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“So much for just snow,” Aloy sleepily thought to herself as the wind howled viciously against the shelter, bringing in the smoke from her freshly blown out fire.
She snuggled deeper into her bedroll, searching for any crevice of it that could be holding heat. There was none. Her body would have to suffice on creating its own heat beneath her warmest outfit. She didn’t know how long that would last considering the wind wasn’t letting up and it seemed to be seeping slowly into her bedroll now. There was no way a fire would survive this wind and visibility was basically zero. She was stuck here, alone, with the terrifying thought of getting buried in the snow.
Then something nudged her bedroll.
It was a soft nudge at first. Another nudge followed a couple seconds later. Whatever it was managed to wedge itself beneath her just enough to push her further into the shelter. Despite the fear creeping up from the pit of her stomach, she was too cold to brave taking a look. The next thing she knew, something large laid along the length of her bedroll, pressing against her, and she no longer felt the freezing wind against her. Her curiosity suddenly outweighed how cold she was. She cautiously removed her hand from her bedroll. She didn’t have to reach far before her hand touched something furry.
Very furry. It was thick fur too. Her fingers spread cautiously to press through the fur and to the skin, which was warm. She let out a sigh of relief and nuzzled closer, a hard shiver running through her from shoulders to toes. She didn’t know how long it took, but eventually she was able to drift back to sleep, her hand never leaving the thick fur.
———
Hours passed before she awoke again, the movement of the mystery creature and the loss of its heat getting her attention. Aloy forced her eyes open, a sleepy scowl on her face as she saw the mystery creature for the first time. The only thing her sleepy brain registered was the stunning blue and gold eyes staring back at her. The claws of sleep pulled her back into its void moments later.
When she awoke for the second time that morning, squinting from the early morning sun, she discovered she was alone again. Based on where the sun was in the sky, she had slept in a couple hours later than normal. She obviously needed it since she felt better than several hours before, when her mystery savior first appeared. The memory of the warm creature was more than enough to make her move from her bedroll, taking a moment to properly stretch before she made her way out of the shelter. She came to a halt when she nearly kicked the body of a dead bighorn sheep laid beside the entrance of the shelter. One look at the body told her it wasn’t killed by a human, but an animal. A big one, to be exact. She then noticed a couple of large paw prints — as large as her hand, she realized upon a brief comparison when she opened her hand and spread her fingers out — leading away from the dead body to the stool on the other side of the fire. In the flat ground beside the stool was a roughly scribbled message:
“Stay safe” - M
And a paw print.
Aloy couldn’t stop the small smile that pulled at the corners of her mouth. The kindness of the mystery creature was equally touching as it was appreciated. That smile quickly disappeared when a realization creeped in: animals don’t write.
What the hell had slept with her through the night?