Lissie was falling. She breathed in the snow, and woke up.
The fire had gone out. The door was open, or the boulder had been set aside. She sat, groaning against the pain. Nikolai was nowhere to be seen. Birdsong drifted through the opening. Soft golden light reflected off of the snow outside.
Lissie got to her feet. Her crampon spikes screeched against the stone floor. She sat back down, and worked them off. It was difficult with only one hand. Lissie went ahead and took off her boots and her socks. Her feet chilled quickly in the cold, and she rummaged in her pack for the extra pair. It was harder getting them on than it was pulling them off.
She slipped her boots back on, but couldn’t tie them. She tucked in the laces and made her way outside.
In the snowy clearing, there was a pile of cabbage leaves. Much of it looked like it had exploded. She looked around, and saw Nikolai crouched to her left, a few feet off.
He looked frozen, like he would never move again. She followed his gaze, he was staring at the pile of cabbage.
She went to stand by his side.
He did not turn to look at her. She stared at the cabbage. His head twitched, and she looked at him. He was searching the forest.
She followed his gaze and saw a twitch of white. The morning light cast deep blue shadows across the forest floor. One of them moved again. She looked back at him.
This is the first time I’ve seen him smile, she thought, it’s nice.
One of the white flashes landed in a sunbeam. It was an arctic hare, ears up and watching them with shiny black eyes. Nikolai waited, and so did Lissie.
The rabbit hopped forward. Then to the side. Then back, and around.
Lissie’s arm throbbed and she ignored it. Nothing would make her break the stillness.
Nikolai was still watching the forest, and she looked back. All at once the ground was alight with hopping hares and twitching whiskers.
Now she was smiling. She put her right hand to her face.
They watched the rabbits.