Chase was trying his hardest to warm up, as he was knelt beside a large spruce tree blanketed with snow.
His flames continued to sputter and short circuit as if so cold that he could not even spark the flames that had protected him all this time.
Shivering, he listened quietly for the distant growl of Sparky, and thankfully it sounded like the Hellhound was peacefully sleeping inside of his catalyst.
Summer was digging through her large leather bag, her long brunette hair dancing in the cold wind of The Frozen Forest.
Onyx was sitting on the other side of the spruce tree, probably trying to accomplish a similar task as Chase.
Talon had wandered off into the woods for some unknown reason, and just told them that he would back shortly.
"You good?"
Onyx asked Chase from the other side of the tree, which Chase had quickly shrugged before remembering that Onyx probably could not see him.
"Yeah, just cold."
Dragon snorted from behind the tree.
"Who could have ever protected the hibernated Frost Serpent to wake up at such a time, don't blame yourself for that."
Chase sighed.
"I know."
"Here!"
Summer smiled, handing Chase two large fur coats that she had found in her bag.
"Thanks..."
He put one on, and walked over to the other side of the tree and handed Onyx the other.
"We should start heading North, the others will be waiting."
"That's if they are alive..."
Talon had returned, with a large boar resting on his shoulders.
The three of them looked questionably at the boar, as Talon blinked carelessly.
"Emergency rations, the town is still quite far and we are on foot in a place that we probably should have avoided."
"Why is that?"
Onyx asked, as he stood up.
"A beast sleeps in the nearby mountains, not one that I particularly want to fight."
Talon responded quietly.
Chase nodded.
"Then we should start North quickly."
And so after gathering themselves, they continued North through The Frozen Forest.
...
"What happened after that?"
Summer asked, as she seemed quite invested in the story.
"Well the mimic swallowed me, and I found myself falling for a fair amount of time..."
Onyx raised an eyebrow, as he stepped over top of one of the fallen trees.
"You mean to say that you survived the mimic's bite?"
Chase shook his head.
"No, it was like some sort of evolved mimic, it had an entirely new dimension inside of its body or something, we only escaped when we killed the mimics inside of it."
"We should stop here for the night..."
Talon sighed.
As the other three began to set their things down, and set up a makeshift camp, Chase held out his hand, with his palm facing up.
Feeling the familiar ache of his catalyst, he grinned.
His father's flames grew from the center of his palm, and the area was lit by the small flame.
Finally, he was able to gain warmth in this desolate frostbitten place.
"Good, we should set up a fire."
Talon said, with a hint of relief hidden in his voice.
So the four of them, later rested by a small fire at the center of their camp, telling all sorts of stories.
Chase had learned that Summer had also once been a student at Phoenix Academy, and had recently went on a search for an herb that can heal corruption based wounds.
Dragon told of his time spent in both the city of factions, the purple nations, as well as Shadowveil.
Apparently, The Black Dragon had also ventured south toward the ruins of Willowmere much more recently.
"What did it look like?"
Onyx looked reluctant to answer, but after a nod from Summer he continued.
"It was completely burnt to the ground, some houses had turned into piles of rubble, and others were just wooden support beams with charred marks, I tried to burry as many of the dead as I could find, but could only manage so much..."
"Did you find my father...?"
The words hung somberly in the air, gaining the attention of both Summer and Talon.
Perhaps they had not known that much about Chase, or his not so peaceful beginnings.
Onyx looked deeply at the fire, blazing with sense of rage and despair.
"I did..."
Chase would have felt a tear fall from his eye hidden in the shadows of the frozen spruce trees had it not been so cold that his face had turned completely numb.
"He seemed at peace... So I did not bury him, it was actually quite a wonderful end for someone of his stature..."
"What do you mean...?"
Chase rasped quietly.
"On what had once been a fountain or pavilion, now lies stone ruins where your father rests against the last stone pillar still standing... He had a smile on his face with a shattered topaz battle axe resting at his side..."
Chase stood up.
"I'm going to sleep now... Thank you..."
And so Chase barely managed to get over to his tent, where he landed on top of his pillow, and for the remainder of the night fought the urge to scream into the frozen night sky.