The morning sun caught me off guard. Snow reflected it brilliantly in the cave where I rested, and I slowly realized I had fallen asleep at some point. Stomach growling, I dug what was left of the fish out of the snow and pulled a few straggling chunks off of it. Nothing great, but it was enough to get the body going. I had three things set before me. First, find more food. I suspected making something a bit better than a rock would help. binding would be tricky, but the rest I could scavenge pretty easily. Second, better clothing. I didn't like the expectations of that one. Without good binding, tree leaves wouldn't work great, so the next best option was... hunting. I recall some steps to make hide work for clothing, and the several creatures out here I had seen had plenty thick fur. I just have to... be careful of the howling creatures. Possibly harder than I'd like. Which is why I also need to see if *anyone else* is out here. Maybe they found a way to survive. Maybe I'm not alone out here. Pushing a few branches aside, the sun bared down with it's full force. My skin froze, but the sun's rays were warm none the less, and I took a moment to just enjoy the feeling. A snuffle nearby finally broke my trance. Some sort of pig? Large and harry. Brown. Had tusks, so not great for messing with. But if I caught it off guard, and with the right tools. Right, tools. I scooped up the rock and found a nearby tree. As I spent some time chopping a new branch down, I noticed a few of the smaller pigs approaching. They seemed unphased by my presence, but if mom was nearby I could be in trouble. I worked as fast as I could, freeing the branch from the tree, and hulling it back towards my cave. Using a second rock, I managed to nap away a bit of an edge, and took to chopping and shaping the branch as best I could. It wasn't great, but by the end, I had a somewhat serviceable spear. And a shocking number of small berries from the tree. Peaches? They weren't quite the same shape, but the pigs had been nibbling on them before. I took one from the small pile I had setup and gave it a small lick. No sign of rot or poison, not that it would be clear immediately. Biting into the tip, it was juicy. And sweet. surprisingly sweet! I finished the rest slowly, savoring every bite. I don't think I've had something that sweet in... right, no idea. Memory loss sucks. It was never clear what I would remember and what would be just a hole. I hated that. Still, I had some extra food, and a spear. Sorry mama pig, but survival is a must. They were fast. Very fast. And strong. I ended up on my ass more than I cared to admit, and eventually the whole group had scurried away. At least no major wounds yet, just very minor bumps. With the white stretching on, I decided I needed a better vantage point. An outcropping nearby seemed suitable, so spear in hand, I marched over. On the way, I saw a few more of the pointy hat creatures, along with a massive hole I nearly fell into. Landmarks would be very useful in the future. Maybe I could remember where this one was. Ooooor, I could remember the large pink tents. My heart skipped a beat. Humans! Other people! I'd be ok. Oh that brought joy to me. I doubted we'd share a language, but humans have some universal truths to them, so I wasn't worried. Food, shelter, a chance to maybe clean up and get some proper winter clothing. A group of them had congregated near the edge of town. Some kind of event? No... they had their own weapons. Maybe they weren't friendly to outsiders. I hesitated. Or maybe they're under attack! I'd already started to run low on energy, so I took a bit to make my way over. "Help those in need." An oddly familiar voice flashed in my head. No idea where it came from, but I could immediately tell why it was there. Cornered by the humans, a small, white fox kit was cowering, bleeding from several locations. Looked like it had an injured paw, and was terrified. Human or not, I couldn't watch the creature get attacked. My blood began to pump, and I moved into the group, startling many of them, and placing myself between them and the pup. "What! Who are you?! Move out of the way! We must exterminate this demon!" That answers the language question, but I stayed put. A spear glinted and approached my chest. Scooping the kit up, I rolled out of the way. Not leaving a moment for words or steel, I bolted back down the mountain. I had *no idea* what I was doing. An abandon fox, now shivering in my arms. The first humans I see, and I get in the way of... whatever it was they were doing. ...They were killing it. Was I making a mistake? Had I just put myself and them in harm's way? Looking down at the kit convinced me. There was no way this creature was going to hurt them. It was just a pup, terrified of the large human holding it. As soon as I