This is nothing short of a prequel to How It Ended, but it's going to last for about forever. Alright, maybe not forever. Still, I'm going to include the origins of our human heroes. It will be more on the angst and tragedy side, but occasionally you will stumble upon a neutral chapter here and there. It's almost like a somewhat compilation of the bits and pieces of origins which I have quite consistently injected in all my fics... It will be a mix of drabbles, stories and longer-than-my-usual-kind of stories. It depends. Well, alright, that's the end of this long author note. Yeah.

Lady In Red, I'm sorry, I can't find your account. Perhaps you would like to go to my profile, click on the 'Homepage' link, visit my blog and tag the tagboard? Then I will be better able to help you with this sort of connection.

Disclaimer: Class of the Titans belong in the viewers' hearts... And the director's legal documents. Argh, I guess I shall never get my hands on that piece of paper.

Blizzard

The hot water bottle was thrust into his hands firmly. But the gloved hands that now held the bottle shook violently, a mixture of fear and cold mashed together like a snowball.

"D-Daddy?" The metallic grey eyes stared up with innocent fear. He reached out on whim, grabbing the side of his father's coat. But he knew Daddy would go out anyway.

"Let go," his father's harsh voice sounded clearly in the cave. It echoed smoothly. Repeating itself for several times was like stinging the little boy again and again.

His father had never spoke to him like that. Never.

He shrunk back, hurt and angry. His mother wrapped her arms around him reassuringly, with whatever strength she had left.

He couldn't bear to look at his mother. She was quiet for her upbeat self and semi-conscious. A wide gash - no, many wide gashes - lay open on her ragged face till Archie could no longer tell whether this wounded person was really his mother. He had seldom seen blood before, and it scared him. It chilled him to the bone, rattled him, made him tremble. The fall down the mountain slope had injured her the most. They were even lucky, his father had soundly stated, to have found a cave. A blizzard, he had said, was dangerous.

Or at least, that was all he had caught.

"D-don't go," he uttered tremulously. Whether it was fear or the cold that had seized his voice, he didn't know. Perhaps it was both.

His father shook his head. Always calm, he didn't seem shaken. But the composure didn't fool Archie. He knew when Daddy was worried; he could tell.

Daddy bent down and gave Mummy a peck on the cheek. Usually Archie would have burst out in a lengthy bout of "Yuck!", but he knew this was serious.

Somehow, it felt like Daddy was walking into a death trap.

Daddy pulled his coat tighter around him and gazed outside the cave. Pulling his son into a tight hug, he whispered gently, "I have to go now, son. I have to go find help for your mother. Promise me no matter what, you'll stay strong."

The waterworks had started, and he didn't even know. He bobbed his head with forced enthusiasm.

"I love you, Daddy."

It had slipped out unknowingly - that declaration of love.

His father nodded slowly. Casting a last look at his wife and son, he walked out of the cave with mustered determination. Stepped out into the cold, unforgiving night, which his son loathed so, and never made it back again.