It was blank all around, the lakes at the foot of the mountains frozen and the pine trees covered in thick layers of snow. It was freezing, and really, they barely knew how they were still alive.

The cold had been gnawing at them for hours now, the memory of the wolf attack earlier still so fresh, clawing and making panic rise in them every now and then whenever they heard the rustling of trees. Their horse lay dead several feet from where they'd attempted to set up a small camp, the small fire they'd managed keeping them somewhat warm.

Their alertness had slowly faded over the hours, the haze of blood loss from their wounds taking its toll. At one point, they were so far gone in thought that they didn't hear the clopping of a horse's hooves, nor the crunching of someone's heavy boots on the snow.

No, they were only snapped out of their haze when a gloved hand was extended towards them. "Did y'need a hand there, partner?" a rough voice asked a short moment after, belonging to a somewhat intimidating-looking man.