was far enough away, I slowed down. "Hey... are you ok?" I was talking to the damn thing like it understood me. There was a small whine in response, but the shivering didn't stop. "I'm gonna set you down so I can check your injuries, ok?" I was a fool if I thought I wasn't going to have to fight this thing to check it over. A damned fool, but somehow right. It made no attempt to leave, just a small howl. Hopefully that was getting it's mother's attention. Thankfully what looked like the largest wounds were just fur coloring, whisps of red... floating off of it. Odd. Checking it closely, a few small cuts were present, but the largest was on it's side. Large enough to get infected bad, and I doubted it was going to survive. I tore a small section off my shirt and wrapped it up. Not great, as I couldn't clean it, but at these temperatures, binding the wound probably provided the best chance for healing. wrapping it carefully around the fox's torso, the kit mewled and grumbled, starting to wiggle.. "Hey hey, this is gonna keep it from bleeding. Please, let me finish." It's golden eyes stared directly into my own, but for it's part, it stopped wiggling, going surprisingly silent. Tying the bandage up, I gave the pup a pat, and set it on the ground. "Can you walk ok?" It wandered in a circle, then gave a yip. Smart fox. The rest of the morning was spent wandering the frozen land, seeking out the kit's parents. I had no idea what to look for, and the kit seemed content on just walking along at a slow pace. Must have been nice having all that fur. A cold gust blew against me, and I felt the cold sink into my bones. A day and a half. I guess I can be proud of that, given what I was dropped into. I think maybe if I had a second chance, I'd do things a bit different. The cold got deeper, and I felt my spine crawl. Unnatural cold. The kit yipped and ran behind me. I almost didn't want to even turn around. Almost. The fox before me was huge, maybe 2 feet taller than myself. Yellow eyes pierced with red pupils. The thing nightmares are made of. It's mane was a wild mess, flowing in a breeze only felt by itself, red tips along the fur. The coloring matched the pup, but it stood on two legs. And the wounds. Massive gashes along it's arms and legs, still slightly dripping. If it was in pain, it wasn't showing it. Dark red claws dangled from massive paws. The pup yipped and growled, and the creature growled in response. I just watched in horror, unable to move. The cold was trying to get me, but whatever this was... I stared into it's eyes, and understood the other human's fear. Death stared back, and time felt frozen. The events of yesterday started flashing before me, when a sudden bump to the back of my leg snapped me back. The kit was headbutting my leg, and the larger fox was standing ahead, looking back at me. It threw it's head forward, as if gesturing me to follow. I felt my legs instinctively move. Whatever this creature wanted with me, I wasn't about to argue. Best case, a few more hours of life. Worst case... it really hadn't attempted anything yet, so I didn't bother to consider that. The walk was somewhat short, eventually guiding me to one of the large holes in the ground. The kit hopped down, while the parent gestured for me to follow. It was a deep hole, and there was no way I was getting back out on my own, so I shook my head. "I'll stay here. As long as the kit is safe, I've done my best." I barely finished before I found myself scooped up. Seems that was the wrong answer. It dropped down the hole, and I found myself staring down another of the large creatures. Was this their den? I tried to remain still, but the fear of what awaited me was building. When I was finally released, it took all my will not to just scramble away. The entrance was a sheer cliff, and I had no hope of escape. Best not to anger my new hosts. Growls and grumbles were exchanged, but eventually one brought something to me. A... sack? it was just a pelt tied up, but I could just make out a large number of berries on the top. The large creature held the sack in it's claws, paws stretched out to me. "For... me?" It gruffed back at me, nodding. Whatever these were, they understood me enough to respond. I placed a hand on the offering, lifting it out of their paws. "t-thank you?" They tussled my hair, a small growl escaping. There were a few more growls and gruffs, and within a few minutes, I found myself hoisted back out of the hole. The whole thing was a bit surreal and bewildering. Before they left, they pointed off in a direction, almost directly away from where my cave had been. I had no idea why, but I gave them a nod and started walking. Whatever was out that way, surely the creatures of this land were better trained than I. -- [Prev](./Chapter%201.md?v) | [Next](./Chapter%203.md?v)