The road to adventure is many things, or so they say. Difficult. Dangerous (although 'perilous' is the form more often used). Exciting. Filled with glory, wealth, love, and/or any combination of these and others. Funny no one ever mentions cold.

Their current quest for all things adventurous had led Lina and her gang high into the Blerta Mountains, where they were engaged in a series of skirmishes with possibly their most fearsome opponent – ice. Not a single one of them, with all their powers, could seem to outwit this sly element. And whenever they found themselves not contending with this adversary, they were instead faced with ice's cousin snow.

The snow this high was wet and sticky, and clung to them where it proceeded to melt and then refreeze in the glacial air. It blanketed everything for miles around, and though it fell slowly and in very small flakes, it seemed to pile up around them. Zelgadis was reminded of the words of a poet, which leapt unbidden to the front of his mind as they journeyed:

Whose woods these are I think I know;
His house is in the village though.
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

The man had obviously never encountered any extreme version of his namesake, otherwise he would not have thought it so very poetic.

"Have I ever mentioned how much I hate snow?" the chimera asked as they continued uphill.

"Bad childhood experience?" Lina asked from the front of the line.

"Coupled with today," Zel confirmed. He was still shaking snow and pine needles off himself from their last encounter with their frozen foe. And while he was immune to bruising, he was sure the others had a few.

It was at the top of the next ridge that Zel first heard the sound. He stopped and listened; he had to be sure.

"I think all you need to do is invest in iceskating lessons, Zelly," Lina smirked ahead of him.

"Be quiet." Zel said sharply.

"Oh, I'm only teasing," Lina said.

"No, really," Zel repeated, "Be quiet."

The other three stopped, still as the frozen landscape, and Zelgadis cocked his head to listen. His pointed blue ears twitched, trying to pick up the sound that had caught his attention. But now all was silent.

"What is it?" Lina asked him seriously.

"I thought I heard…" his voice trailed off. Just when he was about to pass it off as the wind, the sound came again. And this time he was positive. He tore off down the side of the ridge.

Lina called his name, shocked at the sudden flight, but he was too far down to hear or care now. Scrambling over rocks, slipping on ice, Zelgadis made his way back down the mountain. He followed the soft noise as best he could. Over another outcrop, like the one they'd been on, he suddenly found himself surrounded by trees, their branches heavy with snow and fresh flakes falling all the time. It was here he found the source of the sound.

Huddled beneath the boughs of an evergreen, her small face stained with tears, sat a little girl no older than five. She had golden hair and when she looked up, Zel saw deep blue eyes; they were still filled with teardrops, and she sniffled in the cold – her whimpering had caught his attention before.

Upon seeing the chimera, the little girl let out an even littler gasp, and scrambled to her feet. She backed away, her eyes wide and frightened.

"Oh, no," Zel said softly, "I won't hurt you. Look."

Despite the cold, he knelt in the snow and held out one hand to her. His voice was gentle and so were his eyes when he said, "I want to help. See?"

The child hesitated. She stared at his wiry hair and rocky skin. But then her eyes met his, and the fear that had gripped her before slowly started to disappear. She took a step toward him.

"That's it," Zel smiled. The little girl stood just outside his reach, and stretched her own hand toward his. She brushed her fingertips against his own, and let out another little gasp.

Zel chuckled. "It's alright," he told her gently.

Again she reached for his hand, never taking her eyes off his face. He held perfectly still while she curiously felt his hand; she wove her fingers in and out of his, fascinated by the stony sensation. Then she reached up and touched his hair, letting her fingers slide over the metallic strands.

"See?" he said again, "I'm a good monster."

And the little girl smiled broadly up at him.

"Zel!" Lina's voice carried over the snow-laden trees.

"Lina!" Zel called back, "Over here!"

When the other three came sliding down the same outcrop, Zel stood and the little girl gripped his hand tightly. Lina glanced between the two and raised an eyebrow, but Amelia took one look at the child and went into maternal mode.

"Oh! She's adorable!" Amelia squealed, "But what are you doing out here all alone, sweetheart?" She crouched down and reached a hand out toward the girl. To their surprise, the child recoiled; she hid behind Zelgadis and peeked cautiously around his cape at Amelia.

"Hey!" Gourry grinned, "Looks like you made a friend, Zelgadis!"

Zel looked back at the child, muttering, "Um…I guess…"

The little girl stared up at him. Perhaps she was wary of Amelia, but there was nothing but trust in her eyes when she looked at Zelgadis.

"It's OK," he told her, "These are my friends. They won't hurt you."

She still seemed skeptical.

"What's your name, little one?" Amelia asked, undeterred.

The girl wouldn't answer.

"Maybe she can't talk," Gourry suggested, "Man, that would suck…"

"Actually, Gourry," Lina said, "We prefer it when you're mute too."

"Rashana!"

The voice startled the party, and they all turned quickly toward the direction it had come from. From out of the trees another group of people joined them. They looked like villagers; the one in the lead was a withered old man, and he looked relieved.

"Thank goodness!" he said, coming up to them, "How fortunate, yes, very fortunate indeed! We can't thank you enough for finding her!"

"Uh…who?" Lina asked.

"Oh, forgive me," the man said, and he gestured toward the little girl behind Zelgadis, "This is Rashana. She lives in our village. She often wanders off, and we feared we had lost her."

"Rashana?" Amelia said, and she turned to the child once more, "That's a lovely name!"

And the little girl finally smiled at her.

"But, please," the man said, "We mustn't stand here and converse. There is a terrible storm coming. Please, you must join us in our village."

The four looked at each other. The snow and the wind had both picked up. So wrapped up in finding the girl were they that they had not noticed. And it would do them no good to get caught in a blizzard.

"Thank you," Amelia said as they followed the villagers through the forest, "You're very generous!"

"Nonsense," the man said, "It's the least we could do."