Chapter Text
2157-AE
Jarilo-IV
Day 1 - Stranded
It was much easier to grab everything you need when you weren’t being pelted by harsh winds of ice and snow is what Sampo learned very quickly, bringing back memories of retrieving things from his homes outdoor shed when the storms got bad. His outer layers had been ripped slightly in the crash, letting in the cold far too easily, freezing anything it could get its claws into. He barely got his goggles on before icicles started to form on his lashes.
He finally stood from the collapsed hatch, legs wobbly, stiff and sore. His damp under-layers diminishing any cold his coats may have blocked and stinging his skin. His heavy pack shifted on his shoulders, digging into the sore marks left previously by his seatbelt. The strong winds forced him to keep himself upright as he began his trek in the, hopefully, right direction. The fight or flight instinct in his brain had finally manage to kick into full drive as he had finished evaluating the situation, sending him into autopilot.
He had trained for this, never with an expert, never staying in one place long enough isn’t always the best way to get someone to teach you. But with the knowledge he had ascertained in the last year of being alone, he had gotten good at keeping himself alive. What to bring, where to go and how to survive in general. He had learned to stock up on materials he’d probably never need when he found them `just incase’, this frivolity made it much easier to need more money, which in turn gave him experience in escaping bad situations. By the end of it he had usually thanked Aha at least once for the lucky breaks he faced.
But right now he was not feeling very lucky, he had just left his broken ship behind and had began to trek in a direction he couldn’t see. he could barely see himself place one foot in front of the other, unwillingly sinking into the deep snow with every step. Cold creeping up his extremities even through the gloves and boots he wore. His already shaky hands brushed some stray hairs out of his face, he felt himself stumble and fall, sinking into the snow, hitting himself in the face, which, surprise, stung too. He berated himself for not having bought a balaclava when he could. He would’ve kept his steps lighter and less chaotic if possible, but he was in no place to worry about his tracks right now anyways. If the people who lived here even came out this far, there is no way, with how heavy the snow pelting him was right now, that these tracks would even last half an hour.
A hint of dread crept into his mind, that if he even so much as fell over he would be trapped within a few minutes, or how no one would know he was out here, no one would ever find him.
Sampo had made sure there were never traces of him anywhere, even within his closest circles of Fools. He was known to disappear for long periods of time rather frequently, if anyone at all noticed he wasn’t there, they wouldn’t bat an eye. And even if they did, they’d never find him. His goals, his story and everything else about him would be forever missing from the world. He told no one his stories, he told no one his plans, he knew no one truly, never settling, never more than a faded memory, never nothing.
Caught up in these thoughts, he nearly veered right off a cliff. He stopped himself mere feet away from its edge, he needed to focus on the present situation. His breaths loud even over the wind, he peered over what he could see towards the bottom, wafts of snow being lifted by the wind beside him, falling into white nothingness. It made him feel small, but he reminded himself that he was a few days hike out from the city, and he would be there soon, out of the storm, and he could get supplies and leave.
Sampo Koski worked best alone. He knew this from a young age, being sheltered as well as not knowing many other kids, hed often gaze at the stars in his free time. Wanting anything other than the cards he was given, but not with others, just with himself. Even after he met Tovio, even after he died, and when he finally left, he never minded being alone, alone with the stars and his thoughts. Occasionally he found himself in the midst of a tavern with ecentric strangers weaving around him, making connections he had never experienced, not that he longed for them. He was a romantic, but he preferred to watch. He played his own part behind the scenes, he never *needed* connections like that. This was a different type of alone though, one he hated, the type of alone where no one would notice his death.
He clenched his eyes shut and took a harsh breath, turning back from the cliff edge, it was an honest struggle to make it back up onto the invisible path he’d been following. The cold worked well to numb most of his body enough to not feel the bruising that covered it, only his feet burned from the snow, But he *had* to keep moving. His mind though, was already suffering the effects of the storm, telling him he’d be there by sundown or that he didn’t need to stop that he could make it without rest or spinning so other crazy tale. He had to remind himself that he needed to keep moving, to find shelter. Because at this rate, he’d freeze in the midst of his minds attempt at hallucinations.
He had been walking in general direction for about an hour or so now, he needed rest and he needed food, his throat was dry and he didn’t even know whether he was going in the right direction anymore. There were times where the sun reached him briefly illuminating his path ever so slightly, never enough to warm him and never long enough to give him any true hope. But he kept walking, pain spiking up his legs and searing through his veins, his neck was sore from just trying to keep his own head up.His labored breaths, coming out in puffs in front of his face kept fogging up his goggles, he repeatedly thought about taking them off before coming to his senses once more.
