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When they went outside in the winter, Skye always got a little nervous. She stayed closer to Everest's side than she usually did, even though she was wearing a jacket and boots that would keep her paws from getting wet with snow.
Everest glanced up like she was checking the sky for eagles. "Are you cold?"
"Not everyone has a double coat like you." She leaned against her. "I get cold faster." She also got cold faster because she was smaller, but she didn't like thinking about that.
Everest glanced down at the snow before flopping into it, rolling around. She wondered if Everest was itchy before she stood up and stepped away, her tail wagging. "It's a snow pup."
She glanced down at the shape in the snow, like the shape that had formed underneath her when she'd hit the ground, her eyes closing, and she didn't know if she would breathe again. "Yeah." She agreed, her voice sounding far away. It looked just like what she'd seen below her, when Ryder picked her up for the first time. "A snow pup."
A snowflake fell on her shoulder, and she barely resisted the urge to shiver.
In Jake's house, she always curled up directly by the fire, feeling like she'd never be warm enough. Jake walked in, the bottom of his boots clumped with snow, and Everest shook herself as she followed. Snow sprayed across the floor, and Jake shook his head even though he didn't look mad. "I'll go get a towel."
Everest glanced up at him apologetically. "Sorry. You can wrap a towel around me before I shake next time."
"It's okay." Jake pet her head, and Everest leaned into it. "I might have to do that anyway, since Skye's always using the fireplace." He smiled at her, and she knew that it was a joke, but it didn't feel like it. "It's a good thing that she's small. We can all sit by the fire, and if there's not enough room, she can sit on my lap. We'll all be warm."
They walked away to get the towel, and she could distantly hear Everest joking about something to do with Santa. She stayed by the fire, still feeling frozen.
"Did you ever think that you were going to die? When you were living on your own?"
Everest blinked at Skye, looking slightly confused. "I was kind of scared that I was going to, sometimes. The only thing that really bothered me was not eating for a few days. Sometimes I'd find carcasses and I'd be okay, but I didn't want to kill anything. When I was really desperate, I tried to kill a rabbit once. I was too weak to move much, so I missed it. I was terrified that I wasn't going to find anything to eat again."
"That makes sense." Of course Everest hadn't even thought about hypothermia. "How long were you out there?"
"...I don't know." Everest paused, thinking about it. "I think it was only a few months. I was really lucky that there was only one blizzard. I had to sit in my snow den. I didn't even move, because I didn't want to lose any body heat."
She took a deep breath, trying not to imagine Everest lying in the cold, unable to move or breathe. She tried not to imagine herself like that. "Were you ever scared that you weren't going to find anyone else?"
"Of course I was. When I found Jake, I was terrified that he wasn't going to like me. Or maybe he just wouldn't have wanted a dog, and he would've brought me to the pound or something. Or he would've just left me out there." Everest looked away before wagging her tail. Skye couldn't tell whether it was fake or not. "But none of that happened. Why are you asking?"
She flinched, hoping that Everest couldn't feel it. "I was just curious. You never really talk about your past."
Everest wagged her tail again, and she could tell that Everest meant it this time. "You don't, either."
She wagged her tail back, uneasily, even though she really wanted to look away. "Are you scared of it? Snow?"
"Snow saved my life. I used it for water, and to keep warm. I've always liked the snow." Everest looked at her searchingly. "Are you scared?"
She could feel herself tense. "Of snow?" She snorted, but it sounded more like a low-pitched whine than anything. "...That would be weird."
"Just like how you're acting right now?" Everest pointed out. Her voice softened. "You don't have to talk about it, if you don't want to."
She looked away. She didn't really want to talk about it, but how much longer could that go on? She didn't like feeling scared, and not having a way to fight through it. "...When I met Ryder, I'd been following him in the cold. I don't know how long. Maybe thirty minutes?" Guessing a time made her feel weaker than she had before, somehow. "I couldn't move. It took so much effort just to think, and I was so tired that I wanted to just lay down and not get up again. I kept following Ryder until it hurt too much to move, and my eyes were closing. I don't know how he heard me when I fell, but he picked me up. He saved me."
Everest shifted, and she leaned into her, grateful. Everest was quiet for a while before she spoke. "I'm sorry that you were out there at all. You almost died. It was probably the most terrifying thing that's ever happened to you."
"...Yeah. It was." She looked away. "I know that it's ridiculous, but I wish that you would've been there. You could've taught me how to make snow dens."
"You wouldn't have needed one. I could've just covered you up."
"I would've had a portable blanket." Somehow, thinking about the ways that everything could've been different made her feel more sad than she had before. Maybe it was the contrast, between how things could be better and how they actually were. She didn't even know what a blanket was, back then. "...I'm glad that I have you now."
Everest's tail thumped, and her eyes softened. "I'm glad that you told me. I was worried."
"I was, too." She felt better. Lighter, somehow. She still didn't want to go outside, but maybe someday, it really would be like Everest had been here the whole time.