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A compass, a mask, and a jacket.
For the first time, Clancy has experienced what winter is. And he’s uncertain whether or not he likes it yet. A trail of footsteps leads a path in the snow, and all Clancy can think about is how cold he is.
Not far from where he stands is a pond that has been iced over for nearly two months. In front of him, a trail of another pair of footsteps leads on. He sighs, his body trembling under these fairly cold conditions. As he looks up at the pale sky, snow begins to fall again.
Icy flakes soak their way through his mask, leaving a shiver down his spine. Everything around him is covered in white, including his shoulders, even with all of the dark clothing he wears. The only thing that keeps him warm is, well, nothing he can name at the moment.
As he exhales out from his mouth, a faint cloud appears and quickly disappears as he does so. A fogged breath comes out through the material that covers his entire face, except for his eyes and the bridge of his nose.
The cold air nips at his exposed skin as he pulls a compass out from his pocket, the small and circular piece of metal cold in his hands.
With his hands pale and freezing, his fingertips are tinted pink as he flicks open the compass. Pointing in one direction, East.
His hands and breath trembled almost at the same time.
Then he quickly shoves the compass back into his pocket while his legs pull him through the other side of the pale and cold forest. Small creatures scatter across the snow, leaving tiny, almost unnoticeable tracks until they come to an immediate stop.
A quiet whistle of the breeze passes right by him, which makes his body tense up and his face scrunch up as his hands bury themselves deeper into the pockets of his jacket. It's mysterious, almost, how the wind whistles and everything around him blurs into one color.
The sky, the ground, the trees, even the animals blend in. He’s the only thing in sight that does not blend in, like he doesn’t belong.
Clancy can feel his jaw twitch beneath the mask, restraining himself from letting his teeth chatter. As his feet kick up snow and drag through, he thinks about the note from Torchbearer this morning. It felt weird, but at the same time, it kept him on edge.
Meet me on the other side of the forest.
— TB
Since then, the words have done nothing but circle around in his head. He tries to think of every possibility as to why he would want him to come all the way out here; surely it can’t just be over a frozen pond, right?
His boots crunch under the snow, keeping his eyes front. Occasionally, he would look around, whether it was up at the tree branches covered in a blanket of white, or a rabbit that blended in way too well that was passing by.
The quiet and cold breeze gives an eerie feeling, he thinks. Everything around him looks the same, as if he’s been walking on a never-ending treadmill that won’t stop. While he was in Dema, before his mind began to wander, he wondered what lay outside the city walls and questioned whether the weather had changed.
In Dema, it was always overcast with grey clouds and a grey tint in the sky. When night fell, the sun abandoned the sky, and at times, some days would be colder than others. The sidewalks would ice over, get slippery even.
Clancy always thought it was something unusual and odd. Then again, the world before seemed so scary to him until he finally got to see it for himself.
A branch snaps beneath him, then he almost trips over something buried beneath the thick white blanket. He braces himself, his knees and hands sinking into the freezing surface. His hands hurt from the cold exposure, and now he wishes he would have listened to Torchbearer earlier.
As he quickly stands up, his body shivers from head to toe. But he can't help but wonder what's beneath the snow.
A beat, then two before he begins to dig up snow with his boots. Then the toe of his boot kicked something, which almost sounded like wood. Clancy kneels, pulling the object out from beneath the snow.
It takes a few tries before he dislodges it. He stumbles back, catching himself with the piece of wood in his hands, splinters press against his fingertips while he observes the object he found.
Planks of smoothed-out wood are held together, and on the bottom of the planks is a shiny, red runner that curves from one side to the other.
On the other end, Clancy finds a note strung to it. He sets it down and decides to read the tag.
If you found this, or tripped over it, then it means you're a quarter of the way there.
Now, be on the lookout for two more things.
— love you, always, TB
Clancy smiled at the note and set the sleigh down, dragging it along behind him as he began to trudge through the snow again.
The sleigh's runner left two identical lines behind him while he walked, and he grabbed his compass again while he took a quick glance at it.
Still East.
