With my stomach full I had many plans. First was to find something to clean myself with. Preferably a pond, lake, or river. As for how I would clean myself, I already had something in mind. So I stood up and crawled out of my home with my feet, because I still couldn't use my arms. As I got above ground I looked around and at the sky. It was around midday so I had plenty of time.
'Lets see if the Winter Sprites will be willing to lead me to a river.'
Feeling my intent they swayed a bit more quickly than usual. Eventually they formed an arrow in the air pointing north. Not exactly the direction I would like but beggars can't be choosers. I didn't have any weapons or anything else with me. Besides the slightly more than mild headache, and slight tiredness I was fine.
I walked on the snow with nothing more to do than keep watch of my surroundings. I saw a lot more of the berries, and I also noticed the further North I went the colder it was. It was a very small decrease every step. So small in fact it would take hundreds of steps for the temperature to decrease by even 1 fahrenheit. As interesting as that was, I was more interested in the rabbits.
'Those rabbits can walk so silently and without leaving a footprint behind. Maybe it's because of the way their feet are. Of course their weight is a big part of it as well. When they run they leave footprints though. Should I capture a couple and do some observations? Is it even worth the time and energy though? Well their ability to walk like that is quite the advantage, so yes. I'll do that when I have the time.'
With that in mind I continued my walk. A problem soon arose. I ran into a bear. A big white one. There was blood all over its face and chest. We made eye contact, but it didn't attack me. Why? One is because it was eating something, two because I smelled very bad, and three is because I'm very small and I won't even count as a side dish. With that in mind I quickly ran away from it so as not to disturb it any more.
With the knowledge that there was indeed a bear near here I quickened my pace. After about half an hour I found exactly what I was looking for. A river. But as expected there was ice covering it. The River wasn't very big. Around 6 feet across and maybe 7 feet deep. I looked around and saw a broken part of the river. Presumably something had broken it to get some water. Probably a bear.
I smiled at my stroke of luck and walked on over. Now I knew it was going to be cold, but I could handle a bit of cold. I sat down and put my leg in the water. The very edge was around a foot deep. The river was a bit slow so there was no chance of me being swept away. I slowly went into it. Despite the bone chilling coldness I actually felt really comfortable.
I stayed near the edge and sat down, the water going to my neck. I simply sat there for a couple minutes, with my eyes closed, reveling in the feeling. Eventually I opened my eyes and stretched a bit. My headache was basically non-existent now. Unfortunately that was about to change.
I started to slowly freeze the water around me, surrounding me with a circle of ice. It was kind of like a barrel but the ice was somewhat thin and weak. Not weak enough to break with a touch my a good push would be enough. I pushed against the ice with my shoulders and nodded in satisfaction.
My headache returned but it was easily ignorable. My body wasn't feeling weak at least. Granted I was starting to feel tired again. I'll need to sleep or something to get rid of that feeling. Didn't have the time for it now so I continued on.
I started to shape the ice. I put some protrusions on the inside. They weren't bumps, but more like a bunch of small squares. By the time I was done I was thoroughly tired. Mild headache as per usual as well. No weakness though but I'm sure I wasn't far from it.
'Magic is so exhausting. I have to admit it is very useful though.'
I started rubbing my body against the sides of the ice barrier I had made. Since I couldn't use my arms this was the best I could do. I did it gently enough so as not to break anything, but hard enough to actually get clean. The flowing water of the river was enough to wash away all the gunk that came off me.
After about 15 minutes I was not only tired but mostly clean. I was starting to get rather cold though. Whether it was the 2 and half hour walk in snow, or the 20 minutes in ice cold water. I rested for about a minute before I held my breath. I submerged my face in the water and started cleaning it as well. I didn't forget my hair. After a couple repeats of this I was satisfied with my cleanliness.
I pushed against the ice barrier with my back until it broke. After that I walked out of the river and stretched my body a bit. I knew I was cold but I felt amazing. I figured I would be near death at this point or frostbite.
'Maybe I won't just freeze to death so easily. Maybe my resistance to the cold is higher than I thought? Either way my body is a bit stiff from the cold. Not invulnerable, just resistant. I should get home since I don't want to run into that bear again.'
I looked back at the river and noticed something that interested me greatly. It was my reflection. White hair that went to the base of my neck, white eyes that matched my hair, skin that seemed to be between a light gray and white, and a small somewhat thin body of a child. Which was me of course.
"I'd say I'm part cute and part creepy."
With that said I started jogging back home. It was a weird jog since I couldn't use my arms but a jog nonetheless.
'I still have the fur from the previous rabbit. Maybe I can make some shoes? Well not now obviously. I need to get some herbs or something else to heal me. Rabbits eat herbs so I will just catch some, release them, follow them, kill them, and then eat the herbs they found. Well I don't really need to catch them I guess. Am I being a bit too heartless? It's a matter of my own survival and well being though. So everything i'm doing is fine. As long as I don't go overboard it's fine. They are living beings as well after all. '
I managed to get back to my home without incident. I also managed to get there in a bit under 2 hours. I went down and looked around.
'Well I can't use the fur to make clothes, but I can make my sleeping space a bit more comfortable.'
I laid out the fur I had and used it as a cushion for my head. It wasn't exactly clean but it was clean enough. I closed my eyes, and in a matter of minutes, I fell asleep.