The howling wind cut through him like millions of tiny needles piercing his skin all at once. The snow swirling around him was not gentle, but instead felt like he was being pelted with rocks over and over, against his back, his arms, legs, and face. This was not a pretty, gentle snowfall, but a punishing, freezing blizzard. His fingers were frozen as he gripped his collar and tried to pull the fur up around his face. It wasn’t doing much to protect him from the wind and the cold, but it was better than nothing. Ao was tucked away between his coat and his shirt, luckily sheltered from the winds. She wouldn’t last very long in this weather at all.
The snow was already piling up past his calves, which made trying to trek through the valley exhausting and positively freezing. His boots were completely soaked through. He needed to find shelter soon, or he was going to have a problem with frostbite. The storm wasn’t going to let up any time soon, that much he knew by looking up into the sky. The snow blowing about was hampering his own vision something terrible, and he could only imagine how difficult it must be for someone to see who didn’t have the dragon’s eyes.
Which was why he’d almost missed it. It was a bit of a trek away, nestled into the mountains, hidden by snow and trees. But it was unmistakably a cave. How deep, Shin-ah couldn’t be sure, but a cave meant shelter. The trees nearby would probably help, since a fire would need to be made for warmth, but that could be a concern later. Getting right there, into that cave, and out of the howling wind was the first priority.
“There!” he shouted over the wind as it whistled through the trees, trying to make his normally quiet voice heard through the storm. “I see a cave!”
He turned towards Hak to see if his companion had heard him, and how he was faring.
