It was time to leave the cave. They had spent a few days recovering, learning a little more about each other. When it was time to leave, the doused the fire that had been constantly maintained, bundled up their items inside the furs, and slung them on their backs with crude knots. Her companion didn’t learn much about her; she didn’t remember enough to tell him much. So instead, he talked about the world she couldn’t remember. Did she ever go beyond the white winter land? Some of the places seemed so fanciful; an unfrozen lake that extends as far as the eye can see called the ocean? Tall forests of green? That was too much for her imagination. But then, her imagination was bleak in comparison.

Sighing, she looked over to her companion who was currently making sure the fur wrapping was tucked securely on her. ”Not seeing color here… it is not too bad,” she murmured, turning away from him, towards downhill. Was that the way they were going? ”Everything is white and gray here. This world… it’s already devoid of color,” she breathed. She looked at him again, at his pale rainbow colors. Muted unless against a blanket of snow. She felt her face heat up and looked away again. She couldn’t be thinking about his appearance, how warm he was at night.

Rangi looked at her in surprise, before a large grin blossomed across his face. That idea… was marvelous. His lack of color in this world wasn’t a disability; this world already lacked color. ”I’ll have to come back here, one day,” he responded in a near whisper, eyes now examining his environment. It seemed like a whole new world, this place they had stayed in for the last few days. It was no longer bleak, empty, dull. He shared the same vision as everyone else; white snow, grey skies, black trees. It was refreshing, not feeling different. He grinned and moved up next to her, bumping his shoulder’s to her.

He was excited, ready to start this new adventure with this lady. Sinowo Chinkokomo. She was a mystery. Together, they could go on a discovery journey; him for a cure, her for her past. It was perfect. It was meant to be. His thoughts were getting ahead of himself, he realized, and he quickly tried to back pedal. It almost seemed like he was interested in her beyond as a companion, which couldn’t be the case. He didn’t know her very long. She didn’t even know herself. It would be wrong to think about a deeper relationship, unfair to Sinowo. It would be taking advantage of her. And he couldn’t do that, not to her. She already had a hard lot on life. Where was her family? Even if she had an accident, surely there should be someone looking for her? Why hasn’t anyone come searching? Perhaps she had trailed further from her family than she had thought. Or they presumed she was dead.

It would have been best to search around in the snowy area for a bit longer, look for traces of her past. Perhaps he should. He turned to speak to Sinowo… and horror gripped his heart. She had collapsed again. Quickly, he rushed over to her. ”Are you alright?!” he asked worriedly, laying down next to her to check her condition. Her eyes were open but they seemed more milky, not as dark as he saw them to be for the last few days. Worry was quickly turning to terror. ”Sinowo… Sinowo!” She wasn’t responding. What could be wrong with her?!

The vision took her by surprise. It was just a flash of images, too fast to properly see. Her body convulsed, time slowed down. She felt as though she was under the vision for years, shivering and sweating underneath her fur. She didn’t know what to make of the images but for some odd reason, she seemed to understand. A voice was reaching her, past the images, past the white noise buzzing in her ears. ”SINOWO!” it yelled. Was that her name? Briefly, the image of the pale canine with the pale rainbow drifted up. IT was her name. He had named her.

All of a sudden, the images disappeared. She shot straight up, gasping for air. Rangi had been hovering over her and had nearly gotten his chin knocked into her head. Jumping away, the pale dog watched the female, worry still evident. Sinowo was panting, ears and tail drooping. Whatever she had experienced, it seemed to be painful. Disturbing at the very least. He swallowed thickly and realized he had no moisture left in his mouth. ”Are-“ he tried and realized his voice was coming out too thickly. He cleared it and tried again. ”Are you alright?” It was said in a near whisper but it was enough. And she had heard.

Her heart was still hammering in her chest. She still didn’t have enough breath and was still sucking in the frosty crisp air. After a moment, when her head felt like it wasn’t swirling in circles anymore, she decided maybe she could speak. ”I’m… I’m fine,” she said, sucking in a breath. What she saw… it was lands she thought she’d never seen. Lands different from this snowy one. Did they actually exist? Were these apart of her memory? Perhaps they were. Maybe she needed to go to these lands to find her family. It was her best shot.

”Are you sure you can travel? Why don’t we wait for a few days, just in case,” Rangi began but stopped as Sinowo shook her head.

”No. I am fine. Let us go. I am… I am curious about the world beyond the snow,” she said in a near whisper. Rangi nearly didn’t hear her. He considered for a moment, pondering their choices. They should really wait, for many reasons. There was no rush. But… staring at her for a bit longer, he nodded slowly. ”Alright,” he murmured. ”Let’s go.”