"Lloyd! Where the hell are you!?" Sheena shouts into the darkness. Irritability colors her voice, and she's too tired and cold to bother to try to keep it out. Her warm breath makes tendrils of smoke in front of her, and the starless, cloudy sky shows signs of imminent snow. Sheena shivers against the gust of wind, strong enough to nearly knock her off her feet, and she digs her heels into the frozen ground as best she can. A lake is nearby, its water impossibly not iced over despite the freezing temperatures. Mist rolls off of it in gusts. "This isn't funny anymore!"
A note. A stupid note was what persuaded her to come out on a night like tonight. She should be asleep, tucked into the bed at the inn with an emptied mug of hot chocolate next to her. But instead, she's out here, braving the elements in an effort to find the boy who was who knows where.
Come and find me. – Lloyd. That's all it said.
And that's all it needed to say. It was enough to get Sheena out of the comfort of her room and into the night chasing after him.
The ninja stops with a slight huff, huddling deeper into her coat in an effort to escape the frigid air. It's grower colder and colder each second, or so it feels to her. "Lloyd… You stupid jerk…" she mutters angrily as she kicks the ground. "Why am I out here looking for you anyway?" She sets her hand lightly on the frost-covered tree next to her. "If I freeze to death, it's your fault!" she yells. "I'll come back and haunt you!" She leans her head back and shuts her eyes with a sigh. I'm cold…
But in an instant, her lips are no longer freezing. Warmth and softness hits them, and she opens her eyes in shock to see Lloyd in front of her, hanging upside down from a low branch of the tree. She closes her eyes again and leans into the kiss. Lloyd tastes like coffee and sandalwood and ice, his lips nearly as cold as hers even as they warm her. She pulls away suddenly and glares accusingly at him, and he laughs and lowers himself from the tree. "I think I might make a better assassin than you," Lloyd says lightly.
Sheena weighs her options with crossed arms as she watches his grinning face. Flee or stay? Setting him on fire seems to be the best option to me, actually. But she does nothing. "Why the hell did you drag me out here in the middle of the night?" she opts to ask instead.
Lloyd's grin fades. "Come here," he says. When she refuses to move, he takes her gloved hand in his and pulls her closer, resting his chin on her head. "Look. It's snowing."
Sheena turns, her hand still in Lloyd's, and gasps softly. The snow lands gently on her dark hair and pale nose, but more beautiful is how it lands on the lake. Each snowflake dances as it hits the surface, and lights from mana-enhanced plants beneath the surface shine as ripples cross the water. "It's beautiful," she breathes. Then, suddenly embarrassed again, she pushes Lloyd away and starts to walk back to the inn. "But not beautiful enough for you to make me get out of my warm bed."
Her face is red as she walks away, still lit by the light from the lake, and Lloyd smiles.