It did take me a long while, more than a year, perhaps even more than two! I enjoy writing, but don't expect much from me, perhaps one day I'll have the drive and creativity to upload more. For now, however, take a look at this piece I wrote some time ago. I hope all ye who actually read enjoy!
Snowdown had come to the citizens of Valoran, and with it, a liberal covering of snow that capped everything outside. The frozen northern wastelands experienced the snow year-round, unlike the tundras of the Freljord, however, this snow had a different texture to it. This snowflakes here formed fluffy blankets that had been laid out over the vast, stretching landscape of the main city-states, as opposed to the glacial zephyrs and harsh blizzards that the north was so infamous for.
The blessings of the winter season also came with a much earlier setting of the sun, the later hours of the afternoon bringing a romantic mood set by the brilliance of a long sunset. The sun's final rays cast a fiery glow over the landscape, resulting in a beautiful contrast between the sharp, encapsulating white of the snow. For the small fraction of the day that the sunset would last, people of all nations the realm over were enraptured by the view, many taking time to stop what they were doing to enjoy the beauty of the sun in it's last moments of the day.
The cutting chill of the colder season meant that for many it was a time of isolation from others; a time to stay indoors and huddle by what heat could be offered by a blazing hearth or thick blankets. For many more, it meant that warmth would have to be conserved by staying close to each other, leeching heat from those nearest, and gifting it to the next person. An endearing sense of affection could be experienced if one took just a moment to observe the way families huddled, smiling and laughing in each-other's company. A more romantic, intimate form of it could be seen on the faces of happy couples, if one had the audacity to gawk.
It was undeniable that winter, as icy and unforgiving as it could be, harbored it's own inescapable sense of romance. While the chilly nights didn't quite capture the same atmosphere as the flamboyant red and pink decorations that would have been strewn about the place during the festival of the Heartseeker, the icy days and nights found their own subtle way of mixing a little bit of intimacy into people's lives. Rarely, one could see a gallant partner don their significant other with their own cloak, sometimes using the moment as a convenient excuse to pull their lover in for a warm embrace.
Tobias Fate was known for his skill in reading a situation like an open book, and a face even more so. So it was to no surprise that he enjoyed seeing the subtle beauty that was hidden in plain sight every winter season. As he stood under one of the many lamps of the park, he took in his surroundings, the atmosphere of affection making him smile a little as he pleasantly remembered times with lovers of his past in places just like this one.
Fate was no stranger to the bitter, biting cold of the season. He had grown accustomed to it after years of being a gambler, when sometimes a warm bed and a roaring fire to stave off the icy draft simply wasn't in the cards. As hardened as he was to that kind of cold, however, the chill around him was different. It reminded him, not of hard streets and dark alleyways, but instead of an era long since passed, a happier time; his childhood. The chill on the wind didn't feel like it was biting and slicing across his exposed face, instead, the breeze that flowed around him was crisp and refreshing, it felt rejuvenating, like arriving home after a months-long journey, like the chill that could be felt in the moments between the embrace of a lover.
Speaking of lover… where is that girl? He thought to himself, tilting his head down to look at his intricate timepiece. Twelve minutes past nine, hmph… and I thought she had impeccable- A shadow shifting in the corner of his eye interrupted his thought process, it would have been near-impossible for the untrained eye to make out the curvaceous silhouette that was enveloped in the darkness, but Tobias knew what, or rather, who, he was looking at.
Beginning to emerge from the shady area they had been hiding in, the figure stepped closer to him, the click-clack of heeled boots on smoothly hewn stone echoed into the open night. As the sound got louder, the figure became clearer to see, until it was more than just a faint, barely-there outline that was hardly distinguishable from its surroundings.
