Zelgadis woke up feeling much warmer (and softer!) than he remembered falling asleep. Something big was resting against him. Something big that was vibrating. Zelgadis woke up more, noticing that Amelia was resting against him, and somewhere along the way he had acquired a blanket. Feeling uncomfortable with the closeness, Zelgadis scooted away, which woke Amelia.

She blinked wearily until her eyes settled on Zelgadis, who was looking back at her. "Good morning!" she yawned.

"Morning." Zelgadis replied. "How long was I asleep?"

"You were asleep for most of yesterday." Amelia sat up. "What happened to you, anyway? I found you nearly frozen."

Zelgadis fidgeted. "I went to the river looking for food, but...I fell through the ice."

Amelia gasped.

"I was able to get back out, but I underestimated just how cold it was outside. I thought I was going to die out there." Zelgadis looked away for a moment, then turned to face Amelia. He looked like he might cry, yet he was smiling. "Thank you for finding me."

Amelia felt like she might cry herself. She wanted to hug him, but that was pretty much impossible at this point. She wanted so badly to find some way to express how much she cared for him, and how lost she would have been if he hadn't made it back alive, but she was too overcome with emotion. Instead she smiled back at him, feeling tears sting her eyes.

After a few awkward moments, Zelgadis sat up and let the quilt slide off his back. He quickly dove back under when he realized how cold it was in the cave. He gazed at Amelia in wonder, who was busying herself over in the corner. "Aren't you cold?"

Amelia shook her head. "No, not really. This coat is more than just decoration." She smiled at him as she brought over a small package of food. "Here."

Zelgadis took the food and eyed it. "Where did you get this?" He shot her a skeptical look. "You didn't...steal it, did you?"

Amelia dropped her food. "No, of course not! Not really, anyway..." She picked her food back up off the ground and began tearing at the packaging to get to the contents inside.

"Amelia?" Zelgadis cast her an unamused look.

Amelia looked up at him and smiled. "Let's just say that no good deed goes unrewarded." She then resumed eating.

Zelgadis thought over this while he consumed his meager meal. When he was finished, he got up, quilt in tow, and walked to the entrance of the cave. Amelia followed soon after. Zelgadis sat in silence, looking at the outside world, and at the new snow that was falling from the sky.

"What are you thinking about?" Amelia too watched the falling snow.

Zelgadis sat in silence a while longer before answering. "I'm not sure what we should do. I can't go out there without fear of freezing, but I don't want to be trapped here." Zelgadis sighed.

Amelia caught a snowflake on her tongue and laughed with glee. "It's not so bad being in here. You could be caught out there with no shelter at all."

Zelgadis nodded in agreement, but didn't say anything.

"Besides, if we need anything, I can go out and get it." Amelia smiled. "I blend right in with the snow."

Zelgadis shook his head. "That's too dangerous. I can't risk your life that way."

Amelia sighed. "Well, in any case, we have shelter and food for now. If we conserve our energy, we ought to make it for a while at least. We can always hope that the weather warms up soon."

Zelgadis didn't reply, still sitting in silence watching the snow fall. "At this point, hope is all we've got."

To Be Continued...

Author's Notes: Argh, busy busy! I almost forgot that it was Friday (a few minutes ago) and that I needed to post up a new chapter. We're having our annual Viking Fest in my corner of the map this week, so I have been working all week. I just barely got home from working and one night of socializing, only to have to work again in the morning...

Anyway! People can be happy now because they got to see what happened when Zelgadis woke up. Probably didn't go how people expect, but that's the way it goes. I'm still amazed at how much Zelgadis opens up when he only has Amelia around for company.

Although you know it's a bad sign when Zelgadis is trying to have positive thoughts to avoid the dire situation...

Next time: Both leapt up in fright, unsure of what had caused the sound. Was someone else out to get them?

(The next chapter is a short one, so I'll probably post it up Sunday or Monday. Then it's back to the normal length next Friday.)