Ice part 7

They finished lunch, and Condon even paid for her. Ice sat there long after both Tora and the snake had wandered off, waiting for Keluri. It was only once the sun had long since begun to set, and long evening shadows covered the square, that she finally got up and left.
She got back to their room late in the same evening, to find the otter sitting on his bed. He held a book in one hand and a pastry in the other. "Were you ever going to come back and say where you were?" She demanded, annoyed at  having wandered so far for no reason.
"What?" Keluri asked, looking up from his book. "I told you I was going to be back in the room."
"I don't think so." Ice responded heatedly. "I think I wouldn't have wandered around half the city if I'd known you were going to be sitting here eating a cake." Keluri just looked back down at his book.
"Well, I did." He said. "Anyway, what were you freaking out about at lunch?" She hunched her shoulder, sort of a shrug, more of a flinch.
"It's not like I know." She said, muttering, just barely loud enough for him to hear. "Things just tend to… happen." Keluri looked up again, and deigned to set down his book.
"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked, looking concerned. She looked back at him and sighed. Just when he was getting the most annoying, he went back to being sweet.
"Good reflexes are important to have in the Wintermarch." She said at last. "I'm sure that's all it is." Ice paused to take a deep breath. "I just don't like people sneaking up behind me. If i reacted badly, well… I'm sorry." And she hoped he realized how much it had taken out of her to say that simple sentence.
"Not that, and I forgive you." Keluri said with a  smile. "I was talking about when lunch started, and you were looking around all suspicious." Ice started to get grumpy again, but hid it by walking over to her bed and sitting down, shaking her head. "I don't know why I was so restless. I just was. And I was just teasing Tora for coming just at the right moment." She shrugged, thinking him silly for reading so much into a moment she didn't even think of it. "It's not that big of a deal." Keluri nodded and relaxed again.
"Anyway, how was it after I left?" He asked.
"Not much happened. We had ice cream, Tora call you an admittedly odd name, and we debated whether or not the waitress was afraid of magic, humans, or Pasu." She smiled slightly at the last part.
"Anything else?" Keluri asked, sounding amused.
"No, that's about it." Ice said with a snort.
"Do you have any plans for later?" He asked lazily. She stopped to think for a moment before shaking her head.
"I don't think so. Did you ever find Jason?" Keluri fell back so that he was lying flat on the bed.
"Nope. Not a sign of him." He said easily. Ice sighed heavily.
"There goes another day." She said. She didn't want to waste any more time here than she needed to.
"Yeah, seriously." Keluri took a deep breath to agree with her. "At this rate, we'll both be old."
"Didn't he say anything to you about WHEN this bounty is coming along?" She said with a shake of her head. Keluri propped himself up on his elbows.
"We're waiting for intelligence on the target, that's about all I know."
"Great." She said, flopping back on the bed and staring up at the ceiling. "As much as I like it here, I don't know how long I can sit here and do nothing." There was a sound of squeaking springs, and Keluri's voice from across the room.
"I don't know about you, but I think that waiting is the only real option right now."
"I know it is." She said with a scowl. "That's the only reason I'm still here. But…" Her voice trailed off.
Keluri stood and started to move around the room. "Do you want to walk around town with me? I may stop by the Guard station to see if they need any help around town." Ice had to stop herself from making a sarcastic response. As much as she liked Keluri, she doubted the Guards would be very open to her help.
"I think I'll just stay here." She said at last. "I might try and get some sleep." She looked over at Keluri.
"I guess I'll see you later, then. Don't come looking for me, I may get lost." He said, strapping the heavy rapier to his waist. She smiled a little.
"See you later." She said, ignoring the insinuation that she couldn't do anything for herself. Keluri made his way through the door and left in surprising silence.

After he left she closed her eyes, breathing steadily and thinking of nothing in particular. Thus, thoughts at random flashed in her mind, and as she got closer to sleep the images and sounds came more quickly. Then they spiraled out of reality, into a world of dreams.
She assumed they were normal dreams, though she couldn't remember them. It wasn't until everything shorted out into a field of white that she began to truly dream.
The howl of the wind was superseded only by the deep rumble of ice under her feet. "Where am I?" She asked the emptiness, already expecting an answer.
Where do you think? The voice of the Cold asked mockingly. For some reason, goose bumps spread across her skin. You are home.
"Why am I here?" Ice asked.
You are here because I know who you are, Ice. The impersonal voice made her quail as much as it had the first time she'd heard it. You are here because I know you are coming.
"And if I am?" Ice asked back. "You knew what people were going to say to me when I came, didn't you? NO ONE BELIEVES ME." She shook her fist into the howling wind, her sense of betrayal suddenly stronger than her fear. "I am coming back to tell you that. To tell you that if you want humans and Pasu to believe you are real; go tell them yourself."
And then, she grew cold. It was the first time she'd felt it, and all the more powerful for that. She shivered violently, and in the hotel room the small table next to her bed grew icy, as did the comforter and wooden frame. I let you live. It said, even the anger in its voice fiercely controlled. I told you that I would send you the way of your companions if you disobeyed me.
"You won't kill me, not yet at least." Ice said with more bravery than she felt.
Oh? The Cold asked contemptuously. And why not? Her voice choked, she could not say anything. She had a way to buy her life, of course she did. But…it was too horrible for her to voice, fighting with herself. I am waiting. The voice made her shudder, the cocoon of wind and snow tightening around her.
Ice screamed into the wind, and spoke. "I am making friends with several others." She began in a choked voice. As she spoke, a tear rolled down her cheek and froze before it went beneath her nose. "Powerful others. They might not believe you exist, but if I bring them to you they will." The Cold stepped away from her, figuratively and literally. She took a deep breath of unfrozen air, which was moderately less cold than the air she'd had before.
Food for thought. The Cold said at last, relaxing its grip on her entirely. Very well, Ice. For now, I will wait. Still crying silently, Ice bowed her head and was absorbed back into the arms of the dream world.

