a strong word. More like he wouldn't hear the end of it for a while if Ignis caught wind of him being late on an assignment with the excuse of 'not having the time to do it'. He can practically hear the words now about 'you need to learn how to organize and prioritize your time' or something.]

[Are you open to cross canon? ]

[The morning after the gala, Yuuri's jarred awake by the buzzing of his cellphone. Grumbling, he reaches for it and squints at the screen. It's a message from Phichit, who spent years as his roommate and should know better than to disturb him this early.]

Whoa! Look outside!! [Is all the text says, and Yuuri is, admittedly, curious enough to do exactly that. He's met with snow--lots and lots of it--when he pulls the curtains aside. A snow storm on this level definitely wasn't on Barcelona's forecast, Yuuri thinks dazedly.

Realizing what this might mean for their plans to fly back to Japan later that day, Yuuri skirts around his bed so he can get to Viktor's.]

Viktor. [Giving Viktor's shoulder a light touch, Yuuri waits, then tries again patiently.] Viktor, you should see this.

[ thankfully, their trek up northwest goes smoothly. they don't encounter any more grimm, nor do they meet any bandits on the way. he can't help but laugh at what their "shelter" is, though... it looks more like a haunted house, than anything. ]

Heh. This isn't even the worst place I've spent a night in.

[He kneels by his rucksack, huffing a laugh as much at 'something light' as the idea of filet mignon. The thought of any kind of meat - even the saltiest, most leathery piece of jerky - makes his gut churn needily.]

We got beans? Lots a' beans. ['A lot' being all of three cans. He plucks each food item out and sets it down to give them a better idea of how strictly they'll need to ration it out in the worst case scenario.]

An' corn. Oh, an', uh... [he squints at the label] got us some peaches drizzled in syrup, if you're feelin' fancy.

[If he gets in trouble, it's so not Noct's fault. He's not about to go telling some Niff officers 'hey I got the entire layout of your base off this ryan guy' or anything.

"Take offense" is a bit of an understatement that almost makes Noct laugh (and he supposes he's glad to know even some of the Nifs think they're hideous), but the admission to a lack of loyalty is of interest to him, and he wonders just how many in the service of Niflheim are there for lack of other options. But just as quickly he pushes the thought away. It's not something worth dwelling on now.

So he settles for nodding.]

I see. [He supposes, if one studies energy patterns, all the recent shifting of the powers that be would make things interesting. Noct shifts a little, crossing his arms. He opens his mouth to ask another question, when a muffled bang sounds, just barely audible over the wind. Simultaneously, the building shakes a little and not a half second after, the lights go out. The heater, too.

In the dark, Noct sighs.] Great.

[Ryan might hear a bit of shuffling and fumbling about with something on Noct's part before a small lamp turns on, and if he's not blinded, he'll make out Noct clipping it to his belt. Always pays to carry a flashlight, right? Saves on trying to use magic to light the way, anyway.]

SNOWED IN

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luke skywalker | star wars

Karla | Fire Emblem | OTA

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