Blizzard (1,105 views)

[Jazilyn]

Icy-blue eyes peered hopelessly through the white flurry, every step taken in the two-foot deep snow crunching loudly beneath the lupe. His hands were stuffed in the front pocket of his thin and inadequate green hoodie, ears pinned and shoulders hunched. His fluffy, steel-blue wolfen tail dragged through the snow as he trudged forward, each step more arduous than the last. His navy-blue jeans were soaked clean through, the grungy white tee-shirt under his jacket clinging to the sinews of his chest. Strings of his ebony hair flung wildly in the breeze, wet and tangled from the endless blizzard; it had half fallen out of the loose ponytail he kept it in, and clung to the sides of his face while random strands flew about wildly.

The lupe had been walking for what seemed like hours, chased away from his shelter in the middle of a blizzard. He couldn't see well enough to make out where he was headed, most of the street signs illegible in the white haze. He only knew he was walking down a street lined with cars, all of which carried a mountain of snow on their roofs. But the blizzard was so thick, he didn't even realize that the road had started to curve, and continued walking straight forward. He walked until his foot caught on something hard, and he was sent toppling face forward in the snow. He put his hands out to catch himself, not that it did him any good, and struggled and shuffled over his feet until he caught his balance.

Fortune seemed to smile on him today; he had fallen face-first onto the steps of the Terror Mountain hotel. Scuttling to the door, he yanked with overwhelmingly numb hands until the snow gave way enough to get the door open a crack, then slipped inside.

"Good evening, sir. Checking in?" Came the voice of a very confused ixi at the front desk. Only himself and a precious few other guests occupied the lobby, most of the residents probably tucked safely away in their rooms. Several were by the fire, laughing and talking while they waited the storm out.

The lupe forced a half smile, feeling in his jean's pocket, fist curling around the single five-dollar bill he carried. Not nearly enough for a room. "I'm actually waiting for some friends," he lied flawlessly, "And then we'll all be checking in. They should arrive soon. Do you mind if I wait by the fire until they arrive?"

"N-not at all," the ixi replied, looking rather stunned. "What brings you all to town?"

The lupe knew no 'friends' would ever come, and eventually the ixi would kick him out, but even just a few minutes near a fire would be unequivocally helpful. He peeled off his green hoodie, revealing two sleeves of black tribal tattoos, and left the dripping fabric on the coat rack near the door. "Skiing. Wasn't expecting this, though."

"Indeed," the ixi replied with a fake, forced chuckle. Satisfied with the lupe's answer, he turned his gaze down to the papers he had been staring at moments before the lupe walked in. As for the lupe, he made himself comfortable in one of the plush chairs, eyes fixated on the dancing flames.

[extremeblue]

As Theodore approached Terror Mountain, he noticed a huge blizzard covering the mountain. "No wonder there's no ice deliveries," he thought. Walking from memory, he attempted to go into the ice caves. Unfortunately, he ended up in the Slushie Shop instead.

As he walked in, the tuskaninny running the shop asked him if he wanted a drink. "No thanks," he said. "I was trying to get to the ice caves and lost my way."

"There's a hotel next doors. I don't have any equipment to help you here, but they might be able to help you there. You should go check."

"Okay, will do."

Theodore made his way next doors, which was somewhat easy - he just felt his way around, and barged into a hotel where a blue lupe was sitting to the side.

[Jazilyn]

Minutes seemed to pass like hours, and the blue lupe became lost in the mesmerizing sight of the dancing red flames. His tattoo-sleeved arms hugged tightly to his chest as he brought his feet up to rest on the cushion with him, practically sitting in the fetal position. But he couldn't help it, he couldn't stop shivering; and the fact that his clothes were still soaking wet didn't help any. He should have been grateful just to be indoors, but he still felt miserable.

The lupe flinched when more cold air blew in from outside, peeling his eyes away from the fire to look at the bori who had entered. At least he wasn't the only one who'd been caught out in the storm; though he wondered if this bori intended to check in, or if he was just stuck like him.

The ixi working the front desk looked up from his paperwork, grousing initially at the sight of the bori, but eventually forced a smile. "Good evening, Sir. Are you checking in? You wouldn't happen to be a member of that gentlemen's ski team, would you?" he asked with a forced chuckle, pointing to where the lupe had sat down.

Portal winced, dreading what answer the bori would give.

[extremeblue]

"Actually, I was investigating the ice deliveries to Meridell. They seem to have stopped. I came in here for a bit of equipment to help me get to the ice caves, as not only should I be able to find somewhere to stay there, but there won't be a blizzard in there. At least not hopefully."

[Jazilyn]

The ixi stared wide-eyed for a moment before commenting, "We have towels... and a few miniature bottles of shampoo." He cleared his throat and shuffled the papers that lay before him. "If you need equipment you'd have better luck searching at the General Store, but that's clear across town and with the weather being the way it is, you might want to consider spending the night here. It's only fifty neopoints a night," he concluded with a cheeky grin.

"The General Store's closed," Portal piped in, numb feet slipping slowly off the edge of his cushion. He hesitated a long moment before daring himself to stand, and made his way wobbly over to the counter. "Most of the stores around here are closing up early tonight, some of them are even boarded up. Owners' afraid the storm's gunna take out their windows."

His icy-blue eyes shifted to the ceiling lights as they began flickering, then back to the bori beside him. "Might be worth it; wouldn't want to find yourself on the news tomorrow, a frozen bori-sickle."

[extremeblue]

Feeling in his pockets the 10,000 NP he had brought with him from selling Eizzel, he decided to get a room. Thinking back to the whimper which he couldn't help but hear, and shivering at the thought of anyone being a neopet-sickle, he turned to the lupe and said, "Hey, do you need a room? I have enough NP for the two of us, and I wouldn't want anyone to end up on the news, at least not in the way the ixi said."

