Cloud trudged forward, his knees and lower legs kicking snow to either side as he walked towards the towering glacier wall. He was breathing heavy, the cold icy air burning his lungs as he strained to make progress, he would push forward regardless. Reaching the edge of the glacier Cloud took a moment to look up, surveying the best path to climb, making mental notes of hand and foot holds, and just marveling at the beauty of the thing, the pale blue ice mirroring his Mako infused eyes. ” Let's just get this over with and make for that cabin, someone was clearly there and they'll surely point us in the right direction. ” Cloud said to Raiden and Tsuna as he turned for a moment, pointing to the visible dark plume of smoke directly overhead, though roughly three hundred feet up. ” Make sure to give each other space. ” Cloud finished as he reached out and grasped a jagged shelf of ice and began to pull himself up The climb seemed endless as he moved forward, taking a moment every now and then to look down to see how far he had climbed, as well as to keep and eye on both Raiden and Tsuna below. Cloud found the climbing to be hard but not impossible, you just had to take your time, and as he reached the top and climbed up from a tall cleft in the ice he found himself in the snow again, the cabin twenty meters ahead.
Snow opened her eyes, staring up into darkness. It was highly unusual for her not to be able to sleep but, tonight, she was having difficulty. She slid the covers off of her naked body and climbed up onto her feet, her hands immediately finding the long-sleeved, full-bodied, silk, white robe that was hanging beside her bed. Even in this pitch black darkness she was able to find her way around effortlessly. She walked down the stairs, still bare foot, as she tied the belt around her waist, concealing her naked flesh, and then switched on the light in the kitchen. Perhaps a hot drink would soothe her vivid mind. The storm outside provided ambience to the warmth of the inner cabin. She looked out across the expanse of snow that surrounded the cabin. The beaming moonlight provided enough light to expose the surrounding area. That's when she noticed movement just ahead of the cabin. Instantly, Snow shut off the lights and ducked beneath the window, her eyes in line with the windowsill so she could just see where they were positioned. Visitors at this hour was never a good thing.
CM-3 look up as he climbed the ice wall. Cloud was right, the smoke seemed controlled so someone was most likely back. Using his sword and free hand, the climb required effort, but not too much for CM-3. The chilling wind that swept by the wall felt slightly refreshing on CM-3's skin, but required more concentration so he didn't fall. The wind nor wall could stop the experiment from reaching the top.
As CM-3 came up over the wall, he view a flash of light from inside the cabin. The light wasn't on long meaning it was most likely turned off due to Cloud being seen. The element of surprise was gone. Helping himself up over the ledge, CM-3 wished he had kept his cane sheathe for a moment, but nothing he could do now and kept his sword low in his right hand, waiting for Raiden to get up before moving.
Raiden followed through his friend's trail to the best of his ability, easing his own passage through the thick snow. Once they reached the glacier wall, which appeared far larger at this distance, the carnage in the tower lobby flashed before his eyes. Raiden couldn't shake the images no matter how hard he tried, nor could he rid himself of the fear that more of the same awaited them. When he finally regained his senses the others had already started to scale the icy wall. “Fuck,” he quietly cursed under his breath. In spite of the fears that haunted him he started to ascend the jagged surface of the glacier wall. It wasn't an easy task, to say the very least, but with a steady pace he soon managed to reach the summit. Once he was at the top he moved over to the group, and folded his arms while staring curiously at the cabin. “I think we should knock?” Raiden questioned with a chuckle, before starting toward the cabin's door before the others had the chance to say anything. Raiden wasn't sure if the kind of person who lived so far away from civilization like this could be trusted, and he wasn't in the mood to see his own fears become reality.
The illuminating glow from the cabin suddenly went dark as Cloud and the others neared, clearly someone was home and had spotted them. Cloud's mind raced, the fact that the lights were turned off was not a welcoming act, but they needed out of the cold. His eyes shifting to his allies, he waited a moment, thinking, before answering Raiden's question. ” I guess we have to, we need out of the elements or we may never make it to Icicle Village. Not to mention we could use some help in finding the village. ” Cloud said as he made up his mind. ” That is unless you think we should go about this differently? ” He paused, still unsure about what to do. As he thought Cloud moved through the snow, the looming cliff face a few meters to his right. He could see many miles in the distance, it seemed like a massive sheet of white, dotted here and there with a few tall pine trees, a vast forest of them miles in the distance. To his left the glacier was barren, though it seemed to cut through actual ground nearby as the outline of another forest could be seen, likely the source of the cabin's wood. Reaching to doorway he stopped, turning to the others if to ask whether he should know or not.
