"If it comes to that I'd rather you didn't. I can survive outside the city for as long as I have to, however long it takes to convince them." He let the subject go as they ate, and set his can with hers, across the tent and next to their packs. He noticed how tired she'd gotten, and decided it'd be best to retrieve the thickly padded coats he'd brought along--they could double as a fairly comfortable sleeping pad. He set them up and then lay on them, reaching out to tug her in close. "I'll sleep," he said, smiling at her inadvertent use of his nickname. He took one of the blankets and shook it out, then draped the thin fabric over them, allowing it to settle into place. Despite how thin it seemed, it kept the both of them very good and warm beneath it, and within minutes Carson had fallen asleep, his arm around her, keeping her tucked close to his chest.<br/><br/><i>"You don't even know what you're fighting for, do you?"<br/>
</i><br/>He woke with a start the next morning, the words echoing in his mind. "Yes I do," he said vaguely and quietly, still blinking himself awake. He sat up carefully and rubbed his hands over his face, then carefully crawled out from under the blanket to the tent entrance. There was a small pileup of snow against one side of the tent, and he scooped up a handful to pat his cheeks with. Half a beat later, he retrieved their empty cans, filled both with snow, and set them on the hotplate to melt. He got busy packing what he could while he waited for her, stowing the other still-folded blanket and the spoons. Once the snow was melted he set the cans aside, then scooped more snow onto the plate to cool it before packing it away too.<br/><br/>In preparation for the climb ahead, he took out a length of rope to tie around her and himself, as well as a couple of sets of boot spikes designed to traverse ice and snow. They fit his shoes well enough, but he found that the ones he'd brought were just a bit too small for her boots. He sat down to start fiddling and get them properly connected--her slip the day before had convinced him that it was worth the time and effort. After all, today she'd be leading the way.