The strange, feminine shadow drew nearer and nearer, until the light of the lamppost that Tobias stood under was enough to illuminate it; A slim, fit looking woman, who looked like she was built as a perfect lover directly from the fantasy of man. The light the pair stood in finally gave color to the mysterious person other than the dark greys and shady black that the shadows had to offer. Instead of such dull colours, the skin of the woman was a hue of blue that Tobias would describe as "Gambler's Blue"; A beautiful blend of sky blue with the slightest touch of a fiery orange-red sunset, much like the ones so common at this time of year. He looked upon her with a fond gaze, taking in the beauty he had seen so many times before.
She had a voluptuous, curvy form with long, but solid calves that looked as if they could deliver a kick that carried enough force to knock a man clean off his feet. They lead upwards to a pair of thick thighs which, as muscular as they were, still held a soft, dangerous, and undeniably feminine beauty about them. Above those were a shapely pair of wide, rounded hips, that swayed seductively with every step that the beauty took. Her lower body was covered by a pair of fine silken tights that clung nicely to all of her curves, emphasizing them and making them that much more enticing, she also wore long leather boots that ran from her feet all the way up to her knees.
Her upper body too, was an exemplar of feminine beauty. Her tastefully tight cardigan hugged her just right in all the best places, her taut midriff showed evidence of the countless hours of work that must have gone into achieving it, even through the moderately thick material. Her shoulders were definitely more on the soft, feminine side, being rounded and slight, her arms, too, erred on the thinner side, and were certainly less muscular in comparison to the rest of her body, despite this, they didn't look one bit out of place. On the contrary, it seemed to add a certain sense of speed and about her, balancing out the strength that was evident everywhere below; This girl was no damsel in distress, nor was she a huge, lumbering, musclebound brute. There was no mistake about it, Evelynn was the perfectly bred assassin.
"Took yer' sweet time… darlin'. What took you so long, Evelynn?" he said quietly, emphasizing his last word, and making sure to inject just enough sarcasm into his speech so that his feigned displeasure was prominent. The woman kept looking at the ground, not phased at all by the false venom in his words, in fact, the smirk of a true smartass now adorned her mouth. The corner of her mouth curved upwards and opened slightly, showcasing a small, but sharp fang, Tobias swore he saw her swipe her tongue over it, but if she had, the motion was quick enough that it evaded even his eagle eyes.
"'Darling'? We're at that point now? I wasn't even aware we'd surpassed the "Baby" stage yet..." She stated, in a sing-song tone that matched her smart-assed grin. With her head still pointed downwards, she looked up towards him, one eyebrow raised, her ever-present smirk still plastered across her face. "...I didn't think we had even reached that point yet… Darling." She bit back at Fates' initial remark, returning the displeased tone that she was given.
"If you're going to call me such wonderful names, you may as well skip straight to calling me 'Mistress', it has a far more… dangerous ring to it, don't you think?" She spoke with a playful, teasing tone, though the daunting gaze she cast over Tobias, as well as the disappearance of her sly grin, belied her seriousness. The eye contact between them hardly lasted more than a few seconds, but those few, short moments stretched, feeling like a silent eternity to the lovers, where nothing else in the world existed, save for the two of them.
Evelynn was the first to break the tension, a wide grin breaking her serious composure, she had now doubled over in laughter, unable to contain herself as she giggled in girlish glee. After her laughing fit, she walked towards the taller man with her arms spread wide. She latched herself onto her lover, wrapping her arms around to embrace him, tightly enough that she squeezed much of the air out of Fate's lungs. Evelynn clung so tightly to him, in fact, one might have wondered if she was afraid that Tobias may teleport miles away from her at any moment, with nothing more than a sly wink.
"I missed you." Both spoke at once.
"Hey! That's my line!" Once again, they spoke simultaneously.
After a short bout of giggling from both parties, the two linked arms, fading away into their now-dark surroundings. Mere seconds after the two began to walk, they seemed to vanish from sight, or perhaps teleport lightyears away, with nothing more than the blink of an eye. If one could see the pair now, however, they would see the duo occasionally look at the other, eyes overflowing with a tender affection for their significant other. Although they were not absent in a literal sense, it could be seen that they now lived in a world where nothing existed, save for the person they loved the most.