From a good five feet on either side of the only navigable path down, a thick two to three-foot wall erupted from the ground. Even before his hands moved to touch it, he could feel how the temperature dropped the closer they got to the structure.

“Magic,” he said simply, pulling back and opening up the Esperpedia. It didn’t take him long to identify the culprit:

Barricade

Spell Type - Conjuration

Elemental Alignment - Multiple (The effect changes based on the element used)

Refresh Rate - Greater than 4

Battle: Create an elemental barrier sustained by magic to break the line of sight of an opponent and create an obstacle. The Elemental barrier’s radius will vary based on the power spent to fuel the skill, increasing the refresh time before the spell can be summoned again. The barrier lasts until destroyed or until the duel ends.

Field: Create an elemental barrier in a variable radius based on the power spent to fuel the skill. This barrier lasts until destroyed or decays.

“Shit,” Simon cursed.

“Good shit, or bad shit,” June asked.

“Bad,”

“Spicy food bad or…”

“Now’s not the time,” Simon spat. “We’ve been trapped.”

To his surprise, June was silent for a long moment, considering the situation more seriously. She walked up next to Simon, placing a hand on his shoulder as she scanned the barrier and the long, scattered embankment on either side. “How bad is it?”

“I have a feeling it’s bad,” Simon said, thinking back to all he knew about pack mechanics. “If they’re trying to defend the territory from us, this isn’t a migrating pack.”

“An incursion?”

Simon nodded. “And there aren’t many that will challenge them around here. Frost has an advantage against pretty much everything in this region. Poison espers don’t come up this high usually, and nature is scarce as well because of the environment. Add in that the few wind espers in this region aren’t pack hunters either, and we have a problem.”

“And it’s bad?” June offered, putting the pieces together.

Simon nodded. “We need to get down before—”

An inhumanly high yowling like the winter wind itself caught their attention before the warning could leave his lips. The sound was picked up again, and again, and again, repeating itself as an echo of the first, but only growing stronger with each new voice.

“Before they catch us?” June offered.

“Before they catch us,” Simon repeated blandly as glowing blue orbs began to light up the night like wisps of power.

One by one, the elemental creatures crept from the trees they’d left behind. Turning to make a break for the embankment before they were encircled, the two were met with more of the icy canines lying in wait for their pack’s call. This close, Simon could see the fog of their breath, see the way the half-light was glittering in the ice of their fangs, and practically feel the frost of their coats pressing against him.

This was not how he imagined meeting his first wild frost espers.

One by one, the circle tightened and their backs were to the embankment.

Things only went from bad to worse from there.

White wolves, as the creatures were commonly referred to, were territorial and dangerous, and the fact that not just one, but twelve of them were there didn’t help matters. When matters couldn’t have gotten worse, a new wolf entered the half-circle. It was as large as three of the others lumped together with fur crafted from row after row of needle-thin, icy fur. In the center of its forehead, a third eye lingered, showing its status as a greater esper of the species.

It really was an incursion.

No one moved as the parties examined the other.

“June,” Simon whispered across the growing wind. “Don’t break eye contact with the big one. Back away slowly. Don’t run.”

“Which one is the big one?”

Simon hissed. “The one in the center with the arched back and the third eye.”

“It was a joke!” She hissed back. “There’s nothing behind us though.”

Simon’s foot touched the space behind him. Sure enough, they were already against the edge.

“Do you want to die or risk a few broken bones?”

Neither option was great, but when something unseen and cold latched onto his leg, the decision was made, and with a cry, Simon fell back over the edge backpack-first and down the steep embankment of the mountainside.

“Simon!” June called out over the unnaturally frozen wind before a growl cut her off. The greater esper approached her, step by casual, sure step, and June did what she did best. She followed her friend to the edge of the world and back. “I’m coming! Don’t die on me!”

Ripping the shimmering sheet of an insulated blanket from the side of her bag, June prayed to whatever god was listening, spread it in front of her as quickly as she could, tucked her feet under her, and pushed herself down the frozen slope with a loud, lingering curse against Simon’s luck. The icy surface took her, and away she went for about fifty feet until she fell off and traveled the rest of the way sitting against the frosted ground and steering with her legs.

What should have taken hours passed in minutes as the two fell down the side of the mountain, crossing rocks and narrowly avoiding trees. Greenery passed in a blur, and then the slide began to slow. Speed began to slack as stomachs and other parts met grass and mud. Soon, the two had come to a stop, and death had been told to take the evening off at least for the moment. Despite coming out of an incursion alive, it isn’t to say they got out unscathed.

