Tiny, cold hands placed a clump of snow atop a growing mound and rounded it into a ball.
"Hmm…" the little boy appraised his work, his head tipping to the side, his matted blond hair falling into his eyes. He sniffled and rubbed the sleeve of his thin robe under his raw, red nose.
"I can't even feel my face!" he announced, giggling and poking his cheeks. "If our brothers hit me now, it wouldn't even hurt!"
He molded a small chunk of snow on the front of the ball, touching his own nose as he formed a jutting shape into an oversized, crooked snout.
"Ryuuki! Come inside!" Shouka called from the path nearby. Ryuuki gasped with glee. Shouka would have hot tea and manjuu for him in the archives.
He shook the snow from his aching fingers, which had begun to turn blue.
"Don't leave, ok?" Ryuuki said to the tall white shape that stood before him with a lopsided nose. He launched himself forward, stretching his short arms around the wide, icy mound. "I love you, Anuie," he whispered against the ice where a frozen heart might be. "I'll come back. I promise," he vowed and hurried away.