She woke slowly, the scent of food and the vanishing feeling of fur on her face pulling her from the nightmares. Ice opened her eyes first, drinking in the sunlight, before rolling over and stretching slowly. "How was your walk?" She asked Keluri, yawning and lowering her arms. Keluri looked over at her with worry written on his face.
"Ice, you might want to lay back down if you aren't feeling good, OK?" He said, taking a step towards her.
"I'm fine." She said, looking at him oddly. Keluri came over and sat next to her, still looking at her in concern.
"Do you know what time it is?" He asked. She looked over at the window, which didn't tell her anything because the light was very generic. Neither brighter nor darker enough for her to tell any time of day.
"No." She said. Keluri nodded slowly, and brushed the hair out of her forehead, his fur soft on her skin.
"It's morning, Ice." He said softly.
"What do you mean?" She said, pushing his hand aside but holding onto his wrist. "I just went to sleep." She insisted. Keluri sighed.
"You didn't wake up last night." He said, looking out of the window. "I decided to let you sleep because I was worried." She shook her head to disguise how much she was afraid.
"You should have woken me." She said, her throat closing. How soon had he been here? If he had woken her, could he have saved her from that promise. Keluri was still facing the window, so she couldn't see his face, but he tensed.
"It wasn't that simple, Ice." He pulled his wrist from her hand gently. "I'm glad you're better now." She thought to herself, Yes, but for how long? But she just sighed.
"Yes." Ice said. "I'm fine." She looked over to the steaming plate of food sitting on the table. "I thought you said the food wasn't very good here." She said to change the subject. Keluri stood slowly and walked over to the table, picking up the plate.
"This is for you, you must be hungry. I made it, not the idiots in the kitchen." She smiled and stood, following him over to the table.
"Thanks." She said. As usual, her hunger was present, but not a pressing need. "I am." Keluri picked up one of the fruits from the table and began peeling it.
"Anyway, do you remember anything about last night?"
Ice began to eat slowly, staring pointedly at her plate and avoiding his eyes. She said nothing, so eventually he asked another question.
"Ice," He said. "Do you normally talk in your sleep?" She froze in place, fork halfway to her mouth, and then slowly put it down.
"Not normally, no." She began cautiously. "Why do you ask?" Keluri took her chin in his hand and looked into her eyes.
"Who is Cold?" He asked evenly. She broke from his hold and moved to the other side of the room, pacing, barely containing her agitation. It didn't surprise her that some of what she'd said had escaped into reality, but she couldn't bear to tell Keluri what she had done. She shook her head a couple of times before deciding to tell him most of the truth.
"He–it, is the one that made me." Ice whispered, half hoping Keluri couldn't hear.
"Is he why you're going north?" Was all he asked. She swallowed hard.
"Yes." She said, still in a whisper. Keluri just nodded slowly.
"And is he why you went south?" He continued to question her, and she couldn't think of a good reason to refuse him an answer. Ice looked away, her eyes closed, and stopped pacing.
"Yes." She said at last. Keluri got up and moved over to his bed, sitting there and still staring at her.
"If you two have any trouble together, and it involves you staying with me, I will take the blame for you." Ice took a deep breath, and made a decision. She would not let him find out about what was going on, but that didn't mean she would leave him like this. She shook her head sharply and turned to face Keluri.
"It's not staying with you that bothers it." She said, sticking as close to the truth as possible. She went to sit on her own bed, just across from him. "I… I know you would help me, and that means so much." She paused. She knew as well as anyone she cared about him, but it was difficult for her to say so. "It didn't want me to go north." She finished at last. Keluri looked into her eyes and asked another question.
"Didn't or doesn't?" He asked steadily.
"Didn't." She said firmly, and didn't look away. The otter continued to hold her gaze, unflinching, unlike most people.
"I don't really care." He said, abruptly relaxing. "As long as he doesn't kill me. Other than that, I think it's your problem. I'm here to talk about it if you want, but you don't have to." Ice let out a long sigh of relief and let her head hang for a moment before going back to her meal, more to change the subject than to eat.
"Do you like it?" Keluri asked, looking over his shoulder at her. "My mother taught me how to cook that." She finished her bite and smiled at him.
"It's the best I've had so far." She said, and meant it. Over all the food she'd had in the Warm Lands so far, this was by far the best. Keluri nodded in thanks and laid back down on his bed.
"I've always wondered what it would be like, living in a Clan." He said speculatively.
"You didn't?" She asked curiously, only too glad to turn away from the food again. She was full, despite the fact that there was still a sizable amount on the plate. "I mean, I heard you talking to Condon, I know you were with the Guards…" She let her voice trail off.
"No, I've lived in Escorus my whole life. My mother lived with her tribe until she met my father, who was traveling. They both settled down in Escorus, and had me." While he was speaking he propped himself back up on the pillow.
"I haven't been to Escorus." She said, sitting in the one chair in the room, next to the table. Ice didn't really know what to say. Again, small talk was not her strong suit, but this was the first time Keluri had spoken of his past, and she was curious. "What kind of place is it?" She tilted her head to one side.
"Small, big, in the middle." Keluri said, looking at the ceiling. "I really don't know, now. Everyone is close, especially since the razing." She paused to puzzle out the meaning of his sentence.
"Razing… as in, destroyed?" She asked at last.
Keluri's voice sounded ragged as he spoke. "Yes, the whole city was burnt to the ground. The beast Taskaru attacked the city and burned it all to the ground. My father was the only man in town that could stand up to him, and he almost died."