DM: August 2006: Avalanche
Title: All Fall Down
Character Name: Iolaus
Origin: Hercules the Legendary Journeys
Prompt: August 2006 prompt: Avalanche
Word Count: 992
Character’s LJ: iolaus_lj
Rating: G
"Why couldn't we wait a little longer?" demanded Iolaus as he slogged through the knee-deep drifts of white. " Like, say, til the Spring thaw?"
"It rains in the Spring," replied Hercules.
"So?"
"You hate being wet."
"Yeah, well, I hate being cold and wet even more," he grumped. "Whoever heard of a snow giant, anyway?"
"The Norsemen call them frost giants."
"There's no such thing!"
"Tell that to the people from the village down there," said Hercules, nodding to the tiny black dot far below the steep mountain slope. "Something's been killing their livestock and destroying their homesteads."
"Maybe it's a Cyclops."
"We're too far north."
"A hill giant, then."
"Nope. They hate the cold, too."
Iolaus blew out a frosty, exasperated breath that plumed into white fog. "Okay, Mister Walking Monster Scroll of Knowledge. What do you think it was?"
"Exactly what the villagers told us. A frost giant."
"There's no such thing!"
Hercules slowed his pace as a dark shadow fell across the snow. "You're sure about that?"
"Positive! Snow giants are just myths. They're not real."
"Okay." Hercules nodded to the towering figure standing upon an ice-covered rock ledge just ahead. "Tell him that."
"Whoa!" Iolaus had to crane his neck back to see up the length of the giant's body to it's face. Cold blue eyes glowered down at them from a pale white face framed by hair and beard made of jagged ice crystals.
"That's a pretty substantial looking myth," observed Hercules.
The snow giant snarled, bearing yellowed teeth.
"Sounds real, too."
"Think we can reason with it?" ventured Iolaus hopefully.
The giant reached down and plucked a massive boulder of ice from the ledge, lifting it easily over it's shaggy head.
"I'm thinking that's a no," replied Hercules. "Down!"
Hercules pushed Iolaus into the nearest snow bank as the giant threw his missile. The boulder whizzed overhead, missing them by inches and slamming into the mountainside hard enough to shake the ground. A distant answering rumble from above warned against another such blow.
"Down, he says!" Spluttering, Iolaus popped out of the hole his body had created and shook snow from his hair. "If I didn’t know any better, I'd say you enjoyed that."
Hercules grinned. "Sorry. Couldn’t resist."
"We're standing on the side of a freezing cold mountain facing a snow giant-"
"Frost giant."
"Whatever! And you want to dunk me in the snow?"
"Old habits die hard," replied Hercules as pulled the giant's boulder free of the indentation it had made. "Get ready."
"For what?"
"For this!" Pivoting like an athlete at the Games, he used the momentum to put more power behind his throw.
Iolaus watched in amazement as the boulder flew high and wide of the giant. "You missed!" he said, incredulous. "I can't believe it. You never miss!"
"I didn't miss."
"Yes you did! You weren't even close."
The snow giant laughed as the boulder flew by without any danger of touching him. His rumbling laughter was punctuated by the sound of the projectile's impact high overhead.
"Didn't," said Hercules calmly as the ground began to vibrate beneath their feet.
The frosty air was filled with a new, deeper rumbling that made the giant's expression shift to one of surprise. It turned it's massive head and looked up at the mountain. Ice cracked like snapping bones, yielding to the shifting weight of the snow broken by the impact of Hercules' missile.
The mountainside broke free with a roar like thunder as it sprang into life. Like the crest of a massive wave, a wall of snow and ice raced down the steep slope toward them.
"Sorry about this." Hercules lifted Iolaus off of his feet and tossed him through the air.
With a shout of surprise, arms pin wheeling, Iolaus found himself flying directly toward the snow giant before landing face-first in a snow drift beneath the rocky overhang. The world around him shuddered and bucked, trembling as the roar of the avalanche swallowed everything in its path. Pressing his hands to ears, Iolaus closed his eyes as the primal force pounded over the rocky ledge and around the narrow depression beneath.
Then silence. As suddenly as it had begun, the avalanche was gone, leaving behind an eerie quiet. Opening his eyes, Iolaus found himself entombed in a twilight cocoon of white. Alone.
"Hercules?"
Reaching overhead, Iolaus felt rough rock and ice. The overhang! Following it with his hands until he encountered snow, he began to push and dig and claw his way toward the sunlight. He had to find Hercules! He might have been buried by the avalanche or, worse, carried away by it!
An icy block tumbled away, revealing blue sky and sun. Iolaus wriggled through the opening and, shielding his eyes against the glare, frantically looked around. The landscape had changed dramatically. All sign of their path had been erased. The giant was gone.
"Herc?" Iolaus' voice echoed and faded into nothing. "Hercules! Answer me!"
Where was he? He had to be here. Had to be!
Dear gods, don't let him be gone. Please, please don't let him be-
Snow shifted to his left, a slight movement that had him scrambling over the debris in a heartbeat.
"Herc? Herc, is that you?" Iolaus frantically began to dig, not caring that his fingers were blue and stiff with cold. "Herc? Are you down there? HERC!"
"I can hear you just fine," said a warm voice from behind.
Iolaus pivoted to see Hercules struggling out of a snow drift just a few feet shy of the rock ledge.
"HERC! You're alive!" Thank the gods! Iolaus grabbed a gauntleted wrist and helped pull him out of the snow. "I thought-"
"I know." Hercules placed a reassuring arm around his friend's shoulder. "I'm fine. Which is more than I can say for our snow giant."
"Frost giant," Iolaus corrected him with a grin.
