Jason shuffled awkwardly in his jacket, shivering in the cold. The blizzard had been raging for what seemed like an eternity, but he had to get his package to Icepeak, a town in northern Astaria, high in the mountains. The roads had been completely empty of passerby, and Jason had never felt more alone in his life, as he trudged up the mountain, buffeted by the snow and sleet that just refused to let up. Peeking out from his hood, which he'd pulled over his face, Jason saw lights in the distance. A decieving light at the end of the tunnel, for he was separated from those lights by a thousand feet of drop off, separating one cliff from another. He'd need to go around this fissure, which would take another three hours on foot, if he was lucky. Oh, how he longed for a set of wings to cross the pass, to get into a warm bed, and wait out the storm. Of course, he was thinking unrealistically. No one could just sponteniously grow wings, that was impossible. He shook his head, realizing he'd stopped walking. That tended to happen when he daydreamed, it was a bad habit, considering he was a courier. He couldn't afford to stop moving.

As he trudged down the path, he noticed a bump in the road. There was quite a bit of snow accumulated on the bump, but considering the weather he was enduring, there was not as much as the surroundings. That meant whatever it was, it hand't been there all that long. He approached it, pulling his knife from his belt, and crouching down in front of it. Then he jumped in surprise.

The bump was moving. He stepped back, watching it for a second. Was it alive?

"Hey!" He shouted through the blistering wind. "Are you ok?" He poked at it with the handle of is knife. It recoiled ever-so-slightly to the touch, but no response came. Cautiously, He turned the knife in his hand, readying it to strike, as he quickly brushed the snow off. A patch of pale skin appeared, only slightly covered by a deerskin vest. He brushed the rest of the snow off, and the face of a girl appeared, shivering extremely, and breathing slowly. Her skin was extremely pale, and her eyes were wide open. She was wearing nothing but a vest and pants, very underdressed for weather like this.

"Help..." She pleaded simply through teeth that chattered uncontrollably. Jason looked over his shoulder, hoping in vein that someone could assist them, but in weather like this, that was next to impossible. Sighing, Jason yanked off his jacket, slipping it over her arms, and slipped his arm under her legs and back, lifting her up.

"I'll get you out of this wind!" He shouted over the gale, as he started to run into the trees for cover. The wind died down slightly, though not significantly. Luckily, Jason had been in weather like this before, and knew how to make a shelter, fast. He cleared a space in the snow, and set the girl down, before starting to pile snow to his left, blocking the prevailing winds. The initial wall he formed seemed pathetic, until the snow started to accumulate onto it, quickly forming a dome around them, blocking out the cold, and only leaving one side exposed: The one with no wind. He pulled two blankets out of his bag and used one to block the door, before throwing the other over the girl, who was starting to shiver a little less.

"How long were you out there?" He asked her, pulling an oil lamp from his bag and lighting it. The girl stared at the lamp, as if trying to force herself to speak. Finally, she answered:

"I... I don't know." She said, huddled up in the blankets, and Jason't jacket. "Not t-too long. I was trying to get to town, and just..." She drifted off, lying down on her side.

"What were you doing out here in weather like this?" He asked, but she did not answer; She'd fallen asleep. Jason sighed, rubbing his hands together to warm them up. He got a better look at the girl now: She was probably a year or so younger then him, and boy, was she skinny. Her hair was auburn, tied in a ponytail, and she sported a few cuts and bruises, in every place you could imagine. And then there were her tattoos. Two identical marks, on her hands, depicted a sort of claw, curved slightly. This intrigued him. This girl was obviously homeless, and yet, where does she get money for something like a tattoo?

Jason's stomach began to rumble, and he pursued the thought no more. Reaching into his bag once more, he found a few strips of jerky, and a canteen of water. He nibbled on the jerky, staring at the girl. She was very pretty, and she was lucky that He'd found her, instead of some of the other couriers he knew...

He laid back, closing his eyes, and slowly began to drift into sleep...

"I...I..." whispered the girl, causing Jason to jump slightly. "I'm... So hungry..." She finished at last, as if the words were coming back to her. Jason smiled, pushing a few pieces of Jerky her way. She wolfed them down quickly, before looking to him again expectantly

"I-I haven't got any more, sorry. I was planning on sleeping at the inn in town tonight, so I packed light, as far as food goes..." he said apologetically. She sighed, looking very disappointed.

"What's your name?" She asked, sitting up slowly. She'd stopped shivering, but her face was still pale, and she was firmly wrapped in blankets.

"Jason." He said slowly. "How about you?" He asked her. A long pause followed.

"...Velia..." She said finally. They sat there for a while, before she asked him: "Are you heading to town, then?"

"Yes, I was supposed to get there tonight, to deliver a package."He said. The girls eyes flickered with what appeared to be understanding for a moment at the mention of the package. "But I'm sure they'll understand that the weather was just too bad to carry on any more." He assured her.

"Who were you delivering this package for?" She asked him, folding her hands neatly. Jason hesitated. He wasn't sure if he was allowed to tell anybody about the package... But this girl seemed trustworthy, and he couldn't think of anything she could do with the information.

"It's for the Astarian government." He said. "Evidence for a murder case or something." He added.

"A murderer?" Asked Velia curiously.

"It seems so. A woman went crazy and killed her husband, then fled here." Said Jason offhandedly. When Jason looked back to her, the girl was fast asleep. He smiled slightly, laying back again. He could get to town tomorrow, that lady wasn't going anywhere anyways. She had a nice warm jail cell to keep her locked in tight, until he got there. Slowly, but surely, Jason drifted off to sleep, hardly giving a second thought about what he was going to do about that girl...