Raiden calmly approached the cabin, just a few steps ahead of the others, waiting for them at the base of the steps. Once they were together he went up the stairs after Cloud, and who gave him a look as if he was unsure what to do next. With a deep, exasperated sigh he stepped past Cloud and moved to the door; he knocked once, then twice, then finally a third time before folding his arms and waiting for someone to answer the door. Even after a short wait there was no answer so he turned to the other two and gave them a blank stare. “Oi,” he grunted at the others, as if saying 'I tried, now it's your turn', but neither made a move so he returned his attention to the door. For a moment he stood there contemplating the best way to handle the situation, as they clearly weren't welcome in the cabin. They couldn't just aimlessly wander the forst hoping to chance upon their destination though, they would freeze to death long before they managed to find that kind of luck. Raiden reached for the door handle then, attempting to try and open the door only to find that it was locked. “I tried to be polite, so don't fuckin' blame me for this…!” Raiden called out as he took a step back, before lifting his right leg into the air and kicking the door just below the handle with all his might. At last the door finally came open as the frame splintered under the force of the blow. “I think I may have over-reacted a bit there.” Raiden said with an awkward smile, but there was no hint of remorse in his voice.
There were several knocks at the door but Snow chose to ignore them. Perhaps they would go away. She felt stupid for leaving it so long to turn the lights off. They must have noticed from where they were standing as the cabin was the only source of light in the local vicinity. After the knocking had stopped there was silence. Snow clung to the large 4-point shuriken in her hand, still knelt underneath the window that hung beside the cabin's entrance. Suddenly, the door caved in, splintering at the frames and crashing down to the wooden floor below. A whirl of ice cold air swept inside the cabin, creating a thick, white mist that hid whoever had broken their way in. Snow had learned to use all of her senses to fully understand her environment. Using her ears alone, she could tell exactly where the men outside her cabin were positioned. As soon as she was sure, she leapt up to the nearest one, spinning him around to face the others and holding the sharpest point of her shuriken up to the man's (Raiden) neck. “Don't move.” Her voice was calm and quiet, certain that she had the situation under her own control. “Who are you and why are you here?”
OOC: Sorry about the short hiatus! I'm doing my best to catch up.
CM-3 continued behind his comrades, watching for the person who was inside. It could have just been time for them to turn off the lights, CM-3's senses were telling him they saw us and wanted to not seem home. He left the talking and his decisions to his comrades and just continued to watching. Sound could travel fast out here and did want those inside to know he was aware. CM-3 stood behind the others as they addressed the door, watching as much of the cabin.
As the door was destroyed and Snow made her move, Tsuna reacted instantly. Body movement of animals all have similarities and fighting monsters your whole life taught a lot about where they were heading and what their intent was. Judging by the figure's placement and body angle, an attack on Raiden was the move. Tsuna jumped through the window next to the door and moved so his back was touching hers. His sword, already in hand, was held behind him against her own neck, “Well, I did always consider it rude not answer a lovely lady. My name is Tsuna and I'm here, well because you got your blade to my friend's neck. It was terribly rude of him to break your door, but killing him will only get you a broken door and blood everywhere. My lady, why don't we put down the blades and I'll make use all some tea.” Tsuna was facing forward, away from everyone, was feeling the muscles of here back from movement. He cocked his head to the right to look as her, “Do you have any tea?”
The door splintered inward with a kick sending debris flying across the interior of the cabin. Cloud was totally unprepared for the series of events that followed, the cold effecting his ability to rationalize, his desire simply to be warm. Around him the tension grew, the movements were fast it only took a moment before the party found itself in a standoff. Cloud shook off the cold, moving inside the doorway. He scanned the cabin, it was utilitarian and most importantly warm. Cloud's eyes reached the three others, he stood ridgid trying to think of how to dissolve the situation at hand, he wouldn't have to. ” They're no need f… ” Cloud began to speak when the first tremor shook the cabin, rattling the contents of the cabin. ” What now… ” Cloud muttered in a defeated tone as a second tremor, this one stronger reverberated through the cabin. The crash of a falling picture shaken from the wall caused Cloud to jump. Spinning he caught sight of movement from the far window, located directly across from the entrance on the far wall in what was the small kitchen. Forgetting the situation at hand Cloud rushed across the floor, pressing his face to the glass. Through the condensation he watched the hulking white furred beast, massive wooden club in hand, moving across the glacier from the nearby woods. The Ice Giant was heading directly towards them.
