Warnings: Blood

     ~Vikk's P.O.V.~

After an actually good nights sleep I'm feeling much happier in the morning. With a bit of food to run on, and a jacket to keep me warm, I no longer feel gloomy. I crawl out from underneath the small space under low pine tree branches in which Lachlan and I had rested. The pine tree in question is growing right on the edge of the open field. The end of the ravine is visible a few yards or so away. The sun is just reaching past the trees, a single zombie burning to a crisp in the distance. No clouds today... Seems like it'll be warm.

"Time to get up Lachlan, we need to get moving." I call over my shoulder, adjusting my bow so it sits comfortably.

A few minutes later and Lachlan is crawling out from our shelter, yawning and trying to fix his disheveled hair. I patiently wait for him to grab his sword before stepping out into the deep snow, sinking halfway to my knees. Whyyyy. I whine silently, dragging my leg out. Curse my shortness.

We continue on, making small talk. And a couple of hours later I hear the unmistakable growl of Lachlan's stomach. I glance at him over my shoulder, seeing his slightly pink cheeks and sheepish smile.

"Sorry Vikk, those blueberries didn't last long." He explains, laughing nervously.

     I roll my eyes and continue on, this time scouting for food. I myself am not hungry... Yet... But a little extra for won't hurt. For the moment the snow has thinned out and hardened, making so I no longer sink into its depths.

The suns rays shine brightly down on the landscape, catching on tiny icicles now dripping. Up ahead us a small stretch of forest and what's looks to be a river behind it. Passing by the trees Lachlan and I step up to the bank of the Frozen River, eyeing it with caution.

"Do you think it's safe to cross?" I question, although it's safe to assume it's not.
"With the sun being this warm today I wouldn't risk it. Let's see if we can find a way around... Or a thin part."

I nod in agreement and so instead of crossing the icy surface, we turn and follow it to the right or aka the North.

The river is needless to say huge, stretching on for a very long time. It's almost an hour later before we finally see it start to thin out, ice melting at its edges. Lachlan and I turn to face the river where it's thin enough to jump.

"You go first." Lachlan states, taking a few steps back.

I step back and taking a running start I leap into the air, safely landing on the other side of the calm water. I turn around and move out of the way just as Lachlan lands beside me, stumbling forward and face planting into the snow.

Gasping I take a step forward to see if he's okay... Until he pulls himself up. The look of absolute failure and embarrassment on his face is enough to halt me, causing me to break into laughter. Lachlan glares at me, only causing me to laugh harder, and pulls himself up huffing.

"Shut up." He mumbles, turning around.

With all my will power I bite back my laughter, only giggling slightly as I begin to walk forwards. I'm certainly surprised to run into the outstretched arm of Lachlan. I look at him in confusion and he nods forwards.

"Look over there Vikk... I think it's alone." Lachlan whispers as my eyes lay on a polar bear cub.

It's dawdling around in the snow, kicking up clumps of snowflakes and seemingly unaware of our presence. Lachlan is right, it does appear to be alone since I can not see a single other bear in sight. But that doesn't mean there aren't any. Wherever the baby is, the mother is not far behind.

Lachlan takes a step towards the cub, drawing his sword. I stare at him like he's crazy and grab onto his wrist, pulling him back.

"I really don't think that's a good idea. The mother could be right nearby, and I don't really feel like wrestling with a bear today. We should just leave it alone." I state firmly, causing him to pause in consideration.

Lachlan presses his lips together tightly, eyes darting between the wandering cub and his surroundings. Then he closes his eyes for a moment before looking me directly in the eye.

"Look Vikk, we're both getting hungry and who knows when we're gonna find another source of food. I'm going to go get that cub before its mother gets back, and we'll be outta here in ten minutes. Okay?"

I'm about to protest when my stomach growls, causing me to shut my mouth. Lachlan looks at me confidently, iron sword in hand. I sigh in frustration, rubbing my temples.

"Ugh. Fine." I muster out, Lachlan not wasting a second in dashing nimbly towards the cub.

I watch sadly as it doesn't even have a chance to squeal before Lachlan has driven his sword through its neck. You gotta eat to survive... I reason grimly with myself, watching as Lachlan drags the fresh carcass towards me.

"See? What did I tell you? That didn't even take... Ten... ..." Lachlan's sentence trails off and he stares past me, towards the river.
"The mother is behind me, isn't she Lachlan..." I say in a highly annoyed voice.
"Yep..."

I whip around, drawing my bow. I spot the giant bear, who is growling as she thunders towards me after shaking her fur from excess water. I tense up, drawing back my bowstring and sinking an arrow near her shoulder. At this point she's only ten meters away, and I fully expect her to tumble to the ground but instead she continues charging, as if the arrow isn't even there. I don't have time to pull out another arrow before she's snarling, rearing up before me. She towers above me, standing at a height dwarfing even Lachlan.

