Warnings: Description of Little Lachy's poor face :(

     ~Lachlan's P.O.V.~

"Owww..." I hiss quietly, my face stinging like crazy.

This day has so far brought good news and bad news. The bad news is even skimming my fingers over the wool covering my wound makes it hurt like there's hundreds of needles lodged in my cheek. But the good news is because of the fire, still burning brightly, my core temperature is back up to normal.

"Great job Lachlan, you played yourself." I mumble bitterly, pushing myself up.

I turn to face Vikk who's curled up in a corner near the blazing fire. I glance at the fire momentarily, wondering how the ice hasn't melted form the heat, before kneeling in front of Vikk.

"Vikk get up, we could reach the mountain today if we hurry up." I say, poking his head.

He groans and I turn away, starting to gather up my items. Grabbing the leftover food and stuffing it in my hoodie pocket, I shuffle out of the igloo and wait for Vikk. A few seconds later he's shuffling through the entrance.

"Ready to go?" I check, receiving a nod in response.

Using my hand to shield my exposed eye I glance into the sky, and by using the suns position I redirect us West. West happens to be back into the sprawling forest and so, we step into said forest continuing our journey to the fast approaching mountain.

Vikk and I stay silent, not really sure of what to talk about. After all, what was there to talk about? Well... I do have one question... I remind myself, preparing my words.

"Hey Vikk? I have a question..."
"Shoot."
"Well... What are we actually gonna do when we reach the mountain? I mean obviously we're gonna look for everyone else but... Say we did find everyone. What then?" I question, my steps not faltering.
"Ummm... I don't really know... I guess we'll have to see when we find everyone. I guess eventually we either have to find another village to move into or perhaps make our own. We'll see." Vikk replies, obviously unsure of his opinions.

I nod in consideration and thus another period of silence follows.

After a long time Vikk clears his throat, coming up beside me to catch my attention. I stop, turning to face him.

"I need to go to the washroom. I'll be right back okay?"
"I'll be here." I confirm, watching for a second as he runs off to find a private area.

In the meantime I glance around the area rather bored. Then a small glimmer catches my eye and I move a few meters to find a small puddle of melted now, sitting directly under the sunlight.

Peeking over the edge I see a reflection of myself, the first one in quite a few days actually. I look terrible... I comment silently, taking in my matted hair, blood stained hoodie, and reddish wool. I wonder how bad the gashes are... I ponder, subconsciously reaching for the knot tied at the back of my head. I begin to untie it and after some minimal difficulty, along with touches of searing pain, I finally manage to pry the wool from my face. I lean back over the puddle and gasp. I didn't think it was that bad!

Three long deep gashes run down my left cheek, reaching almost my eye all the way down my jaw. The wound is slightly scabbed and the skin around the marks are irritated and red, swelling up slightly. My eyelid is lightly closed due to the closeness of the middle gash. I'm lucky the bear didn't hit my actual eyeball. Bits of wool are stuck to the slightly bloody skin, accompanied by tiny bits of dirt.

Feeling nauseous at the sight I step away from the puddle, redoing the wool just as Vikk returns.

"You okay Lachlan?" He questions, nodding towards my head.
"Yeah..." I mumble weakly, turning away.

At this point Vikk must be staring at me in worry but thankfully he doesn't prod the topic, instead following silently behind me as I continue on.

Since I tampered with the wound it is now stinging more than even and I wince trying to ignore the pain. Instead I try to distract myself with the surrounding trees and bushes, taking in random details that I won't ever remember in an attempt to dull the pain.

Before I even realize it we're strolling through a small clearing. At this point I'm staring intently at my feet, oblivious to the large mountain stretching in front of me.

"Woah.... Lachlan look how big that thing is..." Vikk says in amazement.

I stop walking and glance over the trees to see the huge mountain towering before us. From where we stand I'd guess it's only about a mile away. The peak is breaking through the clouds and for the upper third of the rocky surface it slants upwards sharply. Extremely large clumps of snow litter the top of the mountain, some parts breaking off. That is a real good spot for an avalanche to occur. We'd better be careful.

"There is no way we're gettin to the top of that..." Vikk states, eyes drifting over its rocky cliffs.
"I suppose we'll just have to try our best to get as high as possible, yeah?"
"Yep."

Taking a few more minutes to scan the mountain we start off again, the sun now only a quarter of the way in the sky. As we slowly begin to near the mountain the trees gradually thin out until the once lush forest turns into a slim stretch of rocky ground in front of the mountain half an hour later. I glance up in awe at the giant, looking for possible for holds or rest areas along the way up.

"Should we look for everyone else or stay the night here and start climbing in the morning?" I wonder out loud.
"Nah we should look for everyone else once were at the top. Remember, Mitch said to meet at the peak. So even if we can't make it all the way up let's stick to the plan. Besides, there will be less ground to cover once we're up there." Vikk reasons.

I consider the options myself and agree too, that staying on the ground for the night is the favourable plan. Now there's the question... Where to go?

Vikk and I evaluate the area, looking for something to guide us in a general direction. I take note of random things as I continue to glance around. The way the snow glimmers in the sunlight, the branches of spruce and pine weighed down with lumps of snow, the array of different minerals embedded in the rocky cliffs, faint footprints pressed into the nearby snow, the pointy icicles hanging from beneath almost everything. Wait.

"Hey Vikk take a look at this." I direct, approaching the indents in the snow covered dirt.

Two sets of footprints are faintly visible in the snow just inside the tree line. After the ground becomes visible the footprints disappear, leaving no clue on what direction the people were heading. And judging by the distinct set of two tracks, one set being noticeably smaller, I decide it's safe to say there were two people passing by here. And not long ago as well. I note, seeing the particular way the snow is settled around the indents.

"Do you think Mitch and Jerome passed by here?" Vikk considers, pretty much summing up my thoughts.
"Yeah I think so. From where we were, these tracks were on the left. And when we encountered them they were on the opposite side of the ravine... The left." I affirm, connecting the dots.
"Plus," Vikk adds, "You can tell by the distance between each step that it must have been Mitch and Jerome, the difference would equal just about their leg lengths."
"Since when did you begin noticing leg lengths and how to determine them by distance between steps?"
"Since never. I literally just made that up because it makes me sound smart."
"You little jag."
"Hey, but it kinda matches up. I mean the distance between the steps in their tracks are about the same and Mitch and Jerome are pretty close in height." Vikk defends.
"Alright... I'll admit that much is true." I sigh, standing back up, "Not that it matters much anyways right now. The sun is setting so we have to find a shelter quickly." I point out, glancing up into the darkening sky.

Vikk nods and we continue on our small trek at the base of the mountain. But with the last few minutes of daylight fading fast we settle for a small nook behind some boulders at the foot of the mountain. Scaling the rocks we scoot into the small space, providing us with rock walls on all sides... A good barrier against mobs. And although rock isn't the softest material I pay no heed in the rugged edges for I am far too tried to care.

"Night Vikk." I breathe out, falling asleep before he even replies.

~~~