8 Frosty the...Yeti?

After calming myself, I began considering my next move.

Food was an issue I had worried about, but I had just killed a beast that was edible....Probably.

The only issue was reaching the meat and cooking it.

The meat was stuck behind a nearly impenetrable hide and I only had so much firewood.

"Maybe I shouldn't have taken that promotion..." I muttered, manipulating the water within the beast. "Now I'm just a male version of a Disney princess."

Pulling meat cut from the inside through the creature's mouth, I couldn't help but mutter, "Let it go..."

I shivered involuntarily as the cold bit at me like a hungry piranha.

"I guess I should start the fire now." I muttered, dreading the meals to come.

I hollowed out a section of the wood and refilled it with the shavings.

"Oh sweet Jesus on a stick!" I yelped when my clothing caught the wind and invited a party of snow for my back.

Finally igniting the fire, I set several strips of the meat into the hole.

Waiting impatiently, I rubbed my hands together to stave off the ravenous cold as the burnt smell of meat wafted towards me.

"Thanks for the meal, Frosty," I muttered looking at the hulking corpse next to me.

Blowing into my ice-cold hands, I picked up a blackened strip of meat and bit into it hungrily.

It was overcooked and ashy, but it was hot.

Nothing had ever tasted so good.

After wolfing down my meal, I began considering a plan of action.

Should I stay here to eat the remainder of what I've killed, or should I keep moving?

I settled for staying in one spot.

Manipulating water to melt the snow beneath me, I began creating a rather small cave.

Before it could collapse, I used that water to freeze the walls and create a sparkling hovel for myself.

"The cold never bothered me anyway," I snorted to myself.

Dragging a few large slabs of meat and the log I had used to cook, I created air holes in the ice above me and sealed off my cave.

Lighting the log aflame once more, I began going about cooking my catch.

While I was busy charring my meal, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

'Wait. have earth element,' I thought, facepalming.

I conjured a thin plate of stone and waited for it to heat up before frying the meat atop it.

"In times like this I'd rather have knowledge of the place than knowledge of a higher magic," I muttered to myself. "At least then I'd have a modicum of common sense."

Despite my oversight in cooking of my food, I began wondering what other mistakes I had made due to a lack of corresponding experience and knowledge.

"I probably mucked up recognizing where that yeti thing lived," I sighed. "And probably alerted every animal in a ten mile radius that I fought it."

While the meat kept cooking, I began conjuring rocks on the uneven floor of my little hidey hole for me to sleep on.

After cooking enough meat to last me three days, I flash-froze the rest and placed the cooked meat on top of the it.

"Is food poisoning going to be an issue when I flash-froze it?" I lampooned. "I guess I'll find out."

I turned in for the night shortly after, hoping my time stuck in this hell hole would come to an end sooner.

When I awoke, I seriously considered whether or not I should move.

On one hand, it could be safer to stay, but on the other hand I could be a sitting duck.

I deliberated while I scarfed down my monotonous breakfast.

I eventually decided to move, but not far from where I was originally.

I opened up my cave cautiously, wary for any danger, animal or otherwise.

Wincing against the blinding sun, I picked up my preserved food and began heading south.

After a miserable mile-long trek, I carefully prodded a particularly large dune to test for another yeti.

The snow remained inert, much to my relief.

I quickly created another cave in the snow, and relaxed on a stone I created for a bed.

''This is boring," I muttered to myself.

"Having fun?" A sweet voice suddenly floated to my ears, causing me to perk up.

"Aurora?" I asked, looking around.

"I'm outside, silly," She responded, laughing.

I opened up the cave and walked out, looking around.

I saw nothing but white snow and crystalline blue sky.

"Look behind you," Her voice sounded once more, startling me.

I turned to see Aurora standing there, wearing a t-shirt and jeans.

"I've never seen you wear that," I noted. "Looks good on you."

"You look like you need a bath," Aurora giggled.

I looked down at my disheveled and blood-covered clothes.

"I think I need holy water and a priest," I chuckled. "Only after that would I need a bath."

"Would a priest ever see someone who looked like you do now?" Aurora snorted.

"Maybe it's a nice priest," I replied.

"There are no nice priests," Aurora said, fading into nothingness. "There are only nice meals."

"What does that mean?" I asked.

I looked around, trying to find where she had vanished to.

"Aurora?"

I received no reply.

I sighed deeply, turning back to my cave.

Before I could even take a step, I felt a pain in the base of my neck and watched everything rapidly fade into darkness.