Again, he shoved it back into his pocket, guiding his way through the trees. Icicles glistened off the ends of branches, some sharper than others. Heavy and long breaths reappear through Clancy’s mask, small and misty air escaping lips.
A few birds chirp as a little bit of sun shines through the fogged atmosphere, only making the air harsher and colder. His breath trembles as a violent chill runs down his spine, a quiet “Shit,” and another puff of frosty air escapes.
In the distance, a red cardinal flies past him, going in the direction that he goes. Then it perches itself on a tree branch, making eye contact with Clancy while he looks up at it. Just below its small feet, a pair of black gloves hangs from the branch on which the cardinal sits perched.
It doesn’t take Clancy long to notice, and as he approaches the tree, he sees a small note hanging from the branch beside the cardinal's foot. The distance from the ground to the tree branch is a stretch, Clancy knows that for sure.
The written note dangles while the small and icy breeze passes through, making Clancy clench his fists in an attempt to warm his hands. He then sighs before the sled that was once in his hand makes a faint plop sound while it hits the snow.
He brings his hands up to his face, cupping them side by side, then brings them toward his mouth before he exhales into the palm of his hands while he figures out how to climb the tree. After a brief moment, he brings his hands back down to his sides.
His hands clasp around a few of the branches in reach, the bark rough against his skin as his feet hoist him up, then, when he's in arm's reach, he grabs the gloves and the note, the cardinal now long gone. He shivers as the temperature suddenly feels like it drops.
When Clancy gets down from the tree, he wastes no time slipping the gloves on. His fingertips were nearly blue. Then he reads the note that was alongside the gloves just moments ago.
As you read this, you’re probably wearing the gloves. And what did I tell you before?
Clancy rolls his eyes, a smile creeping up.
You’re as stubborn as when I met you; you’re a little over halfway there. The last thing you have to find is at the finish line. See you soon x
— TB
He shoves the second note into his pocket, picks the sleigh up, and continues to make his way through the snow. His legs grow tired and weak, and right now he wishes he could just sit. Although he doesn’t want to keep Torchbearer waiting any longer than he’s probably had to by now.
By the time that Clancy nears the finish line, the sun has already begun to set. His legs ache, and his nose feels runny with snot.
Just above the trees, he can see a faint glow of orange and smoke. The smell of wood burning not too far from where he stands, proof that life lingers amongst the now shadow-like trees. He can feel himself grinning from ear to ear as he runs across the snow, the bottom of his boots leaving scattered tracks, the sleigh held in both of his hands now.
As he reaches the end of the forest, he’s met with decorated trees, a bonfire, a couple of friends, and Torchbearer, who holds up a pair of skates in his hand.
And although his throat is dry, and his tongue sticks to the roof of his mouth, he smiles. His chest rises at an uneven pace, still trying to catch his breath after running what felt like a mile (it was a mile).
“You made it,” Torchbearer says with a smile, meeting Clancy halfway. The other man nods, that toothy grin never leaving, “I did,” Clancy breathless, “Thanks to you, obviously.”
“Oh, really?”
Clancy rolls his eyes playfully, “Yes, cause no matter what, we always find our way back to each other,” he says, something soothing in his tone. Torchbearer nods while he sets the skates down in the snow, then carefully takes Clancy’s mask off, revealing the man’s entire face now.
His thumb grazes over Clancy’s cheek, cold and almost pale with a tint of pink in them. Clancy’s eyes stay on Torchbearer, never wandering anywhere else once. Then he watches as Torchbearer laughs quietly.
“What’s so funny?” he asks. “You look like Rudolph,” Torchbearer replies, a small grin lingering as he says that. “Who’s that?” Clancy seems dumbfounded by the question he asked, but he just can’t help but wonder who or what that is.
Torchbearer shakes his head while he takes Clancy’s hand into his, “I’ll tell you later, but for now, I’m gonna show you a few things.”
“Together we go then,” Clancy squeezes his hand once as he begins to make his way toward the frozen pond, Torchbearer already following along behind him.
“Together we go, then.”