Lapin trudged on through the snow, his body ached with the cold. Each step sent a jolt a pain through his old bones.
His hand was all but frozen around the pistol and flashlight. It had been a long time since he had been left out in the cold like this.
His body reminded him that he was getting old. A gust of wind swept through his clothing , causing him to pause for a moment in pain. Cold and tired... that's all he felt at this moment. Rest a moment...yes just a moment..
He found a tree and leaned against it, some distant part of his mind warned him about something but he couldn't be bothered to listen to it for the moment... Rest was so close at hand.
The flashlight he was carrying slipped out of his hand and hit his shoe, stiring the old man after a moment.
He cursed him self, he bent over reaching for the flashlight, the cold stinging his fingers ans he clutched the frozen tube of metal.
He had almost made the biggest mistake someone could when dealing with the cold.
'Never stop moving..' He pushed him self forward through the woods again. He'd be to his shelter soon...
He finally reached the base of the mountain. It took him a few moments to find his shelter in the darkness.
The shelter was a woven dome of pine branches that was insulated with ferns and pine needles then covered in packed snow.
He moved the makeshift door he had made from a slab of bark and crawled into the little shelter. Once he was comfortable to a degree he packed the door shut with snow then backed it with his backpack.
It was dark in the shelter, the cold was still stuck in his bones but it wasn't nearly as bad. All in all 4 or 5 inches of pine needles made a great mattress, but his old bones needed something else besides him self for warmth. He produces a little propane lantern from his backpack and turned it on, it wasn't much more than a faint dim so the shelter would block out any light.
The little lantern produced enough heat for him to warm his fingers and find his flask.
He laid there for while, just taking small sips from it, the alcohol raced the feeling of warmth through his old bones.
His mind recapped the days events in no real order, it was a day like any other for the most part. He hadn't gotten any real information , a few tracks, some paths that suggested a large animal and the fox girl... if anything her trail might lead him somewhere if she didn't die in the cold tonight.
He flexed his fingers to see if they were still working, seeing that the chill had gone from them mostly he turned off the little lantern and curled against himself in the darkness. His back contested the bedding but he didn't pay it much mind, soon enough the combination of whisky and the quiet sounds of the wood luled him to sleep. It was a peaceful sleep for the most part.