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Tinsel in the Snow
[Prologue]
Boundless winter, forge bonds that last till the end of eternity
Snow fell all around him, white and lifeless, piling up over his weakened body. The sheer cold was but an invitation to the afterlife, or in his case, his invitation to become one with the earth, just as his parents and ancestors did before life bled away as his body racked with hunger and pain, which was surprising, because his kind were hardly ever injured. Even he had no idea how he had gotten himself into such a pathetic state, and he snorted softly with the strength he could muster, eyelids drooping slowly.
The crunching of snow interrupted the mourning air, and a chilled whisper breathed something inaudible.
His silver-gray body twitched weakly as he brought his head up in a pathetic attempt to look at the stranger, trembling amber eyes cautiously inspecting what they could make of the person in front of himself.
Chocolate brown tresses fell around her face, her eyes curtained by the bangs that hung across in a crescent arc. Snow nested in her hair, white specks against a sea of brown, melting as they touched her bare skin and then freezing again. She wore a torn scarf that was striped with a mix of red and yellow across her neck, the fabric barely able to provide any protection from the wind. Over her body was a tattered brown cloak, hiding the soft blue material that resembled more of a turtleneck shirt than a sweater.
Her hands were pale, her white skin seemed to freeze within itself, yet warm and inviting as it stretched towards his armored neck, the girl herself seemingly unaware of his sharp, dagger-tipped scales. He tried to shrill – to his surprise – in an effort to warn the girl of the impending danger.
A coarse feeling raged across his sensitive nerves as the girl flinched in pain, drawing her hand back to inspect the growing pool of red.
I warned you… He growled softly, not that a more threatening sound would chase this girl dressed in rags – why was she here dressed in rags anyway? - away from this godforsaken place.
But no, the girl smiled and brought her bleeding finger closer to his snout, surprising him with the offering of the crimson liquid.
The numbing smell of the wind was overwritten with the scent of warm blood, extremely pleasant to his nose. His stomach wrenched angrily, demanding it be filled with the food that was within his grasp.
Hesitantly yet instinctively, he stretched his neck, and allowed the scarlet to stain his pink tongue. As he fed, she undid the knot of the ribbon that tied her cloak, her free hand moving to blanket his figure with the warm cloth.
I'm heavy, y' know? He crooned softly, knowing what she was about to do though he knew (somehow) that she wouldn't listen.
Indeed, the girl's hand curved around his body, this time avoiding the wall of sharp barbs that protruded from the cloak, cupping around his blanketed self with an unseen gentleness. He allowed himself to be hefted from the frigid soil by his underbelly, detaching from his offered meal and leaning against her chest.
He calmed his prehensile tail in an effort to avoid hurting his savior, eyelids drooping once again as he took in the heat that soaked his freezing muscles. The crunching of snow was like a lullaby, the soothing sound coupled with the falling temperature effectively encouraging his tired body into a deep slumber.
Before his world fell over into darkness, he felt the caress against his cheek, like how his mother would rub against his face with an affection that could not be matched by any other being on earth. He returned the touch with an appreciative coo, stretching his maw into a wide open yawn.
The continuous puffs of warm air informed the girl of her sleeping friend, and she chuckled, slipping quiet steps onto the cobblestone path that lead to a small, old cottage sleeping in the heart of a skeletal forest, their wiry, twisted shapes casting shades of black and white across herself.
Brushing aside the dried ivy that hung from the roof, she opened the creaking door with a push.
"Welcome back, Firn," Her foster mother, an aged women of over seventy years sporting tuffs of graying hair over her scalp, greeted with a smile. Casting a loving look first to the girl, then to the creature sleeping in her arms. "And who might your little friend be?"
"I found him a little a ways from the borders of Arkene, on my way back from Synara." Firn replied, setting the metallic reptile on the floorboards closest to the hearth of the fireplace where a flame danced and twisted with colours of vermilion and saffron over its fuel of dried logs. "I couldn't leave him there while he froze to death, but did I do the right thing?"
Her foster mother gave her a questioning look. Firn turned to her, continuing, "I mean, am I not interrupting the cycle of life and death?"
"What was your purpose of saving him?" The elder woman asked quietly, observing her reaction with calm, ice-blue eyes.
"What do you mean, mama?" Firn raised an eyebrow. What was her caretaker trying to say?
"Why did you save him?" She rephrased her question, turning an eye to the creature. "Was it purely out of goodwill? Or was it because you wanted to gain something from having him around?"
"Of course not!" The girl nearly shouted, and she explained her reason with shaky, nervous gasps. "He was dying, so I… so I…"
"Then you need not question the right or wrong of your actions," The caretaker comforted, rising from her seat on the rocking chair. Hobbling over to the sleeping creature, she took her place beside Firn, and stroked the creature's back, marveling at its glistening silver barbs. "We can always return him to the wild once spring has come and he recovered, if you are still concerned."
Firn nodded softly, heading to the kitchen to prepare a meal from what they had while suppressing a yawn herself. "You've found a very good friend, little one." The elder woman whispered to the reptile she easily identified as a tinsel wyrm, an elusive creature that she only knew about from records in the bestiary from when she was a budding magi.
"And you, my girl, a very powerful ally."
