Crash in the Northern Crater [Elena]

Tseng was absolutely freezing. However, his priority was for his partner. He was very old fashioned with his though process. So, being a woman, he did want to make sure she was safe and warm. He rubbed her arm as she started to come to, glad that she was alive and doing rather well at the moment. They would need to do a full check once they were somewhere safe. But it was far from safe at the moment. He wasn’t even sure what had happened. All he knew was that they needed to take shelter and regroup.

She cane to a bit and asked where they were. He shook his head and rubbed her arm. ”I’m not sure...” He helped her up when she shifted and was more than happy to have her safe and alive. ”Come on...” he told the woman as he got her up.

”I don’t know where it is, Elena. I didn’t see it....come on. Let’s find shelter.” he explained to his partner as he moved to walk with her. That is when she pulled off his jacket. ”Warm up first....” he responded as they walked to find a cave or something. He was extremely cold, but he wanted her awake enough. He knew they needed to stay close to keep warm for the moment. ”Do you see any caves?” he asked as they walked.

Tseng was aware of how Elena could be. So, he knew he had to focus on being the rational one. He didn’t want her having to try and overcompensate. He was the senior, he had to handle it. He supported her as they walked slowly. The wind being rather harsh. Tseng knee they would freeze out here if they didn’t find some place to stay out of the storm. He kept his head low as they walked. ”Great deduction, Elena....” he responded a bit sarcastically.

Tseng continued to walk them a bit before she finally said something helpful. His eyes moved toward the direction she had mentioned. He nodded slowly about the smoke. It was hard to judge the distance of the campfire. With the clouds above, he wasn’t even sure what direction they were heading. It most certainly had to be somewhere on the northern continent.

Elena chimed in again about the temperature dropping. It was a bit obvious, but he nodded in response. It wasn’t something he truly wanted to think about. It was a traumatic experience for both of them. He didn’t like to even mention what Kadaj and his brother put him through. ”Lets just find someplace to wait out the storm....” he admitted as they walked.

He honestly was freezing. But he could manage a while till he’d need to reclaim it. Hopefully it would be when she was warmed up a bit and they’d found some sort of shelter.

Tseng hadn't meant to sound as sarcastic and un-amused as he had. He was just cold and frustrated that she was seeing about as much as he was seeing. He was hoping she'd notice something being able to think at least a bit more logically being a bit warmer. But, it seemed she was as lost as he was in the moment. He had more trouble controlling his facial expressions when he was with comrades, they could read what he was thinking with or without his actual body language. Elena had been his partner for the last few years. She knew what he was thinking before he did at times.

It was after a few moments that Elena removed his jacket and handed it back. He tried to turn her down, but she was insistent and he knew not to push it all that much. He nodded with a simple thank you and wrapped himself back in the jacket. It did help warm him up a lot better than without it. Their suit jackets did give them some protection from the elements with the materials that were used. He kept close to Elena as they continued moving.

That's when Elena spoke up again and the Director glanced at her with a confused expression. What was what? His eyes scanned the scenery that hadn't changed. She couldn't be that cold that she was beginning to see things. It didn't make logical sense. All the Turk could do was trust she'd seen something that would help them. It did feel good to be right. Elena speaking up to point out the possibility of a cliff. The blonde was probably right. It did seem to be the right shape to be a cliff. The Wutainese man nodded in response and shifted a bit to keep up with her after she'd taken a few steps ahead of him.

"Don't get on too far ahead..." He spoke as he moved to try and catch up with her,
keeping his arms folded over his now zipped up jacket. He was truly hoping that this cliff produced some sort of cave or shelter that they could use for the evening. Anything for them to be able to stay alive and make it through the night. They'd need to call for backup once they figured out a safe place to sleep and a general idea of where they were. They couldn't call Rude and Reno in blind. "Anything, Elena?" he asked his partner who was still a few steps ahead.

