snarky_panda (snarky_panda) wrote in mulanficspace, @ 2007-07-21 01:21:00 |
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Current mood: | content |
Current music: | Psyche |
Entry tags: | 30_kisses |
30 Kisses: Mulan and Shang, Part Fifteen
Written for the 30_kisses challenge.
Title: Unforeseen Events, Part 1: Lost
Author: snarky_panda
Fandom: Mulan
Pairing: Li Shang/Fa Mulan
Theme: #28, calcium
Disclaimer: All characters, etc. from the Disney movie belong to Disney.
Note: Gai is the Chinese word for calcium and gai lan is the word for Chinese broccoli.
Sheets of ice cold sleet came down around them and they trudged through the snow, eyes squinting against the frozen rain that fell on them like daggers. Their thick military style boots were designed to protect their feet from the harsh elements, but after being out for so many hours in this weather they both felt the cold and damp seeping in.
The visibility was negligible and their heads were bent as they moved forward, no hope of shelter from the storm in sight.
She could barely feel her fingers as she grasped Khan’s reins, leading him along on foot. He shook his head violently, shaking off another layer of sleet that had settled on his mane. Chancing a worried glance at Shang she noted the blue hue of his lips, how tired he looked as he kept his jaw set, working to keep an outward façade of his usual strength and control. But she could see that he was slipping. As cold as she was, he was already affected by it much more than she was. His gait was unsteady and an image flashed into her mind of him stumbling and falling to the ground. As strong as she was from her workouts, she was unsure if she would be able to lift him up and carry him very far. Her stomach knotted up as the fleeting thought touched her mind. What would she do without him?
Women can last longer in the cold than men. It’s the way we’re made.
It was one of those sayings she’d heard from her mother when she was growing up and it popped into her head now. Women could survive longer in the cold. Eating lots of gai lan would prevent them from developing a hunched back as they aged. She didn’t know what proof there was of these facts but her mother believed them adamantly. Mama also had a reservoir of sayings and superstitious tales that had been passed down from generation to generation. As a child she’d heard at least one every night as Fa Li tucked her in, kissing her lightly on the forehead. And with every tale came one of the many catch-all phrases and a lesson to heed.
Mulan held out a supportive hand toward Shang. His face appeared grayish and he looked exhausted. She feared he would fall over in any moment. But he grasped her hand firmly as they ventured on blindly, trying to find their way back to the mountain path that they’d inadvertently strayed from in the blinding weather. If they could find it again, maybe they could figure out where they were instead of continuing to wander around in a miasma of ice and snow until they froze to death.
How had they gotten themselves into such a predicament?
The weather had shifted so abruptly and they were stranded before they even knew what had hit them. And now it was very possible that they would die, all because of a vacation that they’d decided to spend hiking in the Black Horse Mountains.
Their bags were saddled on Khan and Shing, Shang’s stallion, packed with their personal belongings and, more importantly, blankets and rations of food. Unfortunately the food would run out unless they could find their way back to civilization soon. Her mind settled on that thought now and then, causing her stomach to lurch, but she quickly pushed it away and concentrated on trying to get her bearings.
Everything looked the same. The shapes of the tree line on the horizon and the mountain peaks all seemed the same and she couldn’t pick out any unique characteristic that would help her figure out where they were.
“There.”
Shang released her hand and pointed. It was impossible for her to make out what he was pointing to and she wondered if maybe he was hallucinating, but she just nodded and followed his lead.
“I know where we are,” she heard him mutter.
“You do?”
“This is not where we were intending to go. But I know this place. I’ve been here before.”
(Link here to continue)