He hates missions in the tundra the most.
They were both suitably bundled up in warmer armors that combined the technology of the ARKS and the hides of the native creatures, but there was only so much that either could do without being immobilizing.
Even through the increasing wind, it was hard not to hear him shivering and his teeth chattering away. Lazy as he was, he was all too glad to hand off analyzing to Sherri for the chance to get his blood flowing. Damn if it didn't feel like he was just breathing in more ice, though.
"Never again. Tundra. Never again." Chroto shivers, crossing his arms tightly after re-holstering his guns.
"I'll make a note of that..." Sherri drawls, sifting through a bit of the data they'd collected. "But we're already here. We can't exactly back out."
He keeps fidgeting where he stands, seeming to be trying to stare a hole through her head.
"Staring isn't going to make me go any faster. If I don't sort it out properly now, I might as well delete it all. I can hardly make sense of this crap in the first place."
"I thought you aced that portion?" He sneezes and tries looking through the pockets on his coat for a handkerchief but gives up after a few failed attempts to properly grasp the zipper. 'Damn bulky gloves…'
"Bless you. Doesn't mean it stuck. I hadn't run any cooperative missions since I was fresh out of the academy until I teamed up with you. It all fell out of my head." She suddenly shuts the device down. "Doesn't help that whatever custom OS they're using is the most irritating piece of junk to try and navigate. I've lost count of how many times it's crashed, too..."
"I'd love to re-educate you, but I'm just about frozen to the spot here."
"Right, right... Let's hurry and get the big baby home so he can get his hot cocoa..." she teases, walking up to meet him at the crossroad he'd stopped at. She absently notes that the wind is picking up.
"I swear, whenever you enter the tundra, you turn just as frigid..."
"I'm just tired of hearing you whine." '...Actually, it's damn adorable. How can I resist teasing?'
"Well, it's cold!"
"Maybe if you'd wear a proper hood."
"It won't keep the sun out of my eyes."
"That's what your goggles are for."
"They don't do it alone."
"Then too freaking bad." Sighing, she detaches her hood and snatches the hat from his head.
The sudden rush of cold to the top of his head makes him gasp. "Are you trying to kill—" The hood is pulled unceremoniously over his eyes as she straps it to his coat.
She walks back to the front of them as he adjusts it, his hat already sitting comfortably on her head. She stands in front of him, grinning. Baring one hand, she reaches up and pats his scowling face. "Suck it up, babe."
She's caught off guard as he holds her hand from retreating and his face relaxes again. "Warm..." He leans into it then scowls again. "How are you this warm?! That isn't fair!"
Her face flushes as she indulges him, rubbing circles with her thumb. "I-I don't know? Maybe my photons are more attuned for extreme weather. Maybe you're just super sensitive."
A particularly strong gust of wind blows against both of them and Sherri has to hold on to the brim of his hat to keep it from flying away. With her 'occupied' hand, she feels a violent shiver run through him. "They never said we had a time limit. Shelter. Now."
A few minutes of jogging had them resting in the corner of one of the deeper caves.
Though free from the wind, Chroto still subtly chatters away despite his best attempts.
Sherri sighs in exasperation, fiddling with the clasps on her overlarge coat. "Just keep your teeth from actually chattering. Aside from that, let your body do what it wants. Bad for your teeth, keeps blood flowing."
He pauses. "My body wants to be warm." He starts scooting closer.
"That can be arranged." She's undone the clasps and is shrugging it off before he can get too close.
"While that certainly heats me up any other time, I think I'd rather keep my clothes on for now."
She sits up and swings a leg over his lap, straddling him. "Too bad, this one's coming off."
Chroto keeps his arms crossed while she tries to pry them apart to get at the clasps on his coat. "I know it sounds romantic, but trust me; under these circumstances, it's not a good way to keep warm."
Sherri sits back, huffing. "I'm not trying to initiate sex here. I'm trying to warm you up, so just trust me. And take off your gloves."
He watches her for a few moments before uncrossing his arms and doing as she asked along with undoing the clasps himself with shivering fingers. At her insistence, he slides his arms out of the sleeves, leaving it around his shoulders.
She drapes her coat over the both of them and presses into him as close as she can, wrapping her arms up around his back and leaning her neck against his. "Better?"
He can instantly feel her warmth seep into him even before he returns the embrace. He nods with a final shudder.
"We'll wait the blizzard out, bullshit the rest of the mission and head back. And get you your hot cocoa."
A hand brushes lower and he grins. "And?"
She chuckles and nods, "And."
Written: 12/13/2013 (finished at 1:54am the following day)
I don't even know. What is transitioning? How does transitioning work? I'm sorry.
Chroto is especially weak to more extreme climates, based on the two cutscenes he has in tundra and desert. (Though, desert seems to come first.) Yes, this will be a thing that Sherri often takes advantage of since she is oh so conveniently good at regulating her own body temperature. Since she probably made note of it early on, she's probably gotten most of her coats and jackets in larger sizes to be able to lend them to him. lol
I don't know what outfits they'd be wearing, actually. I can't really imagine either of them in either of the tundra-inspired outfits. I guess some variation of the 2013 winter outfits? (...The red one does look good on him.) I think the hood accessory should be able to attach to most relevant attire, too.
Also I think I got sharing body heat wrong? I think you are supposed to be naked. But without a definitely dry surface to lay on, I don't think that sounds like a good idea? Just stripping off the outer layer should be fine, maybe? Like, they have long johns and such under that. I don't know these things, I've never lived where it snows.