Jenna was abandoned on the doors of Xavier's school for gifted youngsters two weeks after her sixth birthday, and that's the only memory she has of her real family. They were nothing but a blur in her mind, and she had learned to accept that. Howeve...
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The cold moved in only to meet the warmth of Jenna's blood. She felt it wash over her skin, again and again, slowing the beating of her own heart. The truth was, no matter how hard it became, as long as she kept moving she'd win against the chill. The only problem was that Councillor D'aka had lost momentum.
He trudged at a fair distance behind her, each step struggling to push through the thick snow. They had been walking for two days, and D'aka wasn't accustomed to such a freezing climate. In Wakanda it was always warm. The sun shone brightly in the sky, its welcoming rays touching the earth with hues of orange and red. The memory alone was enough to draw an indescribable sorrow in the man's stomach. He missed his home more than words could say, and now more than ever, he thought he'd never have the opportunity to see it again.
If the cold didn't kill them, the hunger certainly would. Living off handfuls of snow just wasn't enough to sustain any meaningful amount of energy. It was even worse at night, with the strong winter winds and the scurrying of wild creatures piercing the air around them. Jen often invoked long conversations during these hours just to take the Councillor's mind away from their close proximity with death.
"How's your cheek?" She had asked one night, eyes constantly on alert for any sign of the Winter Soldier.
D'aka reflexively touched the tips of his fingers to the small scrape on his face. He tried to ignore the howling that shook the midnight air. "It is nothing. There are more pressing matters at hand."
"I don't know, scratching up an important Wakandan representative is bound to cause a whole ton of issues." Jen quipped in an obvious attempt to lighten the mood. "I'll never hear the end of it from Fury when we get back."
"If we get back." D'aka corrected, anxiety rippling through his voice as if he'd already decided that they were doomed.
There was truly nothing more depressing than the sound of a man longing for a home that he couldn't reach. Jen grimaced, but still marched onward. She knew that the stakes were high, but she had thought that D'aka would have a bit more faith in her abilities by now. "We will. You'll see Wakanda again. I promise."
Silence enveloped them as surely as the snow did. Another four hour hike lingered in their future before they could see any remnants of civilisation; a small hut in the middle of nowhere. It was difficult to describe the relief that washed over both D'aka and Jen in that moment. Though it didn't mean that the Winter Soldier had abandoned his search, being so close to the possibility of other people provided a sense of security...that was, admittedly, a little naive.
Jenna knocked on the door, trying to suppress the feeling of urgency that bubbled in her stomach. The darkened wood was sleek with snow, and as it opened those little flakes were forced off like frozen raindrops. "Can I...help you?"
The woman, who sported a grey mane of frizzy hair and spoke entirely in Russian, looked almost confused to be visited at such an hour...and so far away from civilisation. Her intense eyes scrutinised Jenna and D'aka, waiting for any suspicious activity. They were coated in snow and shivering madly, but didn't seem to have any personal belongings besides the clothes on their back.
