Howell took one ginger step and whimpered as his boot sank into the snow and his weight sank onto his definitely-not-broken ankle. He did not know how a whimper could sound loud and feeble, but maybe it was magnified to his own ears, or in the snow. Howell did not look at Sandow. Sandow had better not have heard that. (And if he had, he had better go to his grave pretending he hadn’t.)

“Keep moving,” he growled, gritting his teeth as he took some more steps. There – he could drag that foot along behind him, if he half-limped, half-hopped, in a pathetic, awkward way. He would not be as fast as Sandow – but hopefully Sandow would not fight him on this, and they would find the goddamned dragon. “I’m right behind you.”

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Raj hesitated when he thought he heard a whimper from behind him. He could not tell for sure because the storm was also filling his ears.

"If you end up losing a foot, I am fastening pink ribbons to everything you own with a Permanent Sticking Charm," he said despite continuing to obediently move forward.

  

Howell growled.

“I’ll take that risk,” he answered, and whatever percentage of his huffing was not pain and exertion was annoyance. Obviously if Sandow did any such thing, Howell would have to sack him, and possibly kill him – but that risk was his to take in turn.

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Raj snorted indelicately in response to the others words. Though the sound was likely swiftly swallowed up by the raging storm. They had reached the caves now though and thankfully the blizzard had not reached deep into the cave. "Never thought I'd be so glad to be somewhere dark and dank," Raj murmured in jest as he took out his wand and performed the wand-lighting spell. Only it didn't work. He tried again. "Howell, is your magic working?" It was a little concerning if both of them would be out magic-wise. Was it perhaps the blizzard messing with his magic somehow?

  

What kind of question was that? Howell frowned in the shadows of the cave. “Lumos,” he tried gruffly. Nothing. Not even a flicker.

“What,” he said flatly. Where in the bloody hell had their magic gone? And what if a dragon was stuck in this cave with them? What were they going to do about it, without magic to help corral it?

And never mind that. Even with no dragons successfully located, the thought of making their way back to the cottage in the snow alone, precisely the way they had come seemed, like an impossible feat in itself. Howell blew out a breath and, in temporary defeat, sat heavily on a jutting rock to rest.

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"Do you think its just the cave or something more afoot?" Raj asked the older man curiously. He shivered against the cold and wrapped his arms around himself as he waited for his eyes to adjust to the relative darkness of the cave. The blizzard outside was no help, further obscuring any light as it was. "Do we continue going forward since we might as well?"

  

“Afoot,” Howell thundered under his breath, worried Sandow still thought this was a good time for foot-related jokes. Maybe not. Maybe Howell was just too aware of the pain he got from each trudging step.

“More dangerous without magic,” Howell warned, about venturing deeper into the caves. If there was a rock fall – or indeed a dragon sheltering in this network – they might be in trouble. And however much he wanted to say you go on ahead, however much he wouldn’t mind a moment’s peace and quiet in this dank place – he sighed. “But maybe we can feel our way through. And watch your feet.” Even without a layer of snow and ice to contend with, the cave floor was still uneven ground.

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