Aleister climbed out of the cave in which he had been working with Dolash, and once more entered the breach of the bitter winds.
As he had not been looking very hard when he was focused on going to the Temple area, he was assured that there was a closer location that he would stumble upon on the way.


Trudging through the snow, his thoughts returned to home, and his leaving it for the first time, and a single tear fell down his cheek in rememberance of his fallen adoptive parents.

The search took perhaps longer than he had expected, but with the sun creeping down in the sky Aleister at last found a truly ideal location. No windy lean-to or half-sheltered ice shelf, just barely hidden off the narrow path was an obvious shelter cut into the rock. It extended back far enough to provide critical cover from the wind, although it was close enough to the surface to let sunlight and fresh air in. Hard-pack snow formed thick walls and tapered into several smaller chambers near the back. It was clear they would not be the first to camp there.

Somehow sensing that his search was complete, Dolash appeared, clambering quickly over the rocky path to join his student. You have found our first shelter. Good. He shooed Aleister inside, well-timed as a strong, icy gust blew by.

Now protected from the harsh edge of the elements, the pair were safe once more to resume meditation. For those who are so attuned, there is no need for sleep, only meditation. It is not the same, but trusting one's well-being to the Force can sustain one's life in all manner of unnatural conditions. Mediate now in our newfound peace, and know rest.

OOC: (I appologize for it taking this long, I've gotten extremely busy)

IC: Aleister reached into the depths of his mind, continuing his search of trying to understand the maddening spirits of the mountain, wanting to also attempt to build deeper into the Force, and attune himself with its natural energies.

seconds passed, followed by minutes, then hours, perhaps even days, until Aleister awoke again. in this place, in this system, he had lost all concept of time as he travelled the murky understanding of the Force.

He only realize that when he awoke, he was extremely hungry, and parched.

Aleister's waking was well-timed. As he looked around for a way to slake his thirst and hunger, a faint, cold, dribble landed on his face. A puddle had formed next to him, into which a slow but steady stream of drops fell. Looking up, the hard-packed snow that formed the roof glistened with half-melted droplets.

Dolash still sat nearby, his back ramrod straight, his eyes closed. The light of dawn was just now filtering through the snowy peaks of the mountain range, alighting upon icicles and snow-drifts and giving the grey-white world a golden sheen. It was a sight to warm the heart, and with the wind dying down perhaps the rest of the body as well.

It was not one to put food in bellies, however, and though the water dribbling out of the roof might slake thirst, it would not quell hunger. The food cave wasn't far up the mountain, though, and it offered the only relief the world seemed to have available - delicious lichen.

Aleister chose not to wake Master Dolash, as he climbed up to the lichen cave, but instead took just enough to feed both of them, as he had seen Dolash do in the past.

"Waste not, want not" muttered Aleister as he climbed back down into the cave where the two were staying, splitting the food into two fair portions, and leaving Dolash's where he could reach it when he awoke which Aleister assuredly assumed would be soon. He drank from the water, and slowly ate the lichen, beginning to actually enjoy the taste....it was better than the rats back home, he mused.

He rested his head against the cave, and simply waited. Master Dolash would awake soon enough. Han had returned as well, and in the meantime, he was giving Aleister a lesson on the history of the Jedi, and the lightsaber that Han had him retrieve.

He also told him of some of the things he had learned in his training, such as how to manipulate the Force to jump higher, run faster, or even stop an entire army in its tracks with a masterful meditation.

The Force, was something that once you became a student of, it was for Life. You learned, until you died. The only end, was death. It's lessons would last much more time than any normal person had....even a Master Yoda, that Han had described, or Dolash as well, lived for centuries, and still did not know ALL of its secrets.

As Aleister lost himself in reflection, a faint cracking noise from above began to sound. That faint trickle of water from earlier had grown, growing larger as wet cracks formed in the slushy hard-pack. Small chunks of snow dislodged and fell to the floor of the cave, coinciding with fresh cracks shooting through the ceiling.

In a split-second, the cave began to collapse on top of them. The snow fell through in huge blocks, filling up the entrance and crashing down on their heads. Dolash made no move, seemingly feeling no snowy blow as he was buried neck-deep and deeper. Aleister himself was simply too far from the cave entrance, the snow-quake falling upon them too swifty, to make an escape.

Mere moments and it was over. Where there had once been a secure cave there was now a solid plug of snow, the drifts settling down on top of the little living-space and burying any within under miles-deep columns of winter's weight.

Aleister felt the cold snow burying his body, but did not panic. He had but one chance to pull this off for both of them to survive. He focused on that which he had learned from Han, opening his mind to the Force and feeling it flow through him as he concentrated and began to push the snow with the Force, slowly, not enough to blow up the cave but enough to clear the entrance. It would take time, time he may not have, but he had to try.

He worked and worked, and the snow drifts began to lessen over time, he only hoped he had it clear before they both froze to death.

So focused was Aleister on his task, so concentrated was he, that when he felt a touch upon his shoulder he surely would have leapt from his skin were he not pinned in place with snow.

It was Dolash, who had hardly moved from his spot except to burrow a hand clean through to Aleister. He patted Aleister firmly on the shoulder. Let go, Aleister. Let the snow fall. Close your eyes and concentrate. Know peace.

The snow around the entrance was moving, that was so, but fresh drifts were threatening to form above. Treacherous ice that had seemed solid as stone on days previous was now run through with cracks and icicles the length of spears were poised overhead, ready to fall. If they meant to escape using the Force there might only be a window of a few moments where it could be possible before all the snow and ice above comes thundering down, yet still there was Dolash's reassuring hand on his shoulder. Do not fight. Know peace.

Aleister knew that Dolash would not let him die, for that would not teach him any lessons, and he knew Dolash was quite fond of teaching him abstract lessons, so, he relaxed and closed his eyes, breathing gently, and returning to his balanced state, allowing what would happen to happen.

The thundering of the falling snow grew quieter as it piled higher on their heads. Buried, neither Dolash nor Aleister could move an inch. Yet they were not simply crushed - the snow packed in quickly around them and stopped - why? Was it the Force? Or was it simply something mundane, like there not being quite enough snow piled up to crush them?

Utterly enveloped in cold and stuck in place, the meditative trance the two had been practicing for hours on end came almost unbidden. It was either that or freeze to death. By releasing themselves from conscious concerns, the weight of the snow seemed to be lifted from their shoulders and the cold could not rightly touch them. It was like a dream, but more relaxed, more restful.

Here Aleister experienced true sustenance, unlike the dry struggle he had experienced in his earlier meditations. They could not escape, but there was no desire to. There was only peace, and a submission to the will of the Force. It bade them stay where they were, embrace their icey cocoon, and forget the temporal troubles that beset them.

They could hear the whisper of the mountain spirits like a voice from another room, muffled and detached. Yet these voices melted away, forgotten as they sunk further into trance. They could hear the latent murmurs of the Force, but this voice too faded, too loud, too fast, for their ears. Even the beat of their own hearts slowed and faded, becoming quiet, until at last all was at rest. Stillness bred sustenance.