Scott dropped his bags and took in a deep breath of the thin mountain air, turning completely in a circle to take in the beautiful mountain vista.
It had been several years since the elk had gotten back up to the Rockies, due to the pandemic and greater responsibilities at his job in a city on the east coast. But there was no place he’d rather be, and he was glad to finally be back.
Unlike past visits, when he’d typically book a stay at a busier location, he decided for a change of pace to try a smaller ski lodge higher up in the mountains. He enjoyed the solitude, after all, and starting further up would make the climb to the peak a bit shorter.
Scott picked up his bags and entered the lodge. It was already late in the evening, and inside he found a cozy common area, with a handful of chairs and a couch surrounding a crackling fireplace.
Off to one side, a large tiger sat a desk, doing some paperwork. His white fur was covered in silver and teal stripes and markings, and it looked surprisingly fluffy even for a feline.
The tiger looked up at the elk and smiled. “You must be Scott.” The cervine nodded and shook his hand. “Glad to meet you. My name is Vonsí, and I run this lodge. Let me get you all set. Long day?”
“Yeah, some travel delays, but I’m glad to be here now. I’ve been up in these mountains before, but never stayed here.”
“Well, I’m happy you decided to choose this place,” Vonsí said, sliding a form across the desk for Scott to sign. “Planning on doing some skiing while you’re here?”
Scott shook his head as he scrawled his signature. “Nah. First time I tried that I ended up as a huge snowball at the bottom with my antlers sticking out. I’m just here to do some hiking, hopefully climb to a few of the peaks around here.”
“Well, do be careful,” the tiger said. “We’re supposed to have some snow tomorrow. Shouldn’t get too bad, but you never know around here.” He handed a key to the elk. “There are six rooms here — you’ll be upstairs, the last room on your right. I’ll have breakfast out down here in the morning. Do let me know if you need anything else.”
“Thank you, Vonsí.” The elk gave a weary smile. It had been a long day, and he was finally feeling it catch up to him. He trudged up the stairs, found his room, and collapsed into the comfortable bed, falling asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.
* * *
Scott woke up the next morning feeling totally refreshed — perhaps too refreshed, as the clock on the bedside table read 10 a.m., a bit later than he’d intended to get started.
No matter, the elk figured. He’d still have plenty of time to tackle the climb he had planned for today and get back down before it got too dark.
When he got downstairs, Vonsí was nowhere to be found, but a covered tray of bacon and eggs and a carafe of coffee were sitting out on a table. Next to them was a note.
Had to run an errand. Be back in the afternoon. Safe travels!
-Vonsí
Scott shrugged. He had hoped to ask the tiger about the best path to take up the mountain, but he also knew where to find that information online. He grabbed a plate of breakfast and scarfed it down while browsing climbing forums online.
By 10:30, he was out the door, well-stocked for the day ahead. Climbing alone wasn’t the safest option, he knew, but he’d completed many solo climbs before in this part of the Rockies, and he trusted his own preparedness.
Like Vonsí had predicted, a light snow was falling as Scott began his ascent — not enough to be any sort of nuisance, but just enough to accentuate the gorgeous landscape. The elk found himself stopping often to take pictures and take in the view, getting some beautiful shots. Instagram was gonna love this.
As a result, he got to the summit even later than expected, a couple hours after his initial plan, and he stayed up just long enough to take in the view.
There was truly nothing like it, he thought. He felt on top of the world from up here. In a way, he kind of was. There was nothing in sight taller than he was at this moment — he could look down and see everything.
He sighed, wishing he could stay up longer. But he knew he needed to hustle back down the mountain before it got dark. A few more photos, and he started the return trek, descending about a thousand feet before stopping briefly to quickly chow down on most of his remaining food.
As he resumed his decline, he noticed the wind had really begun to whip up, slowing his progress. Another thousand feet down and he knew he was in trouble.
What had started as simple flurries had become a full-blown blizzard. Winds were gusting so hard that it took most of his strength just to maintain his position on the mountain, never mind continuing. The blowing snow created white-out conditions, preventing him from seeing more than a few yards in front of him.
By some luck, he managed to find a shallow outcropping about a hundred feed further down. It wasn’t much, but Scott knew he needed to take shelter now. He ducked underneath.
It protected him from most of the snow, at least. The cold… less so. He pulled his phone to call for help, but was unsurprised to find it dead from the cold. Scott kicked himself for forgetting to juice up his portable charger before bed the night before. Then again, even if he had power, there was no guarantee he’d have the cell service he needed up here to call for help.