So once again he kept on forward, trekking until the sun stopped peeking through the barrage of cold white-stained wind that scorched his skin. After an long while he halted for a moment, knowing well how foolish it was to stop when he felt on the verge of collapse, but with his goggles covered in a thin layer of ice that he needed to scrape off, he had no choice. He strained through the foggy lenses for a rock face to hide behind temporarily as much as he could, peering over the all-same looking landscape made even his smaller search impossible.
His mind spun from it all, he was forgetting what direction he was supposed to go in, was he even going the right way? what did the topography of his hike even look like? Sampo started to wonder if he even had looked at it beforehand. Had there been more mountains this way? did he even go through the mountains? he racked his brain, only remembering fragments of his journey thus far, the feeling eating away at his gut making it all the harder to do so. No, it doesn’t matter, because he was slipping into delirium now, he needed to ground himself before he got paranoid. Sampo took a deep breath, letting the freezing air around him pierce his lungs, nearly doubling over from the harsh sensation. The feeling blinded all the other digging pains in and on his body temporarily before letting it out. He breathed in again, his feet were completely numb now. he let out the breath, warm air pooled out in front of his frosted goggles from underneath his scarf. His eyes stung as he shut them tightly, he held them closed for a short while, knowing what he’d see when he’d open them again. The empty plains of nothing, visibly devoid of all life besides himself, merciless snow pelting him, freezing his boots in place.
That’s when he looked up, having turned slightly to his left. Looking towards a distant cliff face with a hole burrowed into it, a deep and dark spiraling tunnel. It didn’t seem manmade, far too worn at the edges with no sign of living eyes having seen it in at least a few centuries. It wasn’t hard to figure out, even in Sampo’s state that it was a cave, shelter. Maybe he was spiraling, maybe he had already succumbed to it all, but he had found something, maybe he could rest at last.
He worked to dig his feet out of the snow that had built up around his boots, stumbling slightly as he moved forward towards the hole. He could barely see it now with the state off his goggles, but he knew where it was, the dark void in the stone wall unmistakable no matter the quality of his vision. Breath brushed past him in steady clumps as his pace quickened as he neared, his bag digging into his sore shoulders as his jog transitioned into a run. He ducked into the opening with a concealed delirious smile, a exhausted laugh escaped his lips as he reached out to the cave wall, as if it would disappear before his eyes if he didn’t. He stumbled towards it, veering slightly farther into the cave. He pressed (slammed) his forehead into the wall, letting out a giddy laugh as he gradually slid down and hit the cold floor. He removed his ice-covered goggles and leaned fully into the wall of the cave, the freezing rock searing his skin and sending a tremble through him. He caught his breath as he watched as a small flurry of snow danced outside the entrance, he was safe. Safe, safe, safe, safe…safe he let the word roll around in his mind almost enough to have his tongue form the word too.
He couldn’t force himself think past that word, he couldn’t think past that because then he’d remember that it was only temporary and he’d have to be back out there tomorrow, He could only think of the fact that he had made it to nightfall. He could have died in the crash, or been hunted by some creature as soon as he set out. He winced remembering the crash, physically shaking his head to push away all the thoughts that came with it, because right now, he’s alive, and he won’t freeze if he can get his bag unpacked and start a fire. Groaning at the realization he has to stand up to set up his sleeping bag, he slowly pushed himself up onto his knees, using the cave wall as a brace.
He lets out a long sigh as he slides the bag off his shoulders, relief immediately hitting him as he rolled his shoulders out. He began maneuvering his numb legs underneath him so he could turn his body to face it, His pack was stiff and bulky and quite awkward to maneuver around this rather small space he had found. He tried to will himself to get to it but letting his head rest up against the cold wall of the cave was a much more enticing activity, so he allowed himself grace to catch his breath. Sampo did force himself to search through his open bag to grab some water, and though the thermos flask was half frozen, it was drinkable.
He leaned back again and closed his eyes, easily screwing the steel lid back on and setting it next to him. Though the chill would never go away, his hands had begun to warm up again slightly when not being used to shield his face anymore. He strained his eyes in the dark as the adrenaline once coursing through his veins slowed and lowered the veil of safety he had seen the cave as, and he would freeze if he didn’t force himself up. His thoughts swam as he dug through his bag for suitable materials to start a fire.