Tell My Heart To Beat

The Gully

She was shivering by the time they had found a place to stay. Her coat was not enough to keep the biting cold from penetrating through to her skin. Even though Dante had provided some warmth as he carried her, it was near impossible to keep her warm as the wind picked up. The daylight was nearly gone. The cloud cover had turned the evening light into blue-grey hues, and the weather was not improving.

His main concern was finding some place out of the wind. Thankfully, they had come across a deep gully lined with rock going from east to west. This was going to provide a block from the wind through the night, at least. Dante looked around for any signs of danger, be it animal or demonic, before making his way down into the area.

Evan had stopped talking a while ago, even going as far as moving her hands to the inside of her coat. She was freezing. Her feet were almost white when Dante set her down next to the rocky wall of the gully where snow had not accumulated. He kneeled down, grabbing her feet in his gloved hands and making sure there were no signs of frostbite.

"I can't feel them." She muttered out between her quivering jaw. He looked at her with heavy concern.

"It's okay, I'll get you warmed up in a bit." He put a hand on her head in comfort, then he pulled her hood over to cover her ears. "I'll be right back." He removed Rebellion from his back and leaned it up against the wall before removing his coat. "Here, this should help." Dante gently put his coat around his daughter's shaking form.

The devil hunter stood up before taking Rebellion and walking off into the fading light. Evan would be alright for a while until he could gather enough wood for a fire. Without Evan there, he would likely keep hunting through the night, but he was not here for demons. He was here for her. This may have started out as a job, but now it was a rescue mission, and he was not willing to put Evan in harms way.

Finding dry wood was a little difficult but manageable even in these conditions. Dante made sure not to go too far from where he had left Evan, as he was still earshot from her. If anything happened, he could be there in no time at all. As soon as he collected enough wood, he was back in the gully.

"This should be enough to get you through the night." He squatted down facing Evan as he stacked the firewood evenly, making sure to add in some of the tinder he was able to find. "You okay over there?" She was curled up against the wall with his red coat covering her. He could barely see her eyes peeking out from the small opening in the cocoon that she had made.

"M'okay." Dante smiled to himself at her muffled response. At least she was warmer.

"There's a lighter in one of those pockets, ya mind getting it for me?" To be honest, he was starting to feel a little chill as it was almost completely dark. He could see her moving around to search his coat pockets and then there was a chink as the lighter landed next to him.

Lighting a fire in the dark was a lot less challenging when there was no wind. The silver zippo lighter he kept around for sentimental purposes came in handy this time. As soon as the fire was going good enough, Dante sauntered over to sit close to Evan, who was sticking her cold feet out towards the hot flame. Setting Rebellion against the rocky wall, he chuckled as he watched her cozy up to the warmth while still covered in his coat. It amazed him that she had survived on her own for this long.

He was pretty sure that it was the traits she inherited from him. Survival was in his DNA, and so was abandonment and loneliness. That was something he hoped Evan would be spared from. He was wrong. Plain and simple.

"You're not cold?" She asked him as he leaned back against the rock with his legs stretched out and ankles crossed.

"Not really." Sort of a lie, but Dante was not going to rob her of any extra warmth she could get. She was lucky she did not have any blackened toes. "I can handle a little cold. What about you? Are you feeling better?"