He slumped back against the wall, unable to do anything but wait. He needed the blizzard to subside quickly, but it only seemed to be intensifying.
Scott pulled out one of his last protein bars and ate it, figuring he’d need the strength it provided. With nothing to do, fatigue was beginning to catch up with him.
Soon after finishing the snack, the elk felt his eyelids beginning to droop. He was desperate to stay awake, but didn’t know how much longer he could hold out before his body fell asleep.
Maybe just a quick nap…? The elk started to drift off, before an auditory hallucination jolted him back away.
Or was it thunder? That didn’t make sense. But he had heard an unmistakable low rumble. A hallucination was the only explanation, really. An avalanche didn’t sound like this.
And yet, there it was again, moments later, a deep, rolling vibration that Scott could feel through the ground he was sitting on.
The few trees he could make out from his position were shaking, too, snow falling from their branches to the ground below.
The noise and vibrations could be real, but Scott had no idea what was causing them. It was impossible to see much more than a sheet of white, the furiously blowing snow obscuring most of the mountainside.
Morbid curiosity made him want to go outside and monitor his surroundings, but he didn’t have the energy to do so. If it really was an avalanche, he may be done for. Instead, he cowered back against the walls of the outcropping as the rumbles grew louder.
The poor elk was almost hyperventilating now from fright. He couldn’t believe how quickly this climb had turned into his worst nightmare. He wanted nothing more than to drift off to sleep and wake up back in the bed, as if this has all been a dream. Maybe it was.
And by the time the rumbles grew loudest, Scott had convinced himself of this. Before he closed his eyes to slide off to sleep, he caught a glimpse of what looked like a massive gray paw with teal pads, stepping down and crushing the trees in front of the elk as if they weren’t even there.
* * *
Scott gradually regained consciousness. The blizzard had stopped. It wasn’t even cold on the mountain anymore. He felt warm — very warm. And the rock wall he was laying against was surprisingly comfortable.
He opened his eyes, squinting at first as he adjusted to the light. There was a massive fire flickering in front of him. A fireplace? He must somehow be back in the lodge. Had he dreamt the whole thing after all?
“Good morning, sleepy elk,” a low, pleasant voice purred above him. Scott yelped as something huge and soft suddenly appeared and pressed him back into the comfortable chair.
Except, it slowly dawned on him, that it wasn’t a chair at all, but a massive wall of fur. The huge thing that pressed him into it was a finger. Scott looked up and saw an enormous, smiling tiger face looking back at him. “Vonsí???”
“Lucky I found you out there, little one,” the tiger said, softly stroking the elk with his finger. “That blizzard was quite a nasty one.”
“So it wasn’t a dream? Scott shook his head. “No. This MUST be a dream. I’m still dreaming.”
Vonsí chuckled. “It’s not a dream, but I can understand why you might think that. You’re safe and sound now.”
“But— the blizzard— how did— I should have—” Words spilled out of the elk’s mouth as he tried to process everything.
“I try to keep an eye out for travelers who get caught in dangerous situations. Bad storms can kick up out of nowhere in this part of the range. Cocoa?” The tiger carefully handed Scott a steaming mug, which he accepted without really thinking.
“I— T-t-thank you. For everything.” The elk sat in silence for a few moments, coming to terms with how close he was to freezing to death. But there was one more question he couldn’t get off his mind. “But you’re huge!?”
“I get that a lot,” Vonsí smiled. “Either that or ‘Did I shrink?’. But not to worry, you’re normal-sized. I just find it easier to handle the terrain at a… larger size.”
Vonsí left it there, but Scott figured there was more to the tiger than he let on. He shivered, still taking it all in.
“Are you uncomfortable with that?” Vonsí asked, a concerned look on his face. “I can return to your size if you’d prefer. But you’ve got some nasty frostbite, and I’ve found that the best way to heal that quickly is some quality time nestled in my fur. Magical healing properties, and more importantly, it’s well-conditioned and maintained, too. Take your time, you’ll be back to full strength soon.”
“No, no, it’s fine. I actually feel… really safe. Thank you.” Scott sunk back into the tiger’s thick fur and took a sip of hot cocoa, allowing the tiger’s peaceful energy to wash over him.
Vonsí smiled, quietly purring as he felt the elk nestle into his fur. The tiger began stroking him again with his huge finger, happy to help another traveler get home safely.
