Three days. That's how long this poor child had been out in the snow for. There was the day he went missing, the day it took for Everest and his team to drive out here, and yesterday, where their sear... View MoreThree days. That's how long this poor child had been out in the snow for. There was the day he went missing, the day it took for Everest and his team to drive out here, and yesterday, where their searches came up empty. At this point, the boy's parents were in hysterics back at the resort. He hadn't been around to witness it, but judging by what the resort staff had told them over the radio, the mother was convinced that she'd never see her son again, and the father had started drinking pretty heavily.
The team didn't return to the resort that night. They set up camp inside the woods, hoping that maybe, just maybe, little Flash would see their campfire, and waddle into their camp. That didn't happen, and all the lighthearted banter the team had been throwing around on their way out here was starting to feel heavily misplaced.
This morning, Everest and his team are searching a new stretch of the woods, but their hopes are not high. The snowstorm had yet to die down, and all the snowfall had likely covered any sort of tracks the kid would have made a few days ago. Everest listens to his teammates as they perform their 20 minute status report. Yuji tells the team that his coat got snagged on a jagged rock in the snow, and he needs to head back to camp to fix the tear. As the message finishes, Everest reaches for his radio for his report, only to stop.
Just inside his field of vision, Everest spots something laying up against a tree, covered in a thin layer of snow. As he approaches, the figure becomes more clear, revealing a small child, likely no older than 5. His eyes widen as he approaches, but he manages to compose himself as he nears the tree. "Hey little guy! Are you okay?" He calls out to the snow-covered figure, but receives no response. Everest's mind then begins to race. what was he going to tell the parents? As he bends down, and begins to gently wipe the snow off of the child. He then slowly slips his foreleg under the child to scoop him up, and nearly jumps when he begins to shiver violently. "Holy shit!" Everest grabs his radio, and hits the transmit button as his voice trips over itself so the words will come out as fast as possible.
"I found him! Thank god he's alive!" Leon's voice comes over the radio next. "How's he looking?" As Everest turns to head back towards the camp, he inspects the shivering child. "Looks like he's suffering from hypothermia, and possibly frostbite, but I'm not going to pull off his gloves to see just yet." Then, Yuji pops in. "Understood. I'm putting in a call to the resort's medical team now."
As the radio falls silent, a small whimper escapes the child's lips. Everest clutches the child fairly tightly to his own body to try and transfer some of his own body heat, but the child continues to shiver. After about a minute of walking, with Everest quietly comforting the child, he then begins to cry, which quickly turns into wails of distress, and discomfort. At first, Everest tries to calm him down by re-assuring him, but that doesn't work. After a few seconds, a thought pops into his head. There's a song his wife showed him in high school. It was from one of her favorite childhood games, and the two sung it to each other whenever they needed help calming down. Maybe that would work.
Mustering up his best singing voice, Everest clutches the child tightly, and begins to sing softly, but just loud enough to be heard over the wind.
"Take a melody."
"Simple as can be."
"Give it some words, and"
"Sweet harmony~"
"Raise, your, voic~es"
"All day long now, love grows strong now."
"Sing a melody of love, o-ho love."
Everest repeats singing this song around 4 times, with the child gradually calming down until he's managed to fall asleep during the 4th rendition. Everest heaves a sigh of relief, and trudges forwards, back towards the camp. Thank the heavens this search gets to have a happy ending. #rp
St Helena Ski Resort was a place of nostalgia for Everest. He has vivid memories of coming here on family trips as a kid. The little bunny slopes he and his cousins went down, the hot cocoa, and smore... View MoreSt Helena Ski Resort was a place of nostalgia for Everest. He has vivid memories of coming here on family trips as a kid. The little bunny slopes he and his cousins went down, the hot cocoa, and smores stands they'd pester their parents for, and the late nights in the lodge playing board games. Good times. Too bad those weren't the reasons he was here today.
Everest and his team pulled up to the ski resort early this morning after a day and a half of travel in the sno-cat. After a brief discussion with the resort's own severely understaffed, and ill-equipped search and rescue team, Everest and his team get some more information, and form a plan.
The missing child is a 4 year old pegasus boy named Flash. His parents took him and his siblings to one of the northern camping sites for a planned scavenger hunt with two other families. The scavenger hunt had apparently only been planned to take place inside the campsite, but there were far more children than there were adults. Everyone had been so busy with the hunt, that none of them had noticed the 4 year old wander out of the campsite, and by the time they did, it had been an hour since the hunt started.
The parents, resort staff, and even other guests had been searching for the child on the grounds, but they didn't have the equipment to search much farther. The woods on the northern side of the resort were simply too difficult to pass through, and a snowstorm had blown in yesterday, meaning even a team as well trained and equipped as Everest's would have trouble. Regardless, the team hatched their plan, and executed it. The storm would be difficult to deal with, but they've done it before, in much worse locations.
This afternoon, the team begins their search in the woods north of the resort, with the team spread out to cover as much ground as possible. They plan to sweep the woods in incremental arcs, moving from east, to west after each sweep. Finding the boy was not guaranteed, and the idea of a poor, 4 year old being lost to the cold terrified Everest. He knew all too well what it was like to loose someone close to you, but he had no idea what it would be like to loose your own child. Everest's resolve to bring the boy back safe to his family was solidified when he saw how distraught the parents were. He wasn't leaving this resort until they found him. #rp
"Tell you what Everest. You can make a mean Shepherd's Pie." The deep, rumbly voice of a gruff looking yak bellows over the small counter at Everest. He looks up from the dishes he's currently washing... View More"Tell you what Everest. You can make a mean Shepherd's Pie." The deep, rumbly voice of a gruff looking yak bellows over the small counter at Everest. He looks up from the dishes he's currently washing, and smiles. "Glad you liked it Leon. My dad taught me that recipe when I was in high school." Sitting next to the yak, a hunched dragon chuckles. "You're dad must be one hell of a cook. Especially if he can teach someone like you to cook like that."
