A Mountain of Stress

The wind blew violently against the cave’s entrance, rumbling with a piercing howl that could shake someone to their core. Ebel surely shivered at the frigid temperature, but Vulture kept her cool. It was getting late by the looks of things; though it was hard to see outside within the snowstorm, though. 

“Maybe it’ll die down in another hour or so,” Ebel tried to reassure. Was she saying that for her own mind’s sake, or for Vulture? She doesn’t want to admit the answer to that. 

Meanwhile, Vulture was making herself comfy in a nice nook in the corner. She curled up, fully prepared to spend the night here, and ushered Ebel to join her. “You said that an hour earlier. Come, you’ll freeze standing there.”

With chattering teeth, Ebel shook her head confidently. “It’s not that cold,” she said, hugging her coat tighter around her form. Just then, a frigid breeze howled into the cave, hard enough to brush her hair back and make her eyes sting. Her lips quivered as she stubbornly stood still to take it. 

Vulture huffed as she looked at her wife. This wasn’t surprising for Ebel to do. As much as she loved the stubborn spirit, it got ridiculous sometimes. 

They were supposed to look for a lost spirit on this mountain, but clearly, that mission would have to wait. It’s no surprise someone died here. Even if there was no storm, the terrain here was unsteady and hard to navigate through. Ebel was lucky to have Vulture by her side, but other souls wouldn’t have an easy time around here. She wasn’t even alive and this cold was putting her hair on end. 

She looked off into the distance, towards the cave’s entrance. She wasn’t stupid enough to go out there in the pitch black, thankfully. However, she wondered what it was like for that spirit to be out there in these conditions. To say it would be scary was an understatement. Yet, all she could do was bite her cheek and stare off into the storm. But that didn’t stop her mind from worrying. If anything, a part of her wanted to bear with it and head out there to search. It wasn’t like she could die again, right?

“Ebel,” Vulture’s voice brought her out of her thoughts. She opens her arms again, albeit much lazier this time. How she could be peacefully dozing in these conditions was baffling. Being an otherworldly being had its perks, Ebel supposed.

“How can you be thinking about cuddling now?” Ebel held a finger to her lips once Vulture opened her mouth. “No, don’t bother answering. I just know it’ll be ridiculous.”

They both fell silent, with only the roaring wind speaking around them. Vulture tilted her head, flopping her arms back on the ground with a thud. Her expression didn’t look hurt in the slightest, though. Not like Ebel ever meant her rash words. So, Vulture laid her head down and huffed in Ebel’s direction. 

It caused her to sigh and cross her arms. “Okay, sorry, but it’s hard to be calm with this stupid storm…” She let out a heavy sigh, before walking closer to her wife. “You think we’ll find that spirit out here?”

Vulture grunted and gave a curt nod. Again, she patted the spot next to her with a smug expression. One of her four arms aimlessly reached out for Ebel. “Everything will turn out fine. It always does, cold or hot. That spirit isn’t going anywhere, so you should relax.” She managed to poke Ebel’s stomach. “You can say this is ‘conserving energy,’ or something. Come on, I’m growing tired.”

“Such a one-track mind, I swear.” 

That lax mind didn’t stop Ebel from coming closer and sitting beside Vulture. She leaned back against Vulture’s side, nestling into the soft fur subtly. Or, at least, she believed she was being subtle about it. Her want to get warm may be overriding her pride in this case. Before she knew it, she was melting against Vulture with a heavy sigh. 

Vulture let out a soothing purr, the sound rumbling throughout her core and shaking Ebel with the force. Immediately, she wrapped an arm around Ebel to pull her on top of her stomach. Best not to make Ebel sleep on the cold ground. The fur of a demi-goddess could be the perfect bed for nights like this. 

It became impossible to see anything around them as it grew late, with only the faint glow of her lantern making it so they weren’t completely blind. Ebel didn’t worry about any danger since she wasn’t alive (and who would attack something like Vulture, anyway?), but that meant she couldn’t reasonably adventure out on her own. It would be interesting to see what lay deeper within the cave, but alas. Vulture securely holding her in a bear hug stopped any hopes she had too. Sometimes her wife reminded her of a dragon possessively hoarding their treasures; all thought of affectionately, of course. Well, maybe she’d be a bit more affectionate if she could move from this embrace.

“Go to sleep,” Vulture grumbled. “You can’t work in the morning without proper sleep.”