"Whatever," laughed Hercules.
Character Name: Iolaus
Origin: Hercules the Legendary Journeys
Prompt: August 2006 prompt: Avalanche
Word Count: 992
Character’s LJ: iolaus_lj
Rating: G
"Why couldn't we wait a little longer?" demanded Iolaus as he slogged through the knee-deep drifts of white. " Like, say, til the Spring thaw?"
"It rains in the Spring," replied Hercules.
"So?"
"You hate being wet."
"Yeah, well, I hate being cold and wet even more," he grumped. "Whoever heard of a snow giant, anyway?"
"The Norsemen call them frost giants."
"There's no such thing!"
"Tell that to the people from the village down there," said Hercules, nodding to the tiny black dot far below the steep mountain slope. "Something's been killing their livestock and destroying their homesteads."
"Maybe it's a Cyclops."
"We're too far north."
"A hill giant, then."
"Nope. They hate the cold, too."
Iolaus blew out a frosty, exasperated breath that plumed into white fog. "Okay, Mister Walking Monster Scroll of Knowledge. What do you think it was?"
"Exactly what the villagers told us. A frost giant."
"There's no such thing!"
Hercules slowed his pace as a dark shadow fell across the snow. "You're sure about that?"
"Positive! Snow giants are just myths. They're not real."
"Okay." Hercules nodded to the towering figure standing upon an ice-covered rock ledge just ahead. "Tell him that."
"Whoa!" Iolaus had to crane his neck back to see up the length of the giant's body to it's face. Cold blue eyes glowered down at them from a pale white face framed by hair and beard made of jagged ice crystals.
"That's a pretty substantial looking myth," observed Hercules.
The snow giant snarled, bearing yellowed teeth.
"Sounds real, too."
"Think we can reason with it?" ventured Iolaus hopefully.
The giant reached down and plucked a massive boulder of ice from the ledge, lifting it easily over it's shaggy head.
"I'm thinking that's a no," replied Hercules. "Down!"
Hercules pushed Iolaus into the nearest snow bank as the giant threw his missile. The boulder whizzed overhead, missing them by inches and slamming into the mountainside hard enough to shake the ground. A distant answering rumble from above warned against another such blow.
"Down, he says!" Spluttering, Iolaus popped out of the hole his body had created and shook snow from his hair. "If I didn’t know any better, I'd say you enjoyed that."
Hercules grinned. "Sorry. Couldn’t resist."
"We're standing on the side of a freezing cold mountain facing a snow giant-"
"Frost giant."
"Whatever! And you want to dunk me in the snow?"
"Old habits die hard," replied Hercules as pulled the giant's boulder free of the indentation it had made. "Get ready."
"For what?"
"For this!" Pivoting like an athlete at the Games, he used the momentum to put more power behind his throw.
Iolaus watched in amazement as the boulder flew high and wide of the giant. "You missed!" he said, incredulous. "I can't believe it. You never miss!"
"I didn't miss."
"Yes you did! You weren't even close."
The snow giant laughed as the boulder flew by without any danger of touching him. His rumbling laughter was punctuated by the sound of the projectile's impact high overhead.
"Didn't," said Hercules calmly as the ground began to vibrate beneath their feet.
The frosty air was filled with a new, deeper rumbling that made the giant's expression shift to one of surprise. It turned it's massive head and looked up at the mountain. Ice cracked like snapping bones, yielding to the shifting weight of the snow broken by the impact of Hercules' missile.
The mountainside broke free with a roar like thunder as it sprang into life. Like the crest of a massive wave, a wall of snow and ice raced down the steep slope toward them.
"Sorry about this." Hercules lifted Iolaus off of his feet and tossed him through the air.
With a shout of surprise, arms pin wheeling, Iolaus found himself flying directly toward the snow giant before landing face-first in a snow drift beneath the rocky overhang. The world around him shuddered and bucked, trembling as the roar of the avalanche swallowed everything in its path. Pressing his hands to ears, Iolaus closed his eyes as the primal force pounded over the rocky ledge and around the narrow depression beneath.
Then silence. As suddenly as it had begun, the avalanche was gone, leaving behind an eerie quiet. Opening his eyes, Iolaus found himself entombed in a twilight cocoon of white. Alone.
"Hercules?"
Reaching overhead, Iolaus felt rough rock and ice. The overhang! Following it with his hands until he encountered snow, he began to push and dig and claw his way toward the sunlight. He had to find Hercules! He might have been buried by the avalanche or, worse, carried away by it!
An icy block tumbled away, revealing blue sky and sun. Iolaus wriggled through the opening and, shielding his eyes against the glare, frantically looked around. The landscape had changed dramatically. All sign of their path had been erased. The giant was gone.
"Herc?" Iolaus' voice echoed and faded into nothing. "Hercules! Answer me!"
Where was he? He had to be here. Had to be!
Dear gods, don't let him be gone. Please, please don't let him be-
Snow shifted to his left, a slight movement that had him scrambling over the debris in a heartbeat.
"Herc? Herc, is that you?" Iolaus frantically began to dig, not caring that his fingers were blue and stiff with cold. "Herc? Are you down there? HERC!"
"I can hear you just fine," said a warm voice from behind.
Iolaus pivoted to see Hercules struggling out of a snow drift just a few feet shy of the rock ledge.
"HERC! You're alive!" Thank the gods! Iolaus grabbed a gauntleted wrist and helped pull him out of the snow. "I thought-"
"I know." Hercules placed a reassuring arm around his friend's shoulder. "I'm fine. Which is more than I can say for our snow giant."
"Frost giant," Iolaus corrected him with a grin.
"Whatever," laughed Hercules.