In almost no time at all, one of the other men outside of the cabin leapt through the side window with such a ferine force that even Snow could not react fast enough. Before she could respond, he was stood behind her, the pointed end of his sword causing discomfort in the side of her neck. As he introduced himself, she could tell that they were not sent to kill her. Perhaps they were just lost out in the blizzard and needed shelter. Everybody seemed to carry weapons around with them these days. Her attention switched to the commotion that rocked the cabin walls. These intruders had attracted some unwanted attention. Lowering her shuriken, she watched as an icy giant soon came into view. “Perhaps we should save the introductions until later.”
“Oi,” Raiden said wryly, bearing a mild grin as the shuriken was held up to his throat. “seems you were home after all.” As he spoke his friend had burst forth in an astounding display of agility, forcing his way inside through a window, before drawing his own blade and pointing the tip at his assailant's throat. Just as he thought that things were starting to get even more out of hand his friend politely introduced himself, and made an attempt to diffuse the situation. “I can feel the love right now.” Raiden muttered sarcastically, slightly annoyed at how easily he had been written off. As the tremors shook the cabin Cloud darted into the house and made his way over to the far window, his face pressed against the glass. Raiden wasn't sure what had caught his friend's attention, but when the Ice Giant came into view he knew they had attracted an unwanted guest. “I suppose so,” he replied curtly as the shuriken was moved away from his throat. Raiden casually walked into the house and over to the far window, right beside Cloud. “Stop.” Raiden whispered under his breath, a sound that was barely audible to those around him, and a faint green light shone beneath his coat sleeve for a moment before fading away. Now he could only hope the spell had been successful.
Tsuna moved his blade right back his side and looked at his friends moved to the window, “Guess I'll make that tea later.” Tsuna walked over to the window and saw what they were so worried about. An ice giant was heading right for them. There was a chance that a monster like that was just heading this way or it could be controlled by someone. Either way they would be in trouble if it got to them, “I'm going to try something.” Tsuna ran back out the front door and ran a wide circle with the giant as a center.
After running for only a few second, Tsuna took his die and threw it so it would be further around the circle. A “3″ Appeared and the die began to glow red then a fireball shoot from the die heading to the flank of the giant and away from the direction of the cabin. Tsuna began running back towards the cabin as soon as he threw the die. He wasn't sure if this would get the giant off track, but if not that would make it seem more likely it's being controlled.
The steady tremor shook the cabin rhythmically as the colossal white furred giant grew nearer. Cloud watched it closely, seemingly unaware of Raiden and the others around him. He noted the rippling muscle movements that traveled through the thick coat of fur as it walked, it's massive arms, and general irate facial expression. ” Stop what? ” Cloud broke his concentration, turning next to him to face Raiden, missing entirely the view of the ice giant slowly coming to a halt and simply standing tall like a pillar of hair in the open expanse between the cabin and the dense pine forest in the distance, from which the beast emerged. ” What did you do? ” Cloud exclaimed as he turned back to the window, seeing Tsuna's efforts become useless as the creature was frozen like land around them. It was clear to Cloud now that they had two options in front of them. They could either flee now and abandon the idea of shelter and move on towards Icicle Village, or the could engage the beast and hopefully prevail in combat.
The threat of the three men who seemingly wanted to assassinate her became apparant that she was mistaken. As soon as the large beast came into view, the gentleman with the dice reacted instantly trying to distract it away from the cabin. Snow did not feel safe standing inside the cabin, like a lamb trapped in its pen. “We need to move to a more advantageous area.” She pushed her way past Raiden and out into the blistering cold. Beside the door were a pair of large, camel skin snow boots lined with a thick, artifiicially manufactured animals fur. Trudging through snow was not her favourite thing but at least she could be somewhat ready. Tightening the belt around her silk gown, the cold hit her harder now she was outside surrounded by the blizzard. ”I know a shortcut to Icicle Village. We will be safe there if we move fast.” She edged towards the side of the cabin, looking to the others. Ideally, escape would be best, but all of a sudden she was itching for a good fight.
