The Calling of... [Sonic the Hedgehog FF]

The snow - Mephilver (Winter special)

There was an endless whiteness raging all around him. He was alone, trapped in the cold snow and shards of ice were cutting his face. The layer of the snow was reaching to the waist, making any step almost impossible, but the man kept pushing forward. There was a place he had to get to, no matter what.

He would always visit this place each year. But this time... he may not make it. The wind picked up on the strength and speed, mercilessly hitting his body. The vapor coming from his mouth was immediately taken away and waves of shiver overcame his body. He bit his lip, hardly feeling any pain how it was frozen.

He stumbled, falling in the snow, gasping. A strong gust of the wind, torn down his hood, revealing dark hedgehog spines with slightly purple quill tips. He lifted his head, squinting his lime green eyes in a futile attempt to see better against the raging wind. He clenched his fists... or he thought, he did it. There was hardly any feeling in his limbs.

'I must have... got lost in the storm...' he pondered. 'But I... have to go...' He slowly lifted himself on all fours, panting for an air, and the coldness entering him squeezed his organs. He rose his head, noticing a person standing in front of him. He had no coat or hat... just normal clothes one could wear during the spring.

A pair of amber eyes was looking down... having no emotion in them. Five thin upward reaching quills were fluttering in the wind while two thick ones were flapping behind like a long cape, giving him noble feel. He was a hedgehog, like the lost traveler. The other hedgehog smiled a bit. "So... I found you..." he said, before his head became too heavy he wasn't able to keep it lifted and darkness took over him.

[** Sometime later **]

The dark hedgehog opened his eyes seeing the white ceiling with stalactites all over it. He slowly turned his head, noticing the white color was everywhere. The bed he was laying in was soft and the pillow was smooth like a freshly fallen snow. The blanket may have been thin, but he wasn't cold.

He lifted his hands, exercising them. There was no frostbite, not even on his legs. He put the blanket away, checking his whole body. He was in his shirt and pants, the woolen socks kept his toes warm. He touched them, double checking absence of any frostbites. He couldn't believe it. He would swear he was half-way frozen, having no hope for survival.

He put his legs on the white ground, it wasn't warm neither cold. He rather pinched his toes, examining the sensation of pain being satisfactory, so he didn't lose the feelings in them either. He started to study the room with his eyes, noticing a normal looking furniture to be made of unusual material – an ice. The chair, table, wardrobe, shelves... everything was made out of pure ice. He kept exploring the room with his eyes, overlooking white-furred hedgehog.

"So you have awakened, mortal," said the white one, showing no emotion in his voice neither eyes.

"You!" gasped the dark man, shivering. It was him who was standing in the snowstorm.

"Yes, It's me... a snow demon residing in this mountains," he simply replied. "Are you wondering, why aren't you dead?" The other one nodded. The snow demon crossed his arms. "I have decided to let you live for one more day. I have a use for you."

"You want something from me?"

"Yes, there is a town at the foot of the mountain, I want you to show me around it."

"Like... a tour?" He tilted his head, being unsure what type of 'showing' he had in a mind.

"I suppose you can call it that way, mortal." He shrugged his shoulders.