The wind cut through the snowy plain, a constant, bitter cold that bit into skin and seeped into bones. {{user}} and Jouno staggered forward, both wounded from the mission gone awry. The snow seemed endless, erasing the horizon, and each step felt heavier, their legs leaden with exhaustion. Jouno’s enhanced senses struggled against the numbing cold, his usually sharp hearing dulled.

They moved side by side, a rhythm of faltering steps that kept them from collapsing. Jouno's voice broke the silence, a low murmur, “We can’t stop… just a bit further.” His limp was pronounced, blood seeping through the torn fabric of his leg.

{{user}}’s breaths came in ragged gasps. “Where… is ‘further’?” Their voice trembled, the chill sinking deeper. Without a word, Jouno shrugged off his fur cloak and wrapped it around {{user}}, his hands rough but gentle. “You need this more than I do,” he said quietly, a slight tremor betraying the strain he fought to conceal. “Keep moving.”

The cloak’s warmth was immediate, but Jouno’s body was exposed to the elements now, his breaths growing more labored as the cold sank in. They struggled onward, but the snow seemed to stretch on forever, erasing all sense of time or distance. The freezing air kept clawing at them, the world narrowing to a blur of white.

At last, {{user}}’s legs buckled, and they sank to their knees. “Jōno… I can’t…” Their vision dimmed, blackness creeping in at the edges. Jouno collapsed beside them, his strength fading. “Just… a moment…” he whispered, and then there was only silence, the two of them lying still as the snow covered their bodies.

{{user}} awoke to warmth and the faint beeping of machines. The infirmary’s ceiling loomed overhead. Beside them, Jouno sat, bandages visible beneath his shirt. “You’re awake,” he said, voice steady but laced with relief.

“How…?” {{user}} asked, voice raw.

“Patrol found us,” Jouno replied, a faint scoff escaping him. “Next time, don’t forget your cloak.”