She starts to go down, huge sharp black claws lashing out. I drop my bow, holding up my arms to try and defend myself but instead I find I'm suddenly on the ground due to a forceful push. I open my eyes just in time to see the bears claws raking through Lachlan's left cheek. He wails in pain as fresh bloop springs to the surface, dropping the dead cub and rolling across the ground.

Not wasting any time I spring to my feet, retrieving my bow and notching an arrow and shooting the bear in the neck, causing it to growl in rage and pain. Lachlan struggles to pull himself to his feet, clutching his face with one hand. To my dismay he shakes before falling limply to the ground.

"Dangit Lachlan." I murmur under my breath as the bear makes me its new target.

The bear once again charges me and I use my bow to block its attack. This only results in it being knocked out of my hands and crushed under the weight of the Bears mighty paws. I swiftly pull out my sword, stabbing its chest while it attempts to lunge at me again. It snarls and pain and stumbles backwards, blood staining its off white fur. With a snort of agony and a growl the bear retreats back into the water where it disappears under the surface.

I pant heavily, watching the river closely to make sure the bear is gone for sure. Once I'm reassured it's gone I instantly redirect my attention to Lachlan, rushing to his side and throwing my sword down. With all of my strength I flip him onto his back, wincing at the sight. Three long gashes trail down his pale cheek, blood flowing swiftly down and staining his clothing along with the snow. I tear my eyes away from his face, instead gripping his arm and then touching a finger lights against his wrist. I sigh i relief when I determine he is still alive.

There's no way I can drag him forever... And we can't stay out in the open at night because mobs will attack us... So where can I go? I ponder, evaluating my immediate surroundings.

And then, a little bit down the river, I spot a bump. Gently gripping Lachlan under his arms after sheathing my sword, I slowly drag him through the snow towards what I believe to be an igloo. I smile in relief when I see the blocky structure of the seemingly abandoned igloo. I set Lachlan down just outside the entrance and peek inside.

"Hello?" I call out.

When I receive no answer I pick Lachlan back up and drag him into the icy structure, leaning him against a wall. The interior is not much. For some reason there is fire still burning at the back, but other than that there is nothing on the inside besides a lone chest. The fire immediately starts to warm my frozen skin and I take a minute to warm up my hands. Then realizing I can't just ignore Lachlan I peek inside the chest, looking for anything that I can use to patch up his wound.

All I can find is a few pieces of string and a spare crafting table. Gotta work with what you have. I pull out the crafting table, setting it down on the ground. Then taking some string I set two pieces each on four tiles of the crafting bench. A second later and the string merges together to make two pieces of wool.

With nimble hands I pull at the wool until it is stretched out. Then turning to Lachlan I tie it sideways across his face, trying to cover the entire wound. The bandage has to cross one of his eyes but there is no other way to cover the gashes. So knotting it tight I sit back, glancing solemnly at his unconscious face. Was it really worth it? ... Oh well... It's done now. I might as well go get the cub so it's not a waste...

I step back out of the igloo, mildly shocked by the sudden drop in temperature. The igloo keeps in warmth really well. I comment in my mind, retracing my steps to where the dead baby polar bear still lay. I stoop down and heave the bear into my arms, awkwardly waddling through the snow towards the igloo. Then arriving inside I skin the bear and start to roast it over the open fire. After a few minutes Lachlan stirs beside me and I turn my head towards him, watching as he slowly blinks his eyes. Or... Eye I guess. Then after taking in his surroundings he looks directly at me, guilt replacing the confusion in his eye.

"Vikk? Where are we? What happened?" He questions slowly, sitting upright.
"Well you pushed me out of the way but in return you got slashed across your face. I managed to fight back the bear and then drag you all the way here. I found some string and turned it into a bandage of sorts to patch up your wound."

Lachlan nods slowly, wincing as he pokes at the wool covering his face, blood already starting to seep through. He puts his hand back down, looking anywhere but me.

"I'm sorry Vikk. I guess I was blinded by hunger." He apologizes, twiddling his thumbs.
"It's fine. Besides..." I continue, turning to the cooking meat, "We're getting some food out of it after all."

Lachlan nods, eyeing the polar bear meat hungrily.

About an hour later the meat is done and we each take a large amount, gulping it down in large bites. With the events of the day, a full stomach, and warmth radiating from the fire, I start getting drowsy. My eye lids droop and I yawn widely, setting the leftovers to the side.

"I'm going to bed now. I certainly didn't wake up this morning thinking I'd be fighting a polar bear. Let's save some of this meat in case we run into anyone else and they haven't found anything." I state groggily, leaning comfortably against the icy walls of the igloo."
"Yeah that sounds good.... Goodnight. Oh and Vikk?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks. And again I'm sorry for fudging up."
"I forgive you. Now shut up so I can go to sleep."
"Night." Lachlan chuckles, settling into the snow.

~~~