Everglow: Friend From Far Away

1 - Abandoned

It wasn't unlike any other day. The sky was a bright yellow, the mountains in the distance a cool aqua. The ice beneath her feet crunched like paper as she limped across the vast plains that formed the ice deserts. 

Her stride had become slow and clumsy, weakened by the lack of any type of food. Her hands shivered, but not because of the cold. She blinked rapidly, trying to clear out her stinging eyes. 

How much further would she have to go?

Her lower jaw shivered violently, her tail dragging behind her like an anchor slowing her down. The already frozen world seemed even colder as she fought back both tears and the idea of huddling into a ball and going to sleep. Even though that's all she wanted right now. 

She sniveled quickly as she walked, her head screaming in terror. But she had to be brave. She had to push through it. She had to survive.

Her eyelids started to droop as she marched forwards, her head feeling like it was being pressed into a vice. Maybe rest wasn't such a bad idea. She had been walking all day after all. She could feel her legs wobbling under her weight, ready to give out at any moment. 

'Alright. Maybe just for a little bit.'

But there was only one problem. The ground beneath her was slippery and flat, hardly a good spot to rest. Gazing around at her surroundings, she noticed a large pile of rocks ahead where the plains began to grow rocky and uneven. That seemed like as good a place as any to spend the night.

Wearily, she made her way to the rocks. The tundra winds seemed like they were trying to fight against her, blowing harshly in the opposite direction she was headed. She closed her eyes and mustered all her strength, pushing through the wall of freezing ice and wind until she finally made it.

Crouching down below one of the rocks, she breathed a small sigh of relief as she sat there shivering. The wind flew around the rock, hitting her like a whip, but there was nothing more she could do. There was nowhere else for her to go. She huddled below the rocky outcrop, her entire body stinging from being constantly bombarded by ice shards thrown at her by the wind. 

Thoughts of her mother began to flow into her head as she sat there. It was only days ago she was cuddled up in her mother's arms, safe from the monsters that lurked in the dark. But now she was gone and all those monsters knew it.

Where had she gone? Where had her Dad gone? Her family? She tried her best to remember but it was too cold for her to even think straight. It was like they had just disappeared. It was only her. She was lost, alone and scared. Nothing but kilometers of ice and rock in every direction. 

Her eyes closed, a wave of tears falling despite her best efforts to hold them back. 

She had been brave. But it wasn't enough. The winds screamed at her like a banshee, everything was fuzzy and broken. She closed her eyes and wept uncontrollably, whimpering in the freezing cold as she lay there, waiting at death's door.

The hours dragged by. She couldn't sleep, she couldn't drink or eat, she couldn't even stand up on her weary legs. It seemed like the world was slowly fading, her life going with it. Everything darkened, everything felt cold and unkind. 

Suddenly, the crunching of footsteps caught her attention. They were faint, but they were there. At first she though she was imagining it. That it was all in her head. That these were her final thoughts before passing. That it was her mind trying desperately to find any resemblance of hope. But the gruff voice that followed seemed to argue otherwise.

"Ello there little one. What you doin' out 'ere in the freezin' cold ey?"

The sound of the voice rang through her head, her drowsy eyes opening. Turning around slowly, a figure formed in her vision. It was an older man dressed in a big fluffy brown jacket. He had faded brown accents of colour all over his head and tail and his two horns were a deep blue. 

Still shivering, she tried her best to make out the man in front of her. The first thing that came to her mind was her father. But the sound of his voice soon erased that hope from her mind. The man bent down and held his arms out to her, grabbing hold of her under her own arms. She tried to struggle against the stranger, but she had next to no energy left, her kicks about as effective as being hit by paper towel.

"Hehe, you look lost down there. Don't you worry, Uncle Detritha'll take good care o' you."

He wiped away her tears with his hand, holding her comfortably with his other. 

"I-I w-want mummy. . . I miss her," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes with her hands. 

"Oh yer mum's probably doin somethin' else ey? Come on, we'll go home. I got a special place just for good little girls like you."

She gave up any attempts to resist and let herself be carried away by the man. A few meters away she spotted a vehicle, presumably the one this man used to get here.

Carrying her over to it, he placed her in a small basket and gave her a blanket. She instantly took it, curling it around herself and hugging it tightly like it was her mother. 

"Now then. What's yer name, little one?"