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Hayes said nothing when Nikki took the pack, just offered her the other and started kneading the rest to call up their heat. This took a little more time, as they were larger and jointed in a way that could fold around the body.

"These go under your jacket - shoulders and torso - but your feet are the big thing right now," he was saying as she looked off elsewhere, then started cursing. Hayes' mouth twitched; what now? But she calmed, and so did his preemptive ire.

"Boots?" he repeated when she'd found her pokeballs, voice patient. "Either you do it or I do, Nik."

Hayes let Nikki's sharp tone slide and stood; his temper was coming under control again and now that the immediate danger was curbed, his mind was drifting to other things.

The blond watched her struggle with the boots for a moment before his gaze strayed to the bleak terrain. The avalanche had kicked up chunks of snow, roughed up a large slice of the mountainside, and carried them close to where they'd started from. He looked up, not at the summit but at an expanse of snow that had been spared the tumult and was still flawless.

"Thank you," he spoke quietly, maybe to his partner for following him for once, or to the crisp, clear air.

The Pokeballs had gotten him considering something, though; he smacked a fist into his palm thoughtfully and looked at Nikki again. "Hey. Would that Charizard of yours carry you?"

That was the first time he'd ever heard her sound uncertain. Hayes marked the occasion with a mildly surprised blink that was hidden behind his goggles. He was getting an idea of why 1337 wore his visor. The tint shielded the sun from his eyes, and his eyes from everything. It was useful, though there were subtler methods of disguise.

He would have watched with his hands in his pockets when Nikki let her dragon loose, but he'd become aware of a collective shout from his body: fuel. So he unzipped another pocket on his jacket and fished for an energy bar. As he tore the wrapper with his teeth (because thick gloves could not,) Hayes observed how Nikki handled her Pokemon, idly locating his own at his waist.

Most importantly, he stayed out of the way.

"Hrk-" Hayes was not getting in the way of that mouth. He jerked away, sending the energy bar soaring through the air, sunlight glinting off the wrapper.

Times like this, the mind focuses on strange things. For Hayes, it was the thought that while he sometimes suspected the end of his life might be marked by the odor of sulfur and brimstone, that part was supposed to happen after he died.

Yuushi's teeth snagged on his sleeve as two red lights beamed out from his side. They became a Pikachu planted foursquare in the snow with teeth bared, cheeks gathering an electric charge, and a Pidgeot who flared his wings and screamed.

"Switch! Darwin! Down!" Hayes barked, catching them in his limited peripheral vision.

Switch subsided as soon as it looked like Hayes was no longer in danger. He turned his back on the Charizard, then disappeared in a flash of crimson light. The Pidgeot didn't; that roar was a challenge from the fat lizard.

"..Darwin," Hayes repeated in a warning tone. "Hey."

"'dgeooo.." the Pidgeot muttered, head lowered and feathers raised aggressively, staring hard at Yuushi.

"Hey! Dar!" The Rocket let out a sharp whistle.

Darwin was still for a long moment before his hackles slowly, slowly lowered. The Pidgeot roused his feathers, ending with a little tail fluff, and made a hop-flap back to Hayes that sent up clouds of powder.

"Thanks," his trainer breathed, reaching up to catch the hooked beak in a roughly affectionate gesture. "I'm good." The giant bird preened briefly at his wrists as if nothing had happened, and afterward turned his head upside down and rubbed it on his back. Then he peered intently at Hayes and pecked at his goggles. The blond managed a chuckle.

The wind picked up for a moment, fanning Darwin's crest out in a colorful stream and making the Pidgeot shiver. "'dgeot," he grumped at Hayes, feathers puffed out to the point he resembled a giant pom-pom. The Rocket grinned apologetically. "Heh, yeah. Seeya later."

As Darwin returned to the warmth and safety of his Pokeball, Hayes looked around in time to see Nikki faceplant, and Yuushi.. pick her up. With her teeth, like a puppy.

Hayes' mouth twitched.

"I.. guess that works."

He shouldered his pack with more difficulty than that morning and picked up the shovel. He'd take it apart later; the heat pads bought time and got things started, but there was still the matter of food, shelter, and - he was becoming increasingly aware - sleep.

The blond approached the Charizard and her trainer, giving both of them the same appraising look. Either one would probably bite him. "You'll follow me?" he asked the dragon, and gestured at a dark stand of trees. "Just over there." He waited a tic for a response, then set off.

"Thank you." It was the third time he'd said it this trip, and this one was directed at the Charizard. Politeness never hurt with something that breathed fire.

Here among the trees the snow was shallower, the air calmer and scented with pine resin. Hayes tilted his head back and let his eyes close as the pack dropped from his shoulders. It would be nice to.. no. He shook his head.

"Yes, we can. We need to warm up, eat, rest and figure out what to do, in that order. How's your feet?" He looked over at her with a tired rolling motion and started going through his pack.

"Great," was all that Hayes had the energy to say. "Means you're feeling them." He was flagging, and there were so many things left to do before nightfall. Remembering the Charizard was a stroke of luck; her flame could probably keep things warm enough until he set up a proper tent.

He was pulling out the bag of tent poles and snowstakes when Nikki's oath made him look over. "What?"

"..don't tell me."

The Rocket sighed, making a puff of smoke in the air. He should've expected this to be the case, especially after the first tumble in the snowbank, but he'd been hoping there wouldn't be any more complications. "You're probably frostbit. Don't move, it makes it worse. Do the packs burn?"