As the three talk, and banter, a fairly young unicorn comes out from one of the nearby rooms. He holds up a hoof, and raises his voice to be heard over the others. "Hey, guys. Just got a message from St Helena Ski Resort. They want some help finding a lost child. Said they don't have the proper staff, or equipment to look much father than their grounds." The 3 men in the small kitchen area fall quiet as they listen. When the unicorn is done speaking, Leon, the yak, is the first to answer. "Shit. Search and Rescue guys are out helping with that avalanche a few days out right?" Thomas, the dragon, nods. "Then we're the Search and Rescue for this one." Everest states, as he tucks the last dish into the cabinet above him.
Around 10 minutes later, the 4 men load into one of the 3 remaining sno-cats with search and rescue gear for each of them. As Thomas starts up the sno-cat, Leon speaks up from the passenger seat. "You guys think Amanda's gonna get lonely with everyone else out?" Everst responds with "Knowing her, she's probably overjoyed that we're all away. It'll actually be quiet for her." This causes the others to chuckle. Following this little quip, the sno-cat takes off to the west, towards St Helena Ski Resort. #rp
"Did you know that Equestria's spirit of friendship, and tolerance can be traced back to as early as the early 900's CE? There's a record of a feast held by the Equestrian monarchs following a truce s... View More"Did you know that Equestria's spirit of friendship, and tolerance can be traced back to as early as the early 900's CE? There's a record of a feast held by the Equestrian monarchs following a truce signed between them, and an invading kingdom. The record states that both kingdoms had the majority of their nobility in attendance, and it was a grand affair. Despite the devastation the other kingdom had caused to Equestria, the monarchs had managed to drive their armies back into their lands, but offered a truce instead of pushing any further."
"During the feast, the Equestrian monarchs embraced the other King as if he were their brother, and the feast accordingly was a very lively, and merry one, with the Equestrian Monarchs personally forgiving the King, and his Nobility for their actions. This, in turn lead to an era of peace, and cooperation between the two kingdoms, until the other kingdom seemingly fell less than 100 years later. We still don't know exactly what kingdom it was, or how they fell. Sadly, they practiced purely oral traditions, and what records we have of them come from Equestrian sources of the time."
Everest sighs. "If only we had the means to observe these events non-intrusively, in person."
This may have been a bit too much information, considering the two of you were in the checkout line of a grocery store. #rp
"Looks like a storm's rolling in from the east, and it looks pretty fierce. I'm not looking forward to all the shoveling we'll have to do afterwards."
#rp
A fairly large Sno-Cat, Winter Terrain Vehicle, trudges through the snow of the Frozen North, with 3 occupants inside. Sitting up front in the cabin are two stallions from the Frozen North Explorers G... View MoreA fairly large Sno-Cat, Winter Terrain Vehicle, trudges through the snow of the Frozen North, with 3 occupants inside. Sitting up front in the cabin are two stallions from the Frozen North Explorers Guild, and an official from the Royal Expeditionary Supervision Board. As the vehicle nears a lone structure sitting quietly in the tundra, the board official re-adjusts his inter coat, and reaches into his pack using his magic. When the vehicle pulls in to an outdoor garage connected to the building, the three stallions exit.
The 2 guild members bring the official to the front of the rather homely, yet fairly large structure. There, the official gets a good look at the guild's flag waving high above the main entrance, and he finds around 20 creatures lined up in front of the building, as if for inspection. After the two stallions that had rode here with him fall in line, the official goes down the line. Each creature tells him their name, and their position within the guild as he passes by. "Fiscus Brawn, Forward Scout." "Agis Ginstealer, Quartermaster." "Kona Fleetside, Doctor." This continues for some time, with the official taking a few seconds to write down each person's name, and role.
"Everest Ceisiwr, Archeologist, and historian." This causes the official to pause. He looks to the stallion who had just spoken with a raised eyebrow. "Interesting. This is the first expeditionary force I've seen with their on Archeology department." The stallion in the line appears to be attempting to hide some embarrassment. "Well, I'm the only one in the department. It's a bit difficult to coordinate efforts with the Archeology Offices like other groups can." The official nods, and then heads further down the line.
Following a lengthy tour of the guild's base, the official is given a room to stay in for the night before he and his escorts head back to Vanhoover tomorrow morning.
Meanwhile, in a different room across the base, Everest sits at his desk with an old tome opened in front of him. He appears to be attempting to transcribe the tomes contents, which is quite hard without the help of someone who is fluent in such an old language. After hours of constant eye strain, Everest eventually gently closes the tome, gingerly slips it back into a large sealable bag, and slips the bag into a specific drawer on his desk.
Everest then looks to the clock on his wall, and is rather ashamed to see that he's stayed up until 1 AM for the third time this week. He's got to be better about his time management. With a sigh, Everst flicks off his office/bedroom lights, and gingerly slides into his bed to catch some rest before they send off the official from the Royal Expeditionary Supervision Board in 5 hours. #rp
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