Simon groaned as he lay on the ground. His pack lay scattered across the last third of their journey when the top of it split taking a blow meant for his head from a nasty-looking rock. His arms and legs were covered in small cuts where he’d either been rubbed the wrong way, gravel and stones had met sensitive flesh, or sticks had made their presence known. The knees of his pants were gone, his chest hurt, and his wrist was tender and slightly puffy. Thankfully, it moved just fine as he tested it laying in the dirt and waiting for the world to stop spinning.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

June was the better of the two, having taken a better angle and having more control than Simon had, but she still had her own concerns as she dug through her backpack for an extra shirt and wrapped it around her waist to cover the missing back of her pants.

In rare form, neither of them made a joke.

When Simon was up and moving, he rummaged through his bag and offered her a change of clothes. Though she denied the shirt, June gladly took one of his extra pairs of pants, hiked them up, held them in place with her belt, and returned from the trees holding the remains of her worn-through jeans and underwear.

“That,” June finally said, putting the ragged cloth pieces away. “That was not fun.”

“It was not,” Simon agreed sadly as he looked back up into the soft, rolling white mist rolling in from above. “But we made it.”

“We did.” June rubbed the back of her head awkwardly as Simon continued to take stock of his bag. “I know we almost died, but I’m sorry we didn’t find what you wanted.”

He sighed, rubbing the cold spot on his leg that was finally starting to warm. “I should have listened to Dad.”

“He does know what he’s talking about most of the time,” June said, adding in a little salt to go with the mud and pride he’d already swallowed. “Still, he isn’t always right.”

Simon grumbled and finished taking stock of what was left of his bag. He hadn’t lost many essentials, mostly the extra he’d packed away from what he could tell. The deeper he went, the more confident he became in their continued survival. All in all, the two had been lucky to only lose the tent, some pants, a few pieces of extra clothing, and some rations that oddly looked more chewed through than wore out.

Simon examined a wrapper before holding it out to June. “What does this look like to you?”

She took it, examined it, and handed it back. “Like you were holding out on me. Where did you find Midnight bars?” He groaned, but she continued. “It also looked like something ate it.”

He nodded his agreement, put the wrapped in a side pouch of his bag, then went back into its depths. One by one, he removed the items from the bag and began to make small piles. A second after he sorted through the rations near the bottom, Simon dropped the bag with a gasp. A sharp chittering sound rang out, and soon he began dancing like a crazed ape as something moved visibly under his shirt.

“June! Help!”

“Simon!”

June rushed over as he fell onto his back, and the front of his shirt began to bulge. The fabric stressed before the long mass wormed up through to his neck, and stuck its furry little head out to look up at June with eyes as blue as a glacier. The creature was a pure white, frosty snake…

No, not a snake—

A weasel?

A marten?

A… snow noodle?

The creature’s pure white fur was telling as its deeply blue nose and eyes searched June’s face for hostility. When it didn’t detect any, the esper ignored her and returned to rubbing its tiny little hands all over Simon’s face leaving small trails of light frost before returning to study every part of him it could get its little paws on.

“It’s so cold!” Simon cried, afraid to move in case the esper decided to explore other places or put those cold paws where they really didn’t belong. “Help!”

June could do no such thing as she nearly collapsed onto the ground laughing as if her mind had long since abandoned its post.

“S— Sn— snow noodle!”

“Quit laughing and help me!”

The snow noodle, as June referred to it, had left the shirt now and was exploring its new perch curling up and around his arm. As the oppressive cold left his chest, Simon took the chance to sit up safely. As soon as he did, the small esper dashed across his shoulders and scampered across his body like it was a playground, leaving frosted footprints across his shirt, hat, and then his hair when it wiggled underneath the lining.

“Cold!” Simon practically yipped. The frosty nature of the esper gave a whole new meaning to the word brain freeze.

June continued to laugh hysterically at the entire situation.

Despite his lack of help, Simon took full advantage of his clothing and cornered the creature as he scooped it up in his hat.

“Well done, Simon!” June said, still trying to suppress her laughter.

“Quiet you.”

Holding it like a closed bag, he set it down carefully a step away for himself and released it a moment later.

