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Dimitri takes heavy steps through the snow that reaches above his knees and climbs higher the longer the blizzard blows around them. The ice is starting to stick to his eyelashes and the hair blowing around his head. Behind him he drags a sled with one arm, the other holding his lance to stab into the ground in front of him every so often, checking beneath his feet for any changes in elevation. That was what had gotten them into this business in the first place; Dimitri knew how to contend with the ice and snow of northern Faerghus, Edelgard did not.
They had been hiking for a time before the storm hit and though Dimitri kept his bearings to steer them in the direction of the lodge they were staying in, it was slow going with Edelgard unaccustomed to the weather. A slip on the ice had stopped them for too long. Edelgard had fallen and wedged her heel in a tree's root beneath the snow, twisting it horribly. It might even be broken, though neither of them have a healer's eye to tell. With the snow starting to pick up and Edelgard's energy already waning Dimitri had done the only thing he knew to do.
Privately Edelgard is rather impressed by his ability to tear down pine branches and fasten them into a sled. Despite the sticky, prickly feeling at her back it was almost comfortable. He's wrapped her in his long blue cape with the fur pulled tightly around her face and tied her body carefully to keep her secure while he took them to safety. She may doubt Dimitri in a lot of ways, foolish as he is, but she doesn't know snow like him. In this situation she's forced to trust that he is capable.
She doesn't know why she let him talk her into a trip so far north in the first place. As she glides over the snow she thinks of how warm Enbarr is this time of year. She dreams of a warm beach and a fresh fruit cocktail with a little paper umbrella. It's too fearsome out to complain at Dimitri from where she lies, to blame him for all of this, and the cold is making her feel too weak. Dimitri has bundled her up as tightly as he can, insulated the space between her and the ground with pine, but he knows if he doesn't get them to safety soon they may not make it back.
The king knows that there is a hunting cabin somewhere between where they are and the more impressive lodge they are staying at built for the royal family. He has to pinpoint where it is before the storm makes him lose all sense of direction. He has to stay calm, keep his wits about himself, and focus. It is not the first storm he has weathered but it is the first storm he has had someone else to protect and keep safe. Snow falls heavily from the branches of a tree nearby as they break under the weight of it and crash to the ground. Dimitri veers away from the direction to keep from anything overhead coming down on top of them and moves forward.
"Dimitri," he hears her behind him, faintly over the wind. "Dimitri—"
"It was only a tree branch," he calls back to her without stopping, "don't waste your energy bleating at me right now, El."
Of course he thinks she wants to bitch at him. It doesn't mean he has to be rude. She breathes out against the fur, grinding her teeth against the pain of her ankle throbbing. They have splinted it as best they could with a branch and cloth but again, neither of them had the healing touch. It's one thing they are both woefully inexperienced in. Maybe after this Edelgard will attempt to change that.
"Just— be careful, then."
She's worried, he can tell. She tries to hide it but she can't in a situation like this. He presses onward, adjusting his grip on the sled rope. It's cold, he tries not to think about it. Once it settles into his mind it will settle into his body and make it harder to move. He keeps his thoughts on his blood pumping under his skin as he hurries to their destination, that has to account for some kind of heat. He has flint in his pack, he’ll be able to start a fire as soon as they get there. He will be able to keep her warm and safe until the storm passes and they can make it the rest of the way.
It is that hope in his heart that keeps him steady on, and the only thing that lets them make it there. He no longer has a madness in him keeping him alive out of spite. This time he does it for her. Dimitri drags her all the way inside the cabin, lifting the side of the makeshift sled to get it through. She groans at being jostled but as soon as the door is closed and the whipping wind stops lashing at them it's a relief.
"El," Dimitri is covered in snow when she opens her eyes to look up at him. Icicles cling to his hair and the stubble on his face. His remaining eye is a stormy blue today, befitting the weather. She's shivering so badly when he unties her from the sled that she can't lift her arms to brush the snow away from him. All she does is shake and draw her limbs closer to herself under the cape, crying out sharply when she moves her injured leg and the pain rips through her. How could she have forgotten? "El," Dimitri says, "stay with me. We'll be warm soon."
He can't let the cold take him too, he has much more to accomplish to keep them safe. Dimitri's teeth chatter together as he leaves her in the middle of the floor on the cabin and takes in his surroundings. There's a bed, a fireplace, a chair and a cedar chest. Bare bones, like most Faerghan hunting cabins. They were just for purposes like this, to stay in from the cold or to stay overnight if it got too dark to make it back to a campsite or lodge. He shakes the snow out of his hair like a dog and wheels his arms around a moment or two to put the feeling back in them. He opens the cedar chest first, knowing the last hunting party may have been kind enough to leave supplies. He thanks the Goddess when he finds two quilted blankets inside, dusty but dry and free of bugs.
When he pulls at the edge of the cape around her Edelgard fights him instinctively to stay warm but she's weak like this. "It's soaked, all of you is soaked. You need to get out of it."
