Footprints

ii. sera

It was getting windy. It usually did, just before it got dark. Great, chilly gusts vaulted across the snow, leaving a frosty coating on Ichimi's light-blue hoodie. She shivered. Chloe, who hadn't been wearing the fluffy jacket (it was cumbersome and quite unattractive, she thought), fumbled through her carrybag to find it.

Ichimi shuffled past yet another shrub of pink berries. Now, with only eight hoots to spare, and a devilishly chilly wind swirling around them, there was even less chance of stopping.

Despite this, Ichimi stood still. Chloe kept going. "Hey," Ichimi was saying. Chloe didn't hear over the wind. Ichimi ran (well, tripped, but got back up and continued) over to Chloe and tapped her shoulder (hard!—the fluffy jacket was quite dense). Chloe looked at her, turned side to side, and nodded.

Setting up camp was a struggle. The best spot was under the big tree. They had, unfortunately, ran out of time, settling for a pocket of pointy trees and berry bushes that gave some shelter from the chilly wind.

It was cold. Really cold. Getting colder and colder. Chloe was moving a lot faster than Ichimi, picking up pegs and sheets and whipping them into some sort of camp with dazzling efficiency.

"Hurry up," Chloe told her, "hurry, we're really cold."

Ichimi looked up. "I know," she replied, shivering violently, teeth chattering. "I'm going as fast as I can."

Chloe was frustrated. Ichimi kept shivering.

The sun had just about escaped. There was a faint, glowering light in the sky. Wind kept blowing and blowing, the girls kept shaking and shivering, and fresh snow began sifting down from above, white and innocent amid the hazy eve.