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Willump charged ahead, narrowly avoiding a bolt of fire magic. The energy sailed into one of the many mounds of snow, melting it effortlessly. Nunu clung onto the back of the yeti for dear life. Walls of true ice shielded their path, and all that could be seen as they rode off into the distance was the billowing smoke of the fire magic.
Nunu grabbed one of Willump’s horns, crouching and peering ahead. Nothing could be seen in the blizzard at all. Nothing could be seen as it grew worse and turned them blind beyond five feet. There was only the howling wind and the sound of the yeti shuffling through the snow slowly.
Nunu sighed in relief. “I think… I think we lost them, Willump.”
Willump didn’t respond, clearly more focused on getting them somewhere safe. In the distance, shouts of a small rallying army could be heard—they weren’t out of the woods just yet. The cogs in the yeti’s mind began turning and turning, and he stopped walking. Glancing where they’d came just before, they saw their tracks slowly being covered up. That didn’t ease Willump’s heart in the slightest.
He began digging—with all four of his arms—a small hole in the ground. With care, he placed Nunu inside of it. The boy looked around and gazed back up to Willump, holding out his arms to be picked up again. Willump shook his head and held his hands over his own eyes. A game?
“We’re playing hide and seek in the snow…? Now?”
Willump nodded. The game was simple, so Willump described it to Nunu. Willump would leave the area, count to a certain number, then come back and find where Nunu had been left. When asked how he’d be found, Nunu was told to form a film of true ice over the hole and leave tiny holes in it for him to breathe. He could just knock on the true ice whenever. If worst comes to worst, Nunu could think up anything he wished to free himself, and they’d reunite.
They parted ways briefly, Willump giving Nunu a caring smile as he walked back in the direction of where they’d had run from. Nunu’s gaze… slowly turned confused. Why was Willump going back to where the mages had followed them? Wouldn’t he be hurt? The boy shook his head in denial; Willump would be okay. He sat at the bottom of the hole and curled up, hearing the ground shake slightly. After about a minute of silence, a monstrous roar pierced the howling wind of the Freljord. Nunu’s heart jumped, and he held his breath. When the ground shook once more, he felt that the earth would suddenly cave in and swallow him. Maybe that’d be when Willump would jump in heroically and save his life! Then they’d have another story to talk about.
But… Willump didn’t look like he was coming back.
Nunu slowly stood and gazed up at the thin film of true ice that shielded him from the blizzard. The vibrating ground nearly knocked him to his feet again. Why wasn’t Willump coming back? Maybe he’d just gotten lost—maybe there was just a small accident. That would be easy to fix. But… maybe he was worrying too much. And so, he sat back down. Willump would be fine—he’s Willump, after all.
Five minutes…
Ten minutes…
Another roar, yet this one was more drawn out and piercing. The sheer power behind whatever emotion drove it shook Nunu to his core, causing him to cover his ears. His heart stilled, and he exhaled sharply.
Twenty minutes…
Twenty-five minutes…
A knock. That was when Nunu opened his eyes, curled up at the bottom of the hole. Through the thin ice, he saw the soft, welcoming yeti he knew as Willump. The ice was moved aside, and four strong arms lifted the boy out of the hole. Nunu gave Willump a tight hug, grinning widely.
“I knew you’d come back!”
He was sorry he ever doubted the yeti, but he didn’t have time to think on this before they had started moving again. Willump was walking the same unpredictable path as always. Nunu was asked “Where do you want to go?”, and this was oddly difficult for the kid. Normally, he had an easy time thinking of things, but the matter from earlier disturbed him. When Nunu said he didn’t know, Willump decided to walk where he wanted to go. Through the mounds of snow and ice and deeper into the heart of the Freljord’s blizzard, Willump’s movements had slowed. Nunu didn’t notice the pace until Willump was at a crawl. With one more step, the yeti collapsed, and Nunu fell forward, rolling in the snow.
“H-Huh…?”
He scrambled to his feet and ran over to Willump. With the yeti’s back exposed to the air, Nunu could clearly see them.
There were several burn marks and wounds across it, and some of the injuries looked inflicted by a blade. The picture of red snow pooling from the yeti was something Nunu couldn’t comprehend. Yet, he felt his heart become thrown into a panic. Willump was injured—this was bad.
“Willump, what’s wrong? Stand up!”
Willump could just barely get out a shaky jumble of noises. He didn’t get up.
The crimson snow had reached Nunu’s feet, slowly trickling down the mound.
“Please stand up. I know you’re tired, but we can find somewhere better to sleep! Like uh… um…”
Nunu couldn’t think of anything, and Willump was still lying in the snow. A single eye stayed lidded, slowly closing. Tears slowly began to stream down the boy’s face. Though it was hard to make out, Willump could see Nunu’s distraught expression. A deep sadness filled the yeti’s heart as he stared at this crying child. With two weak arms, Nunu was pulled close and brought into the softest hug he’d ever had. With a pat on the head and a ruffle of the hair, Willump’s last eye closed, and his arms sunk to the ground.
Nunu hiccuped, sniffling.
“Please wake up… Please…”
“... Willump…?”