Cold was the first thing Matsukaze became aware of. They blink their eyes open slowly, feeling dazed and disoriented as they look up at the cold, unforgiving sky above. The ground beneath them feels like it’s seeping into them, ice running through their veins, gripping their bones, grasping at their chest.
It must be another nightmare. Their breath feels trapped in their throat, but with some difficulty they finally push themself up to sit. An unfamiliar coat… winter gloves instead of their usual…
Ice?
Why was it ice, it was never ice, always snow. Matsu takes in the surroundings, the wide open expanse of ice, the unfamiliar mountains, the people that they didn’t know… Where were they?!
They start to try and scramble to their feet only to hear a sickening crack in the ice beneath them. Breathe. Breathe. Their foot slips on the slick surface of the ice and they lose their balance, landing a bit hard on that knee and catching themself with their hands.
Another, louder crack from the ice. Thankfully they hadn’t even gotten up to crouching before that slip, but it still reminds them of-
“No, no no no…!” It’s so cold, the chill of the ice is creeping up their leg from where their knee has contact. Their opaque tights are doing almost nothing to keep their legs warm. Panic is already setting in, and they feel like they can’t move, even with the sounds of the ice groaning and cracking underneath them. “Fuck!”
There’s a voice, someone else calling something that their brain didn’t really process beyond the fact that there was someone else out there. Matsu’s eyes focus on Atsuko, and they start trying to crawl her way. If the ice gives way, they’re dead.
“Help…! Help, the ice, it’s cracking, I can’t–” Their hands are shaking and there’s only that desperation of maybe it’s more solid over there that keeps them from just curling up into a ball and crying.
It’s so cold.
They notice more movement, a second person, too, but they are crawling towards the one that they think is a bit closer.
