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That might have only earned the Rocket a warning bite; the Glaceon seemed pretty determined to do whatever it was doing.

The shuffling noises from the inside of the bag slowed as the Pokemon found toes and nosed at them. Were it not for the girl's numb extremities, the trailing ends of the creature's 'cap' might have tickled as it turned in a cramped circle. A soft weight settled down on top of Nikki's frozen feet and paws draped around her ankles, exerting an insistent pressure - stay here. Despite belonging to an ice-type, the body was warm, the fur soft. A heartbeat pulsed against her toes.

The Glaceon huffed and turned its nose toward the opening of the bag for air.

The random Pokemon snorted.

----

When Hayes woke, he was cold. It took a moment to remember where he was and make sense of the orange nylon sky. The light filtering through felt like morning; he shifted stiffly, stretching to be sure each limb was still there. Everything seemed in order, although there was a dull warning ache in his stomach.

He pulled off a glove, wiped some sleep from his eyes, and began to go through his pack. Once he'd found an energy bar to at least get himself started, the blond looked over to where Nikki was, or where he last remembered her being.

It would have worked better had she been fully inside, the bag zipped nearly to her face, but it was better than nothing. Hayes saw the state Nikki was in, made a little 'hf' sound, and dug into his pack again. Either the Rocket had been expecting disaster or was simply a methodical sort, but whatever the reason he found the space blankets he'd packed and shook one out, filling the tent with the sound of crinkly mylar.

As he went to spread it over Nikki, the Glaceon wriggled out of the sleeping bag, its elegant fur looking a bit mussed. Surprised, Hayes let the blanket drop. As it floated down to cover the sleeping bag the ice-type ducked beneath it and twined between his ankles, regarding him.

"Hey." Hayes smiled down at it, keeping his voice low. "Thanks again." This didn't seem like enough, so he added, "Want breakfast?"

At the offer of breakfast, the Glaceon twitched its nose, then padded to the front of the tent and looked back as if to say 'What's keeping you?'

It circled and twined around Hayes while he slipped heat packs into his frozen boots and wedged his feet in after, but angular ears perked and its head swiveled round when Nikki suddenly woke.

Hayes looked over his shoulder at his partner. "How's your feet?" he asked, knotting his laces.

Hayes' brow furrowed. He finished the double-knot on his left boot, straightened up, and faced his partner. "You're not exactly reassuring me," he commented with an uneasy grin. "Let me have a look?" She'd probably rather eat live coals than accept more help from him, but it was worth a shot. Beside him, the Glaceon waved its spaded tail and fixed the girl with a level stare.

The blond glanced down at his boots, then back to Nikki. "I was going to start breakfast."

The Glaceon's stare deepened and she snorted softly, managing to convey an air of disapproval. Hayes glanced down at her, then to Nikki, and shrugged. "Okay." He didn't press the issue, although he hadn't had a proper look at them since emerging from the avalanche. "Think you can walk?"

At her question, the blond smiled faintly. "Yeah, the both of us were.. out for a while. I figure-" He ran a hand through his hair, which had dried wavy, and exhaled a puff of air. "-food first. Then we decide what to do." That had been the plan before sleep took precedence.

"Whoa, hey." Hayes eyebrows went up and he stepped forward, a hand out to steady her, though he didn't actually touch her, and stopped about a foot away, ducking as the tent bowed.

The Glaceon, however, seemed to have no such qualms about physical contact. When Nikki's feet failed her she leaped forward, seized a sock in her teeth and pulled.

Hayes tried not to stare. "..s**t, Nikki."