Cold Steel - Inazuma Gaiden

XV: Dream Lantern

On second thought, she took everything back. The night was cold after all.

"This is the reason... why I said we needed to move by daylight," Kamisato Ayaka almost half-shouted through the howling wind and snow that continued to pepper her face and clothes, not wanting her voice to be drawn out by the wild and unforgiving weather.

She only received a self-defensive hiss from her companion to the side, head cast downwards from the heavy, accumulating snow that'd started to gather on his straw hat. Even for a lady that'd been so used to the freezing temperatures of Inazuman winter and having a Cryo Vision with her no less, the cold was starting to seep right through skin and into her bones, numbing her senses, particularly her finger tips and the muscles of her face.

While the pair had cleared themselves off from the abandoned proximity of Mikage Forge, they were still essentially walking in the wilderness - in a particularly uninhabited region of the nation, skirting around the main island, to avoid the harsh and jagged terrain of the Forge itself. The terrain itself had thankfully stabilized itself into low and steady inclines compared to the eastern coastlines of Tatarasuna.

The visible gale that carried ice and frost alike around them made the young man at her flank stagger slightly at the elements that constantly battered his limbs. Though he eventually still managed to shot her a look from behind the roningasa, with the lady of the clan immediately sensing something snarky coming out from him anytime soon.

"Last time I checked, neither of us were psychic when it comes to weather prediction, Ayaka-san," And true enough, Nobutada's dry-humored tongue still offered something that was - in context, incredibly unhelpful to their situation.

"Not funny," Ayaka gave out an explosive groan.

"I- yeah, that was not funny," The ronin eventually agreed with a shake of his head after cutting himself short. "You doing alright, Ayaka-san?"

She instead shot him a look of question. "I think I should be the one asking you that question, Nobutada-san. Should we- should we just... find some shelter?"

Her companion craned his neck left and right, trying to identify any havens or sheltered areas they could take refuge on through the blanketing snowstorm. Alas, his head would finally shake a firm no, indicating that he too found no shelter in their immediate vicinity. There were several options they could realistically - either continue on their journey and brave through the storm, hoping that they would eventually stumble some kind of shade from the cold.

Or the pair could retrace their steps back and perhaps take investigate the currently-abandoned mining village of Mikage Forge or even go further back, returning all the way to the Kujou Encampment. Both of which were far from ideal. With the pair having just experienced their second episode of having their minds corrupted by the Tatarigami, the Mikage Forge - a settlement literally powered by the powers of the plague was out of the question.

Trekking back all the way to Clan Kujou's camp meant that they were willing to sacrifice much time, something that they were running incredibly short on. It took the two several hours just to march from one end of Kannazuka to the other, backtracking and re-attempting their journey the next day would just burn precious hours.

After a few more seconds of quick and internalized deliberation, she decided that it would be best for them to stay on their path. Ayaka turned to the male to her side, feeling somewhat guilty that she would have to force someone who clearly wasn't a big fan of the cold to continue on.

"No," Nobutada's answer was that one, simple word - his head shaking once more to express his intentions. "We move forward. If... that's alright with you."