Ebel huffed. “I’m a spirit, I don’t even need sleep.”

Vulture’s grip didn’t lessen. On the contrary, she simply nuzzled her head against Ebel’s. 

“I’m not tired…”

Vulture started to rub her back soothingly, with one paw being able to cover most of her form. 

Her eyes were getting heavy. Ebel buried her face into Vulture’s chest, letting out one final, “I’ll just take a quick nap,” before finally succumbing to the comforting touches. It was so easy to relax against Vulture. As intimidating as the demi-goddess was, her body was built for snuggles. 

She’ll simply shut her eyes for an hour or two. That should be enough rest to satisfy Vulture. Then, that storm should die down and they can start exploring.

 

The sun was beaming into the cave by the time they woke up. With the snow, it seemed like the sunlight was ten times stronger than usual. Not ideal to have that shine right into the eyes. Ebel stirred awake with a tired groan, burying her face more into Vulture’s fur. She couldn’t hear the howling wind from the storm. If anything, she only heard Vulture snoring.

“What time is it…?” she mumbled. As she raised her head to look outside, she blinked at the bright sunlight. She definitely slept for more than an hour. Well, at least they can actually explore the mountain today. 

She looked at Vulture then. Her wife was still snoozing peacefully, unbothered by her stirring, nor the sunlight. It was a wonder how such a beast could look like a precious puppy, but this world loved to surprise her. Almost as much as she loved to surprise Vulture.

She raised her paws high into the air in a slow-motion before slamming them down and patting at Vulture relentlessly. Given that Vulture was this size, Ebel never had to worry about hurting her with these stunts.

“Wake up, wake up, wake up!” she cheered. “Rise and shine, sleepyhead! We have work to do and a whole lot of mountain to explore!” 

Vulture grumbled, before opening her mouth and letting out a mighty yawn. “There’s no need to rush with this…”

“No, but I want to get off this stupid mountain and back home, so get up.” Ebel pushed herself up to straddle Vulture’s chest. She stretched slowly. That wasn’t too bad of a sleep, but she wasn’t the one laying on the cold ground. Vulture was basically a king-sized bed complete with fluffy blankets. 

After a couple of moments, Vulture sat up while holding Ebel to her closely. With how thick the snow was, chances were that she’d be doing all the walking while Ebel rode on her shoulders. Not that she minded. It was another excuse to be close to Ebel the whole day, after all.

“Alright, let’s set off.” Ebel climbed onto Vulture’s right shoulder, making herself comfortable and patting her wife’s hair. “I’ve been thinking about exploring west from here-” She continued to explain her plans in a long ramble. Thank god she didn’t need to breathe, or she’d suffocate with how much she talked during thought processes.

While Vulture was listening, she also patted Ebel’s legs to get her attention. “Did you sleep well?”

Ebel blinked. “Huh?”

“I asked if you slept well?” Vulture repeated. She nudged her head lovingly against Ebel’s side with a calming purr. “It’s awfully cold out here. I didn’t know if you could sleep.”

With Vulture, Ebel barely remembers they’re on a freezing mountain. She giggled and hugged Vulture’s head. “Yeah, I slept fine. I think you had the worst position between the two of us.”

“I wanted you to relax, especially with all the work you do.” Vulture went towards the cave’s entrance, breathing in the fresh, cold morning air. “Not many people can go to this place. It’s quite beautiful.”

Ebel mimicked the gesture, taking in the air; it was so cold that it felt dry coming in. Still, the vast quietness of this land was breathtaking. “I guess you’re right.” She leaned against Vulture’s head, letting out a small sigh in content. “We might as well have a slow morning.”

Vulture only let out an affirmative noise. “In this life, you need to learn that you have all the time in the world.” She started to traverse through the snow at a careful pace. “Searching slowly will help us be more aware of clues. Tracking a lost spirit will take time.”

“Mhm…” Ebel kept hugging Vulture’s head. “Take your time-” she let out another yawn. “I’ll be on the lookout.”

“If you want to nap more, I’ll shield you from the cold.”

Ebel nodded and buried herself within the plethora of fluffy hair. “Thanks… I won’t sleep long.” And she closed her eyes, only lightly dozing so she could keep her ears open.

However, in moments like these, they took the time to work together in each other’s company. Within the frigid temperatures, it was always warm in each other’s embrace.