Ruwe and Haojie returned to the fire, rubbing their hands to warm them over the flames.

“It’ll be cold tonight. Stack the logs unevenly,” Ruwe said.

On the nights it got bitter, they stacked the wood around the fire in uneven lines forming a box. The fire would eat away at the wood in the center first. Then the stacked wood fell slower into the fire, encouraging it to burn slow and long into the night.

Pia got up to help fetch more wood and then helped pass the logs to Yijun. He cut a small divot in every other before placing them in the stack, locking them together. Whoever had created the pit in the floor for the fire had been wise. It was hand dug to form a deep impression and rocks were packed tight against the sides. It left a wide area for a fire to be built, and the walls kept the fire from accidentally spreading. It wasn’t likely a fire would spread in a cave, but with hay, blankets, and supplies it was always possible.

The last thing they all did was go into the dark back corner of the cave and relieve themselves one more time. Pia’s cheeks always flushed in the dark when it was her turn. But…

“If you don’t go now, you can go in the tent with us later,” Ruwe had told her, the first night she’d balked about going to relieve herself in the cave. The alternative offered had had her rushing to the dark corner.

Done and ready, all four tied themselves into the tent. It made her marvel that the first time she’d had to do this; she’d thought she’d die from anxiety. Four of them huddled together tightly, trying to keep warm...it’d been mortifying. Now, as soon as the unbearable cold crept in Pia thanked the gods for the extra body heat. Even with the extra body heat, the cold still pierced them harshly.

They took off their shoes just inside the tent and each wrapped a woolen cover over each foot. Next were their hoods. A cowl that sat on their shoulders and protected their heads and necks from the cold. In order they got into their places. Yijun always at the far left, Haojie behind him, then Pia, and Ruwe at the far end.

All four helped arrange the blankets around themselves and then huddled up, hoping for sleep to arrive soon. Despite the straw, the sleeping mat, and the wool beneath them the cold still snuck its way upward.

Shivering, Pia pressed closer to Haojie’s back. Ruwe scooted closer behind her. She pressed even closer to Haojie, hitting her cold nose against his back. It stung in the cold air.

“Ow,” she said, wiggling a hand up to touch her nose.

“How do you think my back feels getting stabbed with that pointy beak?” Haojie grumbled.

At the end, Yijun laughed, a deep rumbly sound that Pia felt seemed to warm the air around them. She smiled in the darkness, enjoying their moment.

Then a “Quiet lips sleep sooner,” from Ruwe had them all silent once more.

Pia dozed off and on. Any time she accidentally shifted out of place in her sleep, Ruwe pulled her back. Sleepily she’d apologize and readjust. Knees tucked behind knees, heads and chests curled close.

In the middle of the night the jarring sound of the wind howling and the pitter-patter of icy snow hammering the cave startled her awake. Her heart skipped a beat, alarmed. It sounded like demons raging outside! In the darkness, her eyes saw nothing, but her ears were flooded. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled and she shivered.

The others were sleeping, breaths slow and even. Pia twitched, feeling fidgety. She was envious of their ease of sleeping so evenly through the horrible sounds.

“It’s only the wind and snow,” Ruwe said quietly behind her.

Blinking away the brief startle he’d given her, she whispered, “How’d you know I was awake?”

“Your heartbeat,” he said.

From another that might have been a creepy statement, but Pia smiled in the darkness, feeling oddly reassured.

“Why are we going north still?” she asked, careful to keep her voice low.

Silence. Pia wasn’t surprised, he often refused to answer her questions.

It was only as her eyes grew too heavy to hold open and sleep was coming over her that he finally said, “Going home.”

The worst thing about the mornings wasn’t removing the foot covers or the hood, it was leaving the tent. Outside the tent, the cave was frosted. Her eyes took in the icy droplets that had formed on their tent from the heat that escaped and froze. Yijun immediately went to check on the horses. Pia gathered wood for Haojie, and they built the fire up quickly. Pia saw Ruwe go to the front of the cave, and she trotted after him, careful on the icy floor.

The entrance to the cave had a long snow drift that had fallen in, but beyond that was floor to ceiling snow. Her mouth fell open in shock. No wonder Ruwe had pushed them ceaselessly to shelter.

“Amazing,” she said, reaching out a hand to touch it.

Ruwe grabbed it, pulling her back.

“Never touch it carelessly. Snowbanks can collapse inwards and bury you,” he said, voice stern.

Her eyes widened and she looked from the snow back to Ruwe.

“How do you check if it’s safe?”

He released her arm and stuck out two fingers to the snow.

“First sense the yi inside, does it feel malleable like water or slow and still like ice?” he explained.

Pia hesitantly held up her fingers to the wall, giving him a questioning look. He nodded and she reached out to the water inside the snow.

The yi felt…heavy and slow, as if it were earth yi rather than water.

“It’s heavy,” she said.

He nodded.

“Heavy means that the snow has packed tight and is safe to touch. It also means it would be safe to dig through. Loose means the snow is slippery and light.”

“Does that mean we will dig out?”

Ruwe nodded again.

“Tomorrow, we’ll dig out.”