Grrruuummbleee!
The sound of hunger personified.
It floated through the haze as the winds clashed against the noise.
WOOOOOH!
The two stood rooted for a brief moment.
What would have been embarrassing in another setting, was different here.
This was painful acknowledgement.
Crunch.
A simple fact that they wouldn't last forever without something to feast upon.
Saphira's eyes travelled to the ground briefly.
Her stomach tightened slowly.
Sharp and hollow.
'Food.'
For a fleeting second, her thoughts ran to the palace kitchen.
Steam rising in all corners, the glisten of honeyed glaze.
The smell of pastries and other deserts she could feast on.
'Father...'
She missed it.
Opposite to her, Riven's eyes never left the cart.
WOOOOOOH!
Hunger had taken its hold upon him no less.
Grumbles paired with a tightening hollow, amplified the cold striking his body.
They were in the same boat.
But the sight of the cart pushed at him, more than the hunger could currently.
'Why is this here?'
The cart was slumped beneath the snow, almost submerged. The wooden frame cracked and sagged under the weight, whilst a rope still clung to the side; frayed, stiff with ice - but it swayed under the pulls of wind.
Had it not been for the wheel jutting out like a broken limb, Riven and Saphira may have not met its discovery.
WOOOOOOH!
Once thing was clear.
Whatever goods it once carried, if even any, it was now just a husk abandoned in the white.
'...But where was it going?'
Riven's gaze pushed upwards, into a fog of mist.
'And who left it here?'
The thoughts swam, filling his mind.
The situation ironically provided him brief comfort, from the rhyme that had once filled his bones...
Because this meant there was more life.
Whether they were good, remained to be found and seen...
'Which wa-'
"Hey Riven....we should find something to eat."
Snapping his attention mid-thought, Saphira raised a good point.
'Food?'
The thought sprang.
Grrruuummbleeee!
'She's right....'
His gaze drifted back to the cart, then to the veil of snow beyond.
'Another animal like the scavenger? In this cold? In this place?'
Were they that fortunate?
A pang shot through his body as his eyes twitched.
Grr!
'If another stalker comes...'
Could they survive another?
His eyes lingered on her.
WOOOOOOH!
Her cheeks grew pale but unyielding, as her golden hair seemed dim.
Her lashes fluttered with frost as her crimson eyes slightly hazed...
Had it not been for the slight comfort provided from pieces of fur wrapped on top of her hands, and the thin blankets surrounding her shoulders.....
His lips parted slightly, as he stared at her condition.
Something told him...
Instinct?
Intuition?
"We should go north of the cart...."
The words left him steady, but a silence stretched.
WOOOOOOH!
Once which the wind filled, as flakes fell atop their heads.
'Maybe there's something...'
Maybe there was nothing.
It was another risk.
But everything was in this place.
Saphira paused for a moment.
Grrr!
To her, it didn't sound like a suggestion.
It sounded like a made decision.
One that her body didn't agree with.
Grrr!
But where would they come across another animal?
A brief silence followed, one where they stared at each-other, whilst the wind howled in the background.
WOOOOOOOH!
She wanted to argue.
'What if there's nothing?'
'What if its just more snow and silence.....'
But the words never left her lips.
Because deep down she knew, if they stopped and waited aimlessly....
'We'll die.'
That voice was coming.
"Haaa!" "Hkk-"
WOOOOOOOOOOH!
In the silence built up....she gave a faint nod as her breath fogged into the cold.
It was agreed.
"Okay....let's go."
Riven followed.
The words flowed, but just like her...
He hadn't held a-lot of certainty.
Crunch. Crunch.
They had run before without aim.
Without direction.
The sole aim of escape....
WOOOOOOH!
For the first time, they were moving with a purpose.
It could be nothing.
But this cart meant something.
Surely.
It was a gamble, yes.
But hope often wore the same face.
----------------
Crunch! Crunch!
The cold bit deeper as they trudged forward.
Every step burned more than the last.
Hunger had elevated the frost.
"Haa!" "Hk--"
Grrrr!
Collective pangs ran out, turning the silence between them, heavier than words.
Breaths fogged thick and white, vanishing in the veil of falling snow.
Crunch! Crunch!
The cart was long passed.
A memory half-buried mimicking its visage.
One that was the only thing keeping them going....
Apart from the rhyme.
WOOOOOOOH!
Something different appeared as they stepped deeper.
And deeper.
Half-buried timbers.
A jut of wood, too straight and narrow to be stone.
The shadow of a crooked post, leaning as the wind pushed against it.
They were faint shapes, scattered around like the snow falling from the sky.
Crunch!
They weren't much...
But they meant something.
Saphira's eyes widened as the shadows took shape.
"Riven," she whispered, voice thin. "We must be close...to something."
Was it hope?
Something rose in her...and him.
Grrr!
Maybe it was just hunger...
WOOOOOOOH!
The shapes were an inconsistency.
A hint of something more.
"Haaa!"
"Hkk-"
Crunch! Crunch!
They continued.
Steps dragged, as heads bowed against the cold.
They walked side by side, half a stretch away.
WOOOOOOH!
'So....hungry.'
It was climbing on Saphira, as steps grew heavier.
But she kept going.
She had to.
There was no stopping.
Crunch! Crunch!
Riven was the same.
He'd turn to look at Saphira often, noticing her struggling form.
He'd slow, walking side by side with her.
Crunch! Crunch!
A simple gesture.
But one that didn't highlight his own struggles.
"Haaaa!!"
WOOOOOOOOH!
At first it was just the faint rise of the land, uneven underfoot.
Then? A jagged stump snuck into view.
A small landmark covered with frost.
WOOOOOOOH!
It was more.
A sign.
Crunch! Crunch!
The wind parted the veil again.
Another shape; round, sunken inward.
It was a well.
It's stones rimmed with now, its mouth a black hollow in the air.
Crunch! Crunch!
They kept going.
'Please.'
The thought came slow in Riven's mind.
Grruuummbbleee!
Further.
Something broad loomed where the haze struck the hardest.
Crunch! Crunch!
Closer they stepped, bodies now interlocked, fighting the cold and pangs.
At first it was a shadow.
Then two.
Slanted peaks, jagged with decay - roofs.
Buildings.
Crunch! Cru-
Steps slowed.
Then stopped.
WOOOOOOOH!
Grrruuuummmble!
They couldn't feel the pangs, or the cold at that moment.
"Haa!"
"Haa...."
Their breaths connected, misting the air as they stared.
Their lips parted, but no words came.
WOOOOOOOH!
All the shadows and shapes folded into view.
Grrr!
It was a village.