Ice and Snow - Sova x Female OC

Chapter One: First Light

Everest gripped the side of the snow-covered rock, and heaved herself up, knuckles turning white. She took her ice pick and slammed it into the side of the cliff in front of her, and slowly but surely pulled herself up.

A rush of cold morning air greeted her as she threw herself over the sharp side of the summit. A thrill of exhilaration ran through her as she stood up, and looked around herself to see nothing but clouds underneath her, and the soft, snow-capped tops of the Himalaya's peaking out. Her pale skin gleamed in the sunlight, and her golden hair caught the light reflected off the snow.

Mount Everest. A mountain she'd only dreamed of climbing before. She had conquered her namesake. And for now, lived to tell the tale.

Everest closed her eyes and breathed in the sharp fresh air, before turning and taking off her pack. She drew out a blue flagpole with a cyan snowflake emblem, and stuck it into the collected snow beside all the other flags. It waved in the wind, a testament to her accomplishment.

Everest wanted to stay longer, but she couldn't. The weather could change in the blink of an eye, and she would like to be back by base camp while the wind and weather still favoured her descent.

She turned with a smile on her face, and started slowly walking down the slope, taking care of the edges that dropped off into seemingly open space. Crevasses loomed along the path, dark pits of ice. Everest made it down the first leg to her closest camp, before she stopped dead in the snow.

A great rumbling split the air as the entire snow sheet on the cliff started to crack, then slid down the slope. The noise was deafening.
    An avalanche.

Everest watched for a few seconds in panic, before running across to try and escape the snow bearing down on her by the second, but her feet slid out from underneath her before she could get away. She fell flat on her stomach, wincing at the sudden pain of landing on sturdy ice. The piles of snow was arriving closer and closer by the second.

Suddenly, just as she shakily stood, it crashed down on her. The snow knocked her right off her feet, and she tumbled through it. All she could hear was the rumbling of the avalanche, and all she could feel was the sharp cold of the ice.

Snow blurred her vision as she continued to roll down the steep mountainside along with the rest of the avalanche. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain strike her forehead, and her eyes rolled back into her head, as the world turned dark.

***
Everest slid back into consciousness as she groggily opened her eyes. Her head throbbed with pain, and she touched her hand to her forehead, which came away with small red-black flakes of dried blood. She shook her head to clear it, and tried to stand, but couldn't. Becoming more aware of her surroundings, she looked around herself. She was encased in still snow, with a small space created by her own body.

She reached for her pick and found it tightly strapped to her back, and she slid it off the holster. Everest gripped the handle of the icepick, and slammed the sharp edge of it upwards, causing the snow to partially crumble down. She did this again, hitting it onto the roof. Again and again. Ice crumbling down, covering her form in loose snow.

Suddenly, her pick burst through the surface of the avalanche, and she pushed herself up and out of it. A dark sky with glittering stars greeted her, and she was confused. It had been dawn when she got caught; but now it looked to be around midnight. And she hadn't died.

In all rights, she should be dead. Nobody survives 12 hours inside an avalanche, on Mount Everest. Strange thing was, she didn't even feel cold. No frostbite or hypothermia symptoms presented itself.

After climbing out, she stood, shaking, before slowly making her way back down to base camp.

***
Two months after the incident
***
Everest finally arrived back into her home country. Immediately after the plane landed, she grabbed her gear and called a taxi.
She climbed inside the car, and gave directions to the driver. Everest sank back into her seat, and let out a breath before idly tracing the scar on her forehead.
One of the doctors around the Himalayas treated the wound. It wasn't too serious, but it was still bad. Turned out, a rock had hit her while she was inside the avalanche, and it was forceful enough to black her out for half a day. Fortunately, it healed well, but still left a pink scar.

The taxi swept along the countryside roads for a couple of hours, before arriving at a town. She opened the door, grabbed her luggage, and walked out onto the town edge.

There were many people lined up outside her own house, holding signs and cheering when they saw her. They all congratulated her on her successful summit, and her recovery from her head injury. Everest smiled and nodded politely, shaking a few people's hands, before pushing gently past and entering her house.

She smiled to herself. The rest of her neighbours often called her their pride and joy; a successful mountaineer coming from small roots and bringing a little recognition to her small town. Pain struck her, her forehead throbbing as she massaged it.

The sudden sound of ice cracking startled her. Everest turned around, looking for the source before looking down at her feet.
    A small circle of white-blue ice and snow spread out on the ground. Everest took a step back, and the ice followed her. Confused and slightly worried, she went outside, and rubbed her arm. Seemingly out of nowhere, a large ramp made of snow formed in front of her, in the middle of the road.

Everest drew her hands into herself, terrified. The folklore tales of Radiants were true.

And she was one of them.