Tseng was honestly just glad that he had his jacket back. He was a lot colder than he had realized he was. That not usually being a good sign. The last thing they needed was for hypothermia to set in. Tseng carefully bringing his hands to his face to attempt to warm up with his breath. His eyes eventually shifting from looking toward the ground to find Elena had gotten some distance away from him. The Director let out a faint sigh as he folded his arms to try and keep a tad bit warmer, speeding up to catch up with the blonde. He couldn't afford to lose her out here. They didn't even know exactly where in the Northern Continent they were.

Tseng did not take all that long to catch up with Elena as she babbled on about what she was seeing. He squinted a bit as he got closer to the area she was referencing. "Alright. I see it." He informed his partner as he half patted her shoulder before moving to head to the opening. "It will work well enough for the evening..." He explained as he continued with her to the small cave opening. It was a little bit bigger than he expected when they got closer. It was enough space that they should be able to squeeze inside.

The Director headed in first to make sure it was safe before calling up to her that it was. He let her slide inside the opening, supporting her when she did. His hands on her waist until she was safely on her feet inside. It was rather dark, but the light from his small flashlight from his PHS was enough to give them a decent view on the inside. The cave was still rather cold, but less harsh with it sheltering them from the wind. "I'm going to see if I can find anything in here that we can use to start a fire." Her partner explained as he shined his light around the small cave before handing it to Elena. "I'll be right back..."

Tseng pulled himself back out of the cave before disappearing, leaving Elena alone in the cave to get things situated there. It was not too long before the man returned, sliding the small pieces of wood and such he'd found nearby. The place wasn't completely barren of everything. "The wood is a bit damp, but we've dealt with worse..." He commented after he'd rubbed his arms a bit to try and warm up from being back outside.

Tseng was more than happy to be back in the little cave they had found. He made sure to avoid the section she had started to pack closed. He slide inside and let her get to work. She knew what she was doing and he did not doubt that. The man got inside and nodded about the wet branches. He shifted and sat the PHS on the floor so he could see what he was doing. It took a bit, but he used his Fire materia to start the fire,
overall glad he had decided to bring that one with him.

It took a few minutes, but he finally got a small but feasible fire going. The Director let out a relieved sigh before closing the cell phone and warming his hands a bit. "Elena....come warm up." He stated.
The last thing he wanted her to do was freeze to death. It was a lot warmer than he expected to be for the evening.
He just prayed that he had found enough wood to last them till the morning. He just could not find anymore and it was getting too cold for him to be able to handle.

The Director rubbed his hands together and left room next to him if she wanted to join him there. Honestly,
body heat would help a lot until the cave warmed up enough that the cold would not be as huge a problem as it was now. "In the morning, we can see if we can find Iccicle Inn or orient ourselves better."

Tseng was just as cold as Elena probably was. He just wished he had prepared for what had happened. He did not understand how the helicopter had truly crashed. There was a lot of sudden turbulence. A very large and dark portal of sorts that caused the system to completely malfunction and essentially crash. But, they had not made it far enough to be at the Northern Continent. Yet, that is where they seemed to be. No other location had snow like this at this time of year.

That's when the blonde pulled him from his own thoughts. "Yes, it certainly would. But, with that cloud cover it's nearly impossible. We'll just have to wait for the storm to settle and daylight." He explained as he sat next to her.

The body language was clear on the new turk though. She was cold. Honestly, so was he. Those nights trapped with Kadaj and his gang had been just as cold. Yet, the torture that had ensued made it worse. At least they weren't being held captive. The Director sighed before speaking up again. "You can get closer to the fire... body heat will help. At least there are no real threats yet." He admitted to the blonde. That's when he thought it would be safe to speak up about the helicopter. "What do you remember happening with the malfunction before we crashed?" He asked his partner.

Maybe she would remember something more than he had. It was like the record was skipping. He only remember bits an pieces, not in order. There were things missing. But, maybe he both of them could discuss and figure out the truth. There had to be something that one of them noticed before they went down.