I reluctantly emerged from my blankets at the smell of food. Ishi didn't move.
I saw the extra plate Marshall brought in and said, quite loudly, "Is this plate for Ishi?"
"Yes." He said.
"That was nice of you." I said with a smile before calling Ishi over to eat. "Ishi, are you going to eat?"
She said nothing and didn't move.
I looked at Marshall and he just shrugged and ate his food. I took a couple bites while watching to see if she was going to get up. When she still didn't move I went over to check on her.
"Ishi?" I said quietly as I poked her.
Still nothing.
"Ishi?" I said a little louder as I gently pushed her.
Still nothing.
I climbed over her so I could see her face. She was pale and her whole body was trembling.
"Marshall!" I called.
He came over as I pulled the blanket back to show him what I saw. He felt her face.
"She's freezing." He said.
"Like freezing as in cold, or freezing as in 'freezing to death'?" I asked.
He looked confused then said, "If we don't warm her up, she will die. She is a leopard, they aren't made for this kind of cold."
Now I was starting to worry. We are running out of firewood, so lighting a fire isn't the best option. We aren't even halfway up the mountain, if we run out of wood before reaching the other side we will be really screwed. I can't believe there are no trees on this damned mountain.
"If we light a fire we can warm her up. However if we do, we will run out of wood before we reach the other side of the mountain." He voiced the same thing I was thinking.
"Are there any shortcuts or like.. any way we can cross the mountain quicker?" I asked him, thinking maybe we should just risk it and light a fire.
"No. We are moving as fast as we can while conserving energy. It would be faster if we could transform…"
"But you can't because of me?" I asked, angry at myself.
"I… Uh.." He didn't seem to know what to say.
The correct answer is yes. It is because of me. I can't transform so they have to move at my snail pace.
I roared angrily and buried my head in my hands. I don't know what to do.
"I didn't mean to upset you.." He said.
"Just start the damn fire." I said, taking my anger out on him before I even realized what I was doing.
I was anxious that Ishi might die, I was freezing, and my mood was shit because I know I am slowing us down. Marshall exited the tent quickly to start the fire outside.
When I got like this I would hear my father's voice in my head as he called me names; stupid, useless, ugly, worthless, ignorant…
My mood was spiraling downward and I felt a wave of anger and pain. I didn't notice at first, but I was giving off heat, like a fire. I thought it was the fire outside.
Marshall Peeked his head inside the tent and had a peculiar look on his face. He snapped me out of my misery.
"How did it get so warm in here?" He asked.
"Wasn't it the fire?" I asked.
"No, it's only just lit. Had to fight with the wind." He said while looking around the tent.
I looked over at Ishi and saw that she was still shivering, but she started to look less pale/blue.
I was confused but glad. Marshall went back outside the tent to finish whatever he was doing before coming back into the tent. I went over to the bedroll and removed my jacket and boots before climbing under the covers. The tent felt comfortable.
Marshall came over and climbed under the covers with me, warming me even more. We fell asleep to the crackling of the campfire outside and whooshing of the wind.
*. *. *. *. *. *. *
I woke up and realized it was still night time. The fire outside wasn't crackling, the wind was whipping, and the tent had gotten cold again. I got up to check on Ishi. Her face was still pale and she was trembling from the cold. I felt her skin and it was chilly. I was warm from sleeping with the human heater that I call Marshall.
I can't believe we burned through 2 days worth of wood and it's still this cold in here.
I was struggling to think of a solution that would conserve resources and allow us to stay warm. I know that in old times they used to put hot coals in a pan under the bed.. but I don't know if that would give off carbon monoxide.
I remember watching a documentary once where people were studying in the arctic and were freezing from the cold. They had to remove their jackets and share body heat through skin contact to stay warm.
I blushed at the thought.
However, it's not like Ishi and I haven't done that before. I fell asleep on her in the showers that time.
My blush deepened.
I saw her trembling get worse and I made up my mind.
I grabbed her bed roll and dragged it, with her on it, towards where Marshall was sleeping. Ishi is heavier than I thought she would be.
I was struggling to pull her when I heard Marshall stirring.
"What are you doing?" He said in his deep voice.
My chest fluttered.
"I am brining Ishi over to sleep with us. Our body heat will help keep each other warm." I said.
"That's what you said when you made us all sleep in the same tent." He replied.
"I thought it would be enough. But Ishi is still freezing and won't wake up." I pleaded.
"Sharing a bed with someone who is not your mate is…" He trailed off but I understood.
"I know, dear." I sighed. "But in a situation like this, I think that we should value our lives more than anything."
He didn't respond.
"Will you please keep us warm?" I begged.
He didn't respond.
"Marshall.." I half sighed his name.
"Fine." He said stiffly.
"Thank you!" I said earnestly as I threw myself into his arms and kissed his face, my tail wagging happily.
He helped me pull her closer to create a 3 person bed. I pulled her coat and boots off her before pulling out a large piece of chimera hide to use as blanket for all of us.
"Will you sleep next to her so she warms up quickly? " I asked.
"No." He said firmly.
"Why not?"
"She will kill me when she wakes up." He answered honestly.
He might be right…
"Okay.. I'm not as warm as you but I guess I can sleep in the middle." I offered.
He growled.
I didn't understand where this weird attitude was coming from. He and Ishi had this love-hate relationship. When they let loose , they got along okay and had a good laugh… however once they snapped out of it, they were back to growling at each other. This cat and dog rivalry has to stop.
"Marshall. It's fine. Let's just sleep." I said as I just threw myself in the middle of them.
Ishi was so cold that I shivered when I curled up against her back. Marshall grumbled and snuggled up behind me. It was comfortable being the little spoon for Marshall, but trying to be the big spoon to warm up ishi was a little odd due to the size difference. Marshall's warmth made the temperature under the blanket rise and become comfortable.
Ishi's temperature had risen and she stopped shivering. I smiled and whispered to Marshall as I fell asleep, "Thank you."
*. *. *. *. *. *. * *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *
Marshall woke up first the next morning. The wind had stopped blowing and the sun was out, the air was still cold though. He went out to relieve himself and start a fire for breakfast. I was cold and stayed in bed, snuggled in the warmth. I felt someone was staring at me and I opened my eyes.
Ishi's big blue eyes were staring right back at me from her spot under the blankets. I wonder if she is going to be mad that I moved her bed over.
I gulped and decided to be brave, "Good morning."
"How did I get over here?" She asked.
"I brought you over last night. You were freezing to death." I tactfully added the last part.
"Was I now?" She asked as if she didn't believe me.
"Yes. We even tried using a second campfire but you were still too cold. How do you feel now?"
"Warm." She said with a smile.
I was afraid she was going to get mad about us lighting another fire. She must be truly thankful that we saved her life last night. I smiled back.
"And hungry." She said as her stomach growled.
I giggled and told her that Marshall was outside cooking breakfast.
"I better get out there and make mine before the fire goes out." She said as she prepared to get up.
I grabbed her to stop her, "It's okay. Marshall is cooking for all of us. He made you dinner last night too but we couldn't wake you."
"Really?" She looked surprised.
"Yes. Now enjoy the warmth while we can." I said as I snuggled deeper under the blankets.
She had an odd look on her face, but she smiled and joined me under the blankets.