[Jazilyn]

The lupe's eyes widened, ears perking. "Yes!" he replied, too quickly and too eagerly. He didn't even stop to think of what it might cost him. He felt no shame in accepting charity from strangers, but it was extremely rare they offered him anything without asking for something in return. "Thanks man, I really appreciate it. And hey, if you need any help tomorrow, I'm your man. The name's Portal, by the way." He smiled, extending out his hand to shake the bori's.

[extremeblue]

"Thanks for the offer. I could use the help, even if this blizzard is gone tomorrow." Theodore payed 100 NP to the ixi, and tossed a room key to the lupe. "What's your name, by the way? Mine's Theodore."

[Jazilyn]

The lupe's ear's folded back, perplexed, but perked forward again as he shrugged. He'd already given the bori his name, but perhaps he just hadn't heard him. "Uh, my name's Portal," he reiterated, this time making certain he spoke clearly. "And it's a pleasure to meet you."

He thumbed the keycard, staring gleefully at it in his hands like it was the best thing that had ever happened to him. "I seriously appreciate this," he stumbled over his words, feeling as if they were inadequate, but not knowing what else to say other than "thank you".

"Oh here, let me get the elevator!" All that numbing cold he'd felt before seemed to vanish under the prospect of sleeping in a warm bed; he practically skipped to the coat rack to fetch his jacket, and then shuffled to the elevator and pushed the 'up' button. His jacket was still soaking wet, and was even leaving a trail of water behind him, but maybe a night of hanging over the tub would dry it out.

[extremeblue]

"Thanks. And its no problem, I seriously had more than enough NP." Theodore got onto the elevator, and pressed the button "2", as his room was room number 206. He then pocketed his keycard so he wouldn't have to carry the card all the time, and his hands would be free to put in his pockets.

[Jazilyn]

Portal followed onto the elevator, shoving his hands in his jeans pocket, yet keeping his fingers curled around the keycard. His room was 208 so he didn't need to press any of the elevator buttons, relaxing against the side of the wall as the doors closed. The lights flickered again, but the lupe thought nothing of it; that had been happening all night and was most likely caused by the storm. But if he'd been thinking, he would have suggested taking the stairs instead.

He felt a little awkward as the elevator hummed to life and lifted them steadily passed the first floor; he felt like he should thank Theodore again, but for his own sake kept his mouth shut.

"So-" Whatever he intended to say cut short immediately as the elevator caught violently on its ascent, somewhere between the first and second floor. Portal's hands flew out of his pockets and clutched madly at the elevator railing. "What the hell was that?" he half muttered, tone panic-stricken.

The doors of the elevator opened less than an inch before they stopped; he could see the second floor at the top of the elevator. It had maybe all of two feet exposed; the rest was a cement block. It would have been enough room to squeeze through and onto the second floor, if it weren't for the fact that the elevator door only allowed enough room to slip one's fingers through. Then, the entire elevator went pitch black.

[extremeblue]

Theodore's happy mood was cut short when the elevator slammed to a halt. The doors opened just slightly, although Theodore didn't have time to wonder why, as the unexpecting bori was thrown into the air, continuing the elevator's previous path of motion, not having time to grasp the railing.

After he dusted himself off, he noticed that they were almost at the second floor. "Do you want to try to push these doors apart?" he asked. "I hear that if two people push against the doors of an elevator hard enough, they'll come open."

"Of course, the danger with that is that we might fall down to the first floor."

[Jazilyn]

Portal stared wide-eyed into the nothingness of the elevator, his heart beating painfully fast. The sound was deafening; he almost couldn't hear Theodore over it's arrhythmic beating. He was starting to feel dizzy; bending forward, he put his head between his knees to try to keep from hyperventilating. Why did it have to be a tight space in pitch blackness? One or the other he could have handled just fine, but not both at the same time.

Inhaling deep, slow breaths, he waited a long moment before responding. "Yeah..." he uttered, the terror in his shaky tone betraying him. He stood up slowly, his eyes finally adjusting to the blackness. "...might as well try. It's either the door, or we climb out the hatch in the roof, but..." He didn't want to admit it, but he didn't think that would be possible; he was too weak to lift Theodore on his shoulders, and too weak to pull the bori up if Theodore lifted him up there. Just getting the door open was going to be a challenge; he was mostly skin and ribs, hadn't eaten in days, and didn't have a lot of power behind his frame.

There was always a third option, but it only would have worked if he'd been alone in the elevator. He wasn't going to leave Theodore by himself while he vanished into nothingness.

"Okay, I'll pull and you push," he stated, his tone now resolute. He tied the sleeves of his jacket around his waist and shuffled to the elevator door, slipping his fingers through the crack and preparing to pull.

[extremeblue]

The bori got into position, stalwartly standing against the edge of the door, pushing with all his might, causing the door to move the slightest bit.

((sorry. I just couldn't think of much to say there))

[Jazilyn]

((That's alright, don't worry about it. ))

Portal's fingers curled tight around the edge of the door, pulling back as hard as he could muster. The door made an ungodly obnoxious squeaking sounds as they were able to slowly draw it open. He was fairly certain that the bori was actually doing most of the work, but to his credit he poured every ounce of strength he could muster until the door was finally open enough for them to slip through.

Portal's stiff grip released and he stepped backward until he was able to rest his back against the wall. "You go first," he panted, placing his hand over his hammering heart.

The elevator groaned and he jumped forward like his tail was on fire, a fresh shot of adrenalin numbing the pain. "And we'd better hurry."