Episode Two: The Point of Absolute Zero

*Euryale grabs Taiyo's thighs, squeezing maybe a little more than is necessary as she hoists her up on her back.*

E"There we go. Roatha, brush the snow off of her feet, would you?"

R"You should speak for yourself. You try to hide it, but you must be uncomfortable. Maybe I can cut off some pieces of my cloak, & we can secure them around your feet?"

E"Not a bad idea, but not right now. We need to keep moving."

Taiyo: "Your feet will only freeze more. Do you at least want to wear Azuma's jacket?"

Taiyo clings to her more than she probably should and tries to shake her feet off. Having no feeling in them, it's difficult to tell if it's working or not.

Assuming they've opted to move, Dorumon gets a low hanging branch to the face.

"Yeah, sorry. I don't think anyone here has the strength to carry you."

"Maybe you should undo the sleeves on your jacket. They come off don't they?" BlkAgumon asked his partner.

"Good thinking. That's probably quicker, and less wasteful, than ripping up your cloak man. Its no sweat for me. I grew up in Hokaido. I'm use to to cold."

R"Okay, she still needs things to put on her feet."

E"Really, I'll be fine, as long as we're quick about this."

*Dorumon kicks that branch's ass.*

The mound of snow shakes and a set of translucent insect wings emerge soon followed by the frozen blue body of the Kuwagamon they belong to.

It steps forward, its movement slow and rigged. It tries flexing its jaws, but they hardly budge.

===================================

Azuma, Hitomi and their partners stand on the trail created by frequent enough travel.

Azuma: "Cold?"

Hitomi: "No."

*They make some distance just in case, but it doesn't seem like much of a threat.*

*Kylie and friends also back away*

Kylie:<It..needs help.>

Lunamon:<Yeah, it looks pretty frozen.>

"I don't think its friendly..."

Taiyo clings to Euryale because a giant stag beetle is still scary regardless of whether or not it's frozen.

It reaches out to them, a sickening snap occuring as its arm breaks off.

Taiyo: "We should go."

"Yup. Pretty sure frozen zombie beetles are one of the signs for hella g to the f to oing."

"Please... don't ever say that again BlkAgumon..." Hibiki facepalms and begins to make haste away from Kuwagamon.

Kylie:<No, we can't let it freeze to death! We have to help it.>

Lunamon:<What?>

Kylie:<It's so horrible to freeze to death.>

Lunamon:<Well, I don't have any fire attacks. Biyomon?>

*Biyomon shrugs, looking uncomfortable. Kylie turns to the others*

<Will you guys give me a hand?>

*Aroma covers her mouth, staring in horror at the arm.*

E"Eww...help you with what?"

Taiyo: "Leaving the frozen monster alone?"

It tries to snap its pincers, but they continue to refuse to budge. It sounds like it could be trying to growl or even speak although with a mouth that's frozen shut it's hard to tell and instead lumbers towards them until another snap is heard and it falls over leaving its right foot behind as it topples over the cliff into the valley below with a crash.

*Kylie looks horrified at the sight of the monster falling off the cliff, then grabs Lunamon, sniffling*

<Maybe it was friendly...we'll never know.>

E"Maybe, maybe not. Either way, we should really keep moving."

Kylie's tears don't fall because they froze.

Taiyo: "Yeah...before we end up like that next."

*Kylie looks even more depressed now*

Eve:<Good plan.>

*They start heading in whatever direction they had been going in*

*At some point, Euryale falls over & faceplants in the snow. She lets out a muffled "UCK!"*

A"Oh my God, are you okay!?"

R"Your legs went numb, didn't they?"

*Her reply from the snow is completely unintelligible.*

I'm going to assume they had managed to regroup with the other two.

Taiyo jumps off of Euryale and tries to turn her over.

Taiyo: "Sorry, sorry, sorry. Are you okay?"

R"Don't apologize, it's her own fault. What you need to do is rub her nose in it. That'll teach her a lesson."

*She flips off Roatha as she's turned over.*

E"It's so cold, & why does it always go down your shirt?!"

*Kylie runs to Euryale's side and holds out her hand to pull her up*

Kylie:<Are you going to be able to keep walking?>

Taiyo: "Don't say that. She could've caught her balance if she wasn't carrying me."

Azuma: "If not, we'll have to carry her."

R"No, she wasn't able to keep her balance because her feet went numb."

E"As much as it pains me to admit it, I might have to try Roatha's stupid home-made shoe plan."

Cameron:<Won't they just become soaked though very quickly?>

Biyomon:<It'd be better than flip-flops.>

"This is getting us nowhere. If only we had a big enough flame to melt us a path so we didn't have to trudge through all this snow!"