her arms before donning the armor again, wincing when the cold metal touched her bare skin. Soros wished he could have used his, but in their morning rush, he'd left the shirt.
She had been right about the cloth. The Union apparently made the clothes intended to be worn under armor durable. Kat cut through it with a dagger, fashioning it into a rope. He tied one end of it around his left arm and Kat did the same to her right. Like that, if she fell, he could at least catch her. It also meant they were depending on each other, but there was no other way.
"Let's go," he said.
Kat only nodded, her body still shaking with the tremors running through her. Soros picked a hard pace, going through the first, easier tunnels. Her blood needed to boil, it was the only way to warm her up. And he guessed she knew it, because again, not one word of protest. She slipped, got up and followed as best as she could.
There were moments when he simply dragged her over a particularly hard spot and then Kat was able to walk on her own again. Looking behind, Soros could see some red on her cheeks.
The going was slow, but they were doing it. Above, he could still hear the fighters, but they were alone now, hoping to catch a sign of the direction they were headed. Soros knew their survival depended on Turian not knowing where they were going. That's why he had ruled out all of the obvious options and all the opposites of those, going instead for one he hoped the clan lord hadn’t accounted for.
He wasn't going to mention that to Turian, but running from your student was just as nerve-wracking as having to fight your commander. They knew each other too well, not to mention the terrain.
After a few hours, it was clear that Kat's strength was going to run out soon. She had already performed admirably, but the going was a workout warriors struggled with. Her will was as sure as theirs, but her stamina couldn't keep up.
Only when she could no longer lift her hand to support herself on the wall did Kat speak up.
"Soros," she whispered. "I don't think I can go on."
He knew that already. He'd been scouting their surroundings for a camping place for a while now. Finding landmarks within ice wasn't exactly a precise science, but Soros thought he knew where they were, roughly put – too far to make it out of the ice without taking a rest.
The night was setting, which made moving forward all the more dangerous. So far, the cracks in the ice and its transparency had provided enough to at least see their way. But with every minute, the path was growing darker.
Spending the night in the ice ocean was as good as a death sentence. He looked at her and made his decision.
"Just a little more," he said. "We will stay near here tonight."
Kat's mouth dropped open. Her eyes were wide and sad, her lips so pale they were almost as white as the ocean around them.
"We will die," she stated. "If we stop, we won't be able to get up again."
"I will," Soros replied. "And I will make sure you do too. Now, trust me. I need you to go just a little further."
She clearly didn't even have enough strength to argue. Nodding, Kat started to move while Soros looked on into the growing darkness. Both of them had lights in their armors, but he wouldn't risk one of Turian's men picking up the glow. He had to find a suitable spot very quickly.
And it seemed like luck was on his side, if not generally, then with little mercies at least. They pushed their way into a small dead end, just wide enough to sit down in. It was barely high enough for Kat not to hit her head, but he had to crouch. Without a question, Kat turned around like they had before, but he called her back.
"We will stay here," he said.
She looked around in confusion.
"This is no bigger than a trap," she said.
"It's perfect," he replied, sitting down and pulling her with him. "It's small enough to keep warmth in for a while at least."
Kat laughed, a look of regret on her face, shaking her head.
"There is no
She had been right about the cloth. The Union apparently made the clothes intended to be worn under armor durable. Kat cut through it with a dagger, fashioning it into a rope. He tied one end of it around his left arm and Kat did the same to her right. Like that, if she fell, he could at least catch her. It also meant they were depending on each other, but there was no other way.
"Let's go," he said.
Kat only nodded, her body still shaking with the tremors running through her. Soros picked a hard pace, going through the first, easier tunnels. Her blood needed to boil, it was the only way to warm her up. And he guessed she knew it, because again, not one word of protest. She slipped, got up and followed as best as she could.
There were moments when he simply dragged her over a particularly hard spot and then Kat was able to walk on her own again. Looking behind, Soros could see some red on her cheeks.
The going was slow, but they were doing it. Above, he could still hear the fighters, but they were alone now, hoping to catch a sign of the direction they were headed. Soros knew their survival depended on Turian not knowing where they were going. That's why he had ruled out all of the obvious options and all the opposites of those, going instead for one he hoped the clan lord hadn’t accounted for.
He wasn't going to mention that to Turian, but running from your student was just as nerve-wracking as having to fight your commander. They knew each other too well, not to mention the terrain.
After a few hours, it was clear that Kat's strength was going to run out soon. She had already performed admirably, but the going was a workout warriors struggled with. Her will was as sure as theirs, but her stamina couldn't keep up.
Only when she could no longer lift her hand to support herself on the wall did Kat speak up.
"Soros," she whispered. "I don't think I can go on."
He knew that already. He'd been scouting their surroundings for a camping place for a while now. Finding landmarks within ice wasn't exactly a precise science, but Soros thought he knew where they were, roughly put – too far to make it out of the ice without taking a rest.
The night was setting, which made moving forward all the more dangerous. So far, the cracks in the ice and its transparency had provided enough to at least see their way. But with every minute, the path was growing darker.
Spending the night in the ice ocean was as good as a death sentence. He looked at her and made his decision.
"Just a little more," he said. "We will stay near here tonight."
Kat's mouth dropped open. Her eyes were wide and sad, her lips so pale they were almost as white as the ocean around them.
"We will die," she stated. "If we stop, we won't be able to get up again."
"I will," Soros replied. "And I will make sure you do too. Now, trust me. I need you to go just a little further."
She clearly didn't even have enough strength to argue. Nodding, Kat started to move while Soros looked on into the growing darkness. Both of them had lights in their armors, but he wouldn't risk one of Turian's men picking up the glow. He had to find a suitable spot very quickly.
And it seemed like luck was on his side, if not generally, then with little mercies at least. They pushed their way into a small dead end, just wide enough to sit down in. It was barely high enough for Kat not to hit her head, but he had to crouch. Without a question, Kat turned around like they had before, but he called her back.
"We will stay here," he said.
She looked around in confusion.
"This is no bigger than a trap," she said.
"It's perfect," he replied, sitting down and pulling her with him. "It's small enough to keep warmth in for a while at least."
Kat laughed, a look of regret on her face, shaking her head.
"There is no
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