Raiden turned to his friend and pulled back the coat sleeve on his right arm, revealing his bangle (and materia). Once he did that he lifted up his arm a bit for Cloud to see, and gently tapped his left index finger against one of the green materia socketed within. “After the incident at the tower, my time materia… grew, I guess you'd say? Time has come to a complete stop for that giant, for now at least.” Raiden explained before pulling down his coat sleeve just a moment before Snow pushed her way past him in order to get to the exit. “It should last for a while, but I'd rather not find out so let's get out of here.” After that he turned away from the window and made his way over to the front door and out of the cabin. “Tsuna! We ain't here to play with the local critters, c'mon!” he called out while trailing behind Snow, deciding it would be best to let her lead them to the Icicle Village.
CM-3 growled as he saw his teammates tried to retreat, “He'd be an excellent specimen.” The ShinRa experiment showed his sharp teeth as he trugged through the snow, “We scurry like snow rabbits from a frosty feline. We should be fighting that beast.” CM-3 pointed his sword in the direction of the Ice Giant. He hated the fact that Tsuna ws able to gain control for so long to try to draw it off with a fireball, but he was adjusting to regaining control. The pesky part of him kept him stable when he was young, but it was unnecessary now. CM-3 would even charge after the creature if he had a chance to survive, but his experiments taught him to fight only the fights he could win, “You'll regret this.” CM-3 looked at his master die and knew the ice giant would make a great addition.
Cloud followed behind the others, moving through the doorway back into the bitter northern cold. They moved across the clearing fast, following the woman from the cabin. Cloud's eyes wandered back, halting as they reached the frozen giant. He looked upon the creature, a feeling of relief passing as he realized they would be able to escape without a fight, the first time in as long as he could remember that had occurred. ” How far is Icicle Village from here? ” Cloud shouted over the howling wind, feeling completely lost as the four travelers reached the end of the glacier ice sheet and entered a dense pine forest. Snow dropped in large clumps from above, shaken free from the shelves of pine branches as the wind cut through the forest. The scene seemed almost unreal, and if not for the feeling that at any time they could be ambushed by who knows what, it was almost peaceful. Through the tree canopy in the distance a billow of dark smoke drifted lazily into the sky. As they neared it was joined by others, the smell of soot penetrating the forest.
Snow trudged forward through the snow, as quickly as she could, the harsh cold feeling brittle against her bare face, hands and chest. The three men followed behind her, relying on her now to find the village. She knew that it was not too far ahead but that they may face some trouble in the forest beforehand. “It's not much further now. Once we are through these trees you'll see it.” As they neared the trees a thick, black smog could be seen darkening the nearby skies. For a moment, Snow paused. “Oh no… Quickly, we have to move faster!” Panic began to sink in as she thought about the village ahead. The locals were well known for burning fires for warmth but the amount of smoke that was bellowing up seemed to be from a more dangerous source.
Raiden was content to trail their newfound guide, trudging ever forward through the snow. While he wasn't certain how far they could trust the newest member of the party, he knew they had no choice in the matter if they wanted to reach the village. “Good,” Raiden replied before searching the path ahead of them with the hope he might catch a glimpse of the village through the forest. As they drew closer to their destination, however, a thick cloud of black smoke could be seen billowing into the air and drifting aimlessly into the skies. Soon enough he could smell soot on the wind as well, and it made his heart start to hammer in his chest. Raiden quickly turned toward his two friends, staring at them a moment as if to say 'this is what we're here for' before resuming the course. “It's a fuckin' lucky day.” Raiden declared with a wide grin before breaking into a mad dash toward the source of the smoke. If it truly was what they had come here for then answers, or at least another piece of the puzzle, were waiting just ahead.
Cm-3 gazed back where they were travelling in the direction of the Ice Giant. Oh, how that would be an excellent specimen to add to his collection. His hand absent mindedly went to his pocked and grabbed it out. The die was now a steady green as the red of the last beast tried to fight it. CM-3 still wondered what that last creature had done, but the die had seem to settle itself. He put the die away as he nose caught the strong scent of burning. He looked ahead to see the black smoke pouring through his view through the forest. CM-3 noticed his comrades had begun to notice too, 'At least their not deaf, dumb, and blind, untop of being cowards.' CM-3 thought to himself as he hurried behind them, fuming at the lost of another addition.
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