As it opened, Simon looked down into the opening at the snow noodle and gave it a warm smile. “Hello.”

At the word, the esper peeked its head out of the bag and cocked it to one side as if asking a question as it studied Simon’s face.

“Do you want to come work with me?” he asked gently.

Its nose wrinkled as it moved a bit closer to get a better look at him as Simon kept eye contact. The long, white creature paused as his hand went to his pocket, but soon curiosity won out as something altogether new came from it, a small, brownish square that smelled of spices and meat. As it watched, Simon ripped a piece from it and set it in his open palm. The esper didn’t seem violent, more curious than anything, so he intended to take full advantage of that fact.

“I’m looking to become a trainer for espers,” Simon explained as it sniffed at his outstretched hand and the treat within. “And, I’ve been looking forward to meeting my first partner. There’s so much we can do together.”

The small esper took the treat without further hesitation, and Simon watched it in awe. Within moments, the meat froze solid, frosting over as the esper sat on its hind quarters and rubbed it against its fur. Once the meat was nearly frostbitten, the esper began to munch happily, devouring it within seconds with its glimmering white teeth. He’d never heard of weasels in the area before, but it didn’t really matter. The esper before him was everything he could have honestly hoped for. It seems curious, energetic, and aligned with frost! Taking a breath, the time was now or never as Simon attempted to bond with the frosty esper, offering his opal set glove to it.

For its part, the esper seemed constantly curious about Simon. After eating the frozen meat, it began to explore the offered gloved hand.

“It won’t hurt,” he promised. “Go on.”

The esper sniffed at the glove, moving from top to bottom as it did. The esper seemed to examine everything, in every way it could. It felt the glove with its paws, then smelled each fiber and stitch of the item. It experimented, trying to pull the glove off, but Simon clenched his fist.

“None of that now,” he laughed. “I need this.”

The esper cooed in disappointment at losing its prize but seemed happy enough when Simon didn’t pull his hand away. Instead, it moved on to examine the glimmering opal. The closer it got to the stone, the more the stone began to glow in the coming night. The soft, frosty blue glow only grew until the snow noodle of a creature pressed its icy, blue nose against the stone and nuzzled it.

In that instant, Simon felt the cold rush of elemental power bind to his soul as tightly as a second skin. The icy sensation of frost radiated from his hand like a wave and surged through his veins as if it were his own. As it did, Simon felt the changes associated with magic begin in a way he was not prepared for.

Simon gasped as the cold permeated his entire body. It felt like he’d been given CPR by the ice itself as every breath cooled his lungs. As his lungs froze, his heartbeat slowed in time with his falling temperature as each pulse of mana flooded through his veins. As his body cooled, his muscles seized trying to adapt to the new sensations. He could feel his eyes starting to freeze, and his blood sloshed in his veins as if it were slush in a river as the attunement opal accepted all the mana it could handle from the fluffy creature and bonded it to Simon’s body.

Then, it was over as quickly as it had begun. He was left panting, gasping for breath, but otherwise Simon felt completely normal. Looking over his hands, his arms, and feeling the beating heart in his chest, it felt as if nothing had happened.

It was not like his dad or the books described it. Being bonded to an esper was a rush of sensory input no report could ever really cover. To him, it felt like being dunked into a frozen river and having that river become part of his body before being pulled back out, instantly warmed and dried, and drinking an energy drink before being shoved back into the forest where he knelt.

“Simon?” June asked after a moment, her laughter finally coming to an end and full of hope. “Did you…”

He felt alive as he looked around him and then back down at the small creature sitting back on its hind legs, looking at him expectantly. Without words, he knew what it… no, what she wanted.

She wanted to be groomed.

The wordless request seemed to echo in a tone that wasn’t his own, but it was at the same time. A smile nearly split Simon’s face, and scooping up the snow noodle in his hands, he gave its fur a series of long, gentle strokes. The frost marten radiated pleasure at the action, rolled over, and demanded further pets in the form of a pleading whine when he stopped. Now bonded as they were, the frosty touch of the creature didn’t bother him more than the cool night air.

June was grinning almost as wide. “What’s its name?”

He’d always imagined this moment, that he’d know just the right name for his esper when the time came. He had hundreds of names at the moment, but as she sat curled in his arms, he went with the first thing that came to mind as he looked at his friend.

“Her name is Powder.”

Powder cooed like ice skittering across a snowbank as she demanded more pets, and Simon happily obliged.