She thinks he sounds deranged before remembering they made it to the cabin. Had she dozed off again? With his help the cape is peeled off of her, then the clothes underneath. Her ankle looks worse, bruised and swelling, and she has to swallow a bark of pain while he adjusts the splint to keep it tight. He rolls her into the quilts like a carpet and lays her down in front of the fireplace. He pulls the metal screen back from the hearth with a scrape against stone. Edelgard hears a crash when he takes the chair by a leg and slams it into the ground to break it, he doesn't even need to use his crest.
"Dimitri, honestly…"
"The pine is too wet," he grunts, taking a piece of the chair and the hunting knife from his waist belt. "I can't use it for a fire." He starts to whittle it down into pieces, sitting next to her on the floor.
"Oh, a fire…" Her eyes flutter open. Even as cold as it is in the cabin, out of the elements she finds herself becoming more aware. The rafters of the single room are exposed above her, the black wood creaking in the wind. She turns her head to watch Dimitri work. He’s brushed more of the snow off of himself but she still worries for him, she can see his jaw clench and jerk. His hands are shaking as he makes kindling for the fire but it is not the worst state she's seen him in.
She's known Dimitri has these sorts of skills. Nobody could survive like he has without them. Seeing him do all of this with his hands, for their survival, was… it makes him look handsome as he leans down over the kindling with the flint and his knife. She had been raised around such stuffy nobles all her life, doing these sorts of things seems so— manly to her. Roguish. Her arms feel locked up against her chest still but she wishes she could reach out and touch him.
Fire crackles as it ignites. Dimitri breathes out in relief, adding more kindling to the pile to let it grow before building the pieces of the broken chair around it. Even as small as it is at the beginning, the warmth makes a difference right away. He gets up off the wooden floor and she watches him go back to the sled to shake snow off of the cape and hang it on the hooks near the hearth. It will be a third blanket once it dries. Then he props their boots up nearby, and she watches him undress.
They wear less armor these days, the leather and cloth of his clothing comes off easily without help and he drapes their things over the cedar chest. She doesn't know if it's silly or attractive, watching him shiver naked in the cold. He stands the sled up against a wall then finally takes the bed from across the room and pulls it closer to the fire.
"You should at least lie here."
"You should at least get in these blankets, Dimitri."
His teeth are still chattering, "I know."
It hurts again, maneuvering around with her ankle the way it is but she isn't compelled to fight him this time. The fire is warm against her face and her skin when the fabric comes away. He lays her down on the bed first and then gets in beside her. It's a bit small for a man of his size and the heather in the thin mattress is dry and needs to be replaced but between it and the fire it’s a luxury compared to freezing to death.
When he pulls the blankets tightly around them she can finally seem to move, curling her arms around his chest and pressing tightly to him for warmth. Her heart seems like it’s racing suddenly but when she feels his big arms press around her and hold her tight it calms her down.
Her voice is small when she finds it again, head tucked under his chin. "Thank you, Dee."
The heat of Edelgard's body is incredible. He starts to calm down too with her pressed to his chest, tucked safe and sound. Her ankle would be dealt with when they got back, at the very least they would be warm until the morning. If they ran out of wood he could just use the bed frame and put the mattress on the floor. He breathes out against the top of her hair, and slowly his hands stop shaking. The tension starts to leave his muscles and he feels the exhaustion start to settle in. The danger has passed, he can try to rest. It’s difficult for him, especially out in the wilderness as they are. The darkest days of his life had occurred out alone in the forests of his homeland, it made his mind go mad with paranoia.
"Relax, Dimitri." As her own body starts to heat up against his, Edelgard decides it's her turn to care for him, despite her pain. She runs her hands up and down his back, fingernails grazing into his skin just so, the way he likes it. She turns her head to press her cheek to his chest, and her violet eyes look up at him. "I'm fine now… Really. Thanks to you."
Dimitri sighs and opens his eye to look at her. He's taken off the patch from his face to dry with the rest of the clothes. She knows he doesn't think it, is embarrassed of it if she voices it aloud, but she finds the scarred socket makes him look ruggedly handsome. She pulls a hand from his back and lifts it to cup his jaw, rubs his chilly face with her warmer palm.
"You'll have a beard by tomorrow," she smiles.
"And you'll want me to shave it as soon as we're back." He kisses her thumb as it travels closer to his mouth and she leaves it there, stroking gently against his chapped lips. In her bag still sitting near the sled is beeswax she will have to put on him come morning. “Don’t you hate it?”
“Hmm…” Edelgard studies his face a moment more, lashes fluttering. She’s feeling exhausted too. She rubs his stubble again, then tucks hair behind his ear to push it out of his face. He always lies on the side with his bad eye, which she understands, but she doesn’t like him to hide. “Out in the snow I think I like it. Very handsome.”
Dimitri snorts derisively and she pinches his chin gently before moving her hand back down to the warmth of his chest. There’s hair there too, pale and blond, and she curls as tightly as she can against him with her leg splinted and in pain.
“You should sleep, El.”
“So should you, Dimitri.”
They’re both too tired to argue about it.