FSE

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The next mourning, when Jenna awoke, It was considerably colder than it had been the last few days. It wasn't an unworkable cold, but it was as cold as she had experienced yet on her quest. She stayed in her tent a while longer than usual, eating a healthy ration of dried meat, in anticipation of the day ahead. The wind was surprisingly light, which was in her favor. She pulled on all of her gear, and with a grunt, emerged into the frigid world outside. Looking down, she again found the site undisturbed. Jenna hopped down, into the pit, pick and hatchet ready, and began her work Once more. Bit by bit, she cleared away the ice on the stallion's sides. By noon, she was down to where the only ice left, was under the body. She decided to take a break, and climbed out of the pit. as she was walking back to her tent, she looked out across the ocean, a few miles to the west. Dark clouds were forming, and headed inland. At first Jenna thought nothing of it. The last few weeks traveling along the coast, had seen a few such storms. None of them ever touched land, and she figured this one was no different. She retrieved her pack from the tent, and got out some food to eat. As she ate, she watched the clouds. there was something different about this storm. It was growing darker, and had not slowed, even though it was just off the beach. Jenna continued eating, but she was growing worried. She hastily finished her meal, before she hesitantly began to reinforce her tent. The storm kept coming all the while, halving the distance to her in only minutes. The wind began to blow. It was a warm wind. It almost felt hot, compared. In the midst of her worry, she looked down at the stallions body. The snow at her feet where she stood had become softer. The warm air was melting the ice! Jenna was considering how she might remove him to safety, when a powerful gust of wind swept her off her feet. She landed unharmed on her side, and looked up at the dark swirling mass blowing over her. She could tell in her gut this was going to be a bad one, and looked around for a place to shelter. One hundred yards away inland, was a small patch of trees, and rocks. she got up and stumbled towards her tent, fear coming on, as she saw the stays beginning to pull loose. She quickly retrieved her pack, and started to run towards the patch of trees. she fell more than once making her way there. She threw herself between two trees, and looked back just in time to see her tent break free and tumble away inland. admidst the chaos, she wondered how far the tent would travel. perhaps two miles in that direction, she had navigated around a dense forest, and all she could hope, was that the wind carried it there, and not further. In her pack, she had a days worth of food, and a few odds and ends. her blankets and all were in the tent. For now though, her attention was consumed with keeping herself from blowing away. she flattened herself against the ground as the storm began a barrage of ice cold rain. Everything around her was noise. The wind and rain that pelted her back was constant. She had no idea how long the storm lasted, but at last she began to sense it was passing. By now, the cold and wet had penetrated her suit in a few places, mostly on her back. The storm faded quickly after the worst was past, and the sky was back to it's grey monotony. As she picked herself up and stood, she looked towards the storm. As it continued it's rampage towards the mainland, the strange heat it brought with it, was replaced by the usual cold. She shivered a little, looking over the landscape. it had smoothed over with the melting of the ice. She was snapped back into alertness, as she remembered the stallion. She broke into a run, back across the terrain, to where the hole had been. She looked frantically for it, having no tent or anything for reference. She knew from a few of the landmarks that she must be close, and yet her search yielded only a slight discolored patch in the ice. She sank to her knees over it. The surface had already solidified, and she knew that without her equipment, she couldn't survive another day to dig the stallion free. She reached dejectedly to her belt for the pick, only to remember that she had left it in the pit, beside the body. She stared down at the ice for quite some time, tears in her eyes, knowing that she had lost the greatest thing she had ever found, and that the chances of finding him again were slim to none. eventually, the cold began to reach her skin, and she returned her worry to her own troubles. Her suit was still fairly dry, and if she kept moving, she wouldn't freeze. That however would not be the case when nightfall came. She looked up at the sky, noting that the sun had begun it's decent already. She looked back at the ice as she stood. Even with the reality of her predicament settling on her, she longed to try again. She shook her head, brushing the tears of her face before they froze. "I'm sorry" she whispered, looking down where she imagined the stallion lay. Part of her thought it a childish gesture, but she meant it. She turned bitterly, and somewhat mechanically began making her way back along the coast, desperately hoping that her tent had lodged against the trees. She knew that without the shelter, she would be hard pressed to live through the night, let alone to ever make it back to Half peak.