Private Tales On Snow & In Stone

[Weylin Kyrel]

The Spine was high rocky peaks littered by trees, where they could even grow. It had snow year near the clouds so it was no surprise that white powder covered most of it during Winter. The season of the long sleep was always tough in the Spine. The feral land was hard enough to survive in when resources were plentiful for a hinterland and it only got worse when they became more scarce. Getting lost or forgetting to prepare enough food ahead of time was deadly in this season, even if Spring was slowly waking everything up.

This land was Weylin's home so he had known how bad it could get. For that reason he had turned an old dwarven ruin he had found into a winter camp. It was either an outpost or a farm or hunting lodge. He didn't know enough about dwarves to say what exactly it was. All he knew was it had rooms made from thick stone with a still sturdy roof covering the whole thing. It kept the weather out and kept any warmth in. That already was enough to make it perfect for his needs but it also contained a firepit that could be used to smoke meats. Weylin had plenty of smoked meat and could smoke anymore he obtained. The hunter and his dog were in paradise over the hardest season for once since he lost his home and family.

Weylin sat by the firepit with a low flame softly popping in it. He was working on his cloak with a bone needle and thread made from animal sinew. A big, fluffy mountain dog laid not far away sleeping. White would kick or whimper every so often as she dreamed of a challenging hunt. Her human just let her be. Nothing was wrong in their world for once. There was no dragon or giant or living corpses to deal with. Nothing was expected of him or his companion but to enjoy the quiet evening soaking in the warmth of a for once big fire.

 

[Celestina de Bellis]

The Spine.

Celestina hadn't been back here since her birth. And she only knew that after prying it out of her caretaker's mouth during a rather angry argument when she was just a child. The rest of her heritage was unknown, but something about the spine enthralled the woman. Maybe it was just the cold that made her skin and scales shiver.

Or maybe it was the beautiful, snow covered forest.

Either way, the young woman was not happy anymore. She had went to gather some herbs and fruits, strolling through the snow-covered forest before a brief blizzard appeared.

And some hours later, she found herself lost. Away from the Caravan and with no trail to return herself too. Her arms were held close to her body as her stomach growled - and she did the only thing she knew to do. She kept walking, with the hope that she'd eventually end up back at the caravan. Wearing a simple dress, she leaned against a tree with a sigh as her tail swayed.

"Crap..."

Weylin Kyrel

 

[Weylin Kyrel]

The wonderfully warm silence continued. The needle and thread of animals worked in and out of the thick leather cloak. Weylin enjoyed the busy work in these calm moments. It was simple, necessary, and familiar. It reminded him of more pleasant events. Ones before spilling blood. Ones were death of life was only done to fuel the lives of others. Ones before flames and ash and screams in the air.....

His hands had stopped working for a moment as his mind had drifted. White's eyes had opened sometime in it and were on her human with concern. Another pause of melancholy where her human was not himself or perhaps too much himself. Weylin shifted his weight a bit and refocused on his work. He had sewn the same spot twice and needed to fix his mistake. He pulled out his knife to cut the sinew thread.

================================

Smoke rose above the snow. The only sign that the dwarven ruin existed. It was a promise of warmth and salvation for the lost. It would be easy for Celestina de Bellis to see from where she had gotten lost. If she followed it like a guidepost then she would find herself at the ruin within ten or twenty minutes, depending on how quickly she could move through the snow. Those of the Spine knew the tricks by heart but outsiders would find it to be hands clinging to their every step to impede them as long as possible.

 

[Celestina de Bellis]

Celeste's blue eyes, luckily, caught sight of smoke rising to her northeast. It was a bit uphill, but probably not too far of a walk. And the thought of a fire... Warmth. It made her skin and scales crawl with joy. Indeed, she really hoped she wouldn't get frostbite on her toes. But they were probably the warmest part of her, with the boots she wore.

Either way, Celestina continued the trek towards the smoke. Although, she realized she was going slower and slower. Mostly, she was just so cold.

A stone lodge laid in front of her eyes, the smoke escaping out of a small chimney. "Help," she whispered as she trudged through a few feet of snow. It took her another few minutes, but she made it to the wooden door - and beat on it. "Help!" She said coarsely, her lips dry from a lack of water.

The door seemed locked, or maybe blocked. But if someone was in there... Otherwise, she was just going to have to curl up right here.

Weylin Kyrel

 

[Weylin Kyrel]

The mistake was quickly fixed. It was easy enough to get new thread into the cloak. But Weylin was a little irritated at himself for making such a basic mistake still. He doubled down on his focus on the sewing and blocked out the world around him. This was not the same for the napping dog. Unlike her human, White still stayed on alert despite how relaxed she was with her nap. Her ears moved around in tune with sounds, but it was not so much out a sense of threat as just idle instinct.

Things changed however as White's ears suddenly picked up a noise that she knew to be feet in snow. She opened up her eyes and looked in the direction they were coming from: the door. A low growl began to form in her throat even before the sudden knock on the door and yelling began. With it she was up and already stalking her way to the wooden thing that blocked out the weather.

Weylin did not pick up on any of this however. He was so focused that when the knocking and yelling began he jumped out of surprise. The tip of the needle went straight into the end of his nearest finger which got a wince out of the young man. He frowned deeply as he pulled it out and stuck it into his pin cushion. Grabbing his hatchet, he moved quietly to the door and braced himself. He took some time to judge the situation but there wasn't much to take in. There wasn't much more to do so he looked to White who looked back and knew what her human wanted. She took up a position she could easily flank anyone who invaded her doorway.

Weylin slowly reached forward and then suddenly jerked the door open. As he did he held the hatchet up in a ready state to defend himself as he said in as authoritative of a voice as he could, "State yourself and your intentions!"

Celestina de Bellis