A/N: A certain encounter that I've been meaning to get to for a while now...and also the beginning of the end. Enjoy

xxi.

Gentle white flakes fell from above. The sky was growing dark, both from the setting sun and the oncoming snow. A good half-foot already rested on the ground as the young girl slowly crunched her way down a small hill. Breath visible in the dipping temperatures, she waddled her way downwards, her mother had wrapped her up in as many layers as she could that morning. Despite all that, Ultear found she didn't so much mind the cold. She knelt down at the base of the hill, where a pond lay frozen before her.

The trapped water fascinated her. Something about the way it lay still on top, while still moving and swirling underneath. She tapped the surface, the ice-cold to the touch. It appeared so fragile, yet it kept the sizable body of water contained. Not that she was going to try and stand on it. Mom already scolded her once when she tried, saying that it would break under her weight.

She wondered if that was really true though. Surely, it could hold her, if just for a moment?

Before she could grow daring, a voice called out from behind. "So, it seems she was right. You were here, huh."

Still kneeling, she turned her head around to stare up at a peculiar man she didn't recognize. The first thing she noticed was the pale skin across his noticeable muscles, as he stood without a shirt on despite the cold. She felt a strange warmth within her when she realized he wasn't shivering. Someone else who embraced the cold.

The rest of him was noticeably dark. Dark hair, dark eyes, dark pants. His contrasting light and dark reminded her of the darkening sky with the white snow falling. He wasn't quite that pale, but he gave off a cool stance, like the chill breeze of winter.

He moved closer and squatted down next to her. She gave a start when she belatedly realized that he might be dangerous; she'd never seen him before, and Mom was always going on about how not to talk to strangers. And, well, it was a little weird that he was half-naked during a snowfall.

Before she could pull away, the man made a fist and put it against an open palm, mumbling as he did. The air grew frigid. An icy mist flowed from his hand and swirled around. Suddenly he opened up his fist towards her. She couldn't help but gasp at what was inside.

It was a single rose with incredible detail as large as the man's palm. Made entirely out of ice. Ultear's mouth went wide open at the display. It must have been "magic". Her family did it often when they fought or wanted to show off. In all her times seeing it though, it was either scary or overwhelming, never...beautiful.

"Ha, impressive right? Here." With a delicateness that surprised her, he placed the ice creation in her hands. She held it carefully, deathly afraid of breaking it. But to her other surprise, the rose was quite sturdy and didn't appear to even be melting under the heat of her hands.

He kept staring at her, his hands rubbing together, in what she suspected wasn't out of cold. Finally, he spoke quietly. "It's so weird, seeing you like this. I'm sorry, I–" he stopped when she looked up to meet his eyes. He looked away. "Nevermind. I'm just glad you're alright." A small smile crossed his face. "My name's Gray. It's nice to meet you, Ultear. Meredy said you'd be over here."

Her eyes grew even bigger. So that was how he found her. Did he know her mother too? Maybe he was like that red-haired woman from earlier, a friend of her mom.

He tried to apologize to her though. What did he have to feel sorry about? She'd never even met him. Not that she could remember…

A feeling of wanting to do something for him, a stranger, welled up inside her. Maybe he wouldn't look so sad if he knew she wasn't upset with him. Carefully, she set down the snowflake and mimicked the motion the man–Gray–did just moments ago. He raised an eyebrow at the act.

Closing her eyes, she focused on what she wanted to make and mumbled a phrase out of nowhere. Even though she'd never even thought about doing magic before, for some reason how to do what Gray just did flowed into her naturally, like a tide at sea. A part of her she could always feel, but never interacted with, flared to life as she cast the spell, leaving a feeling of light bubbling through her body. Gray cried out in surprise as the same icy mist and sparks flew off her.

A moment later she opened her eyes and opened her fist. Inside was a tiny rose, just like the one he'd made, except only as big as her small palm. She smiled at her success and held it out to him.

Gray was crying.

Or rather, a single tear slipped down his face as he suddenly grabbed her in an embrace and shook. She squirmed under his grasp but couldn't escape his superior grip. Ultear still held her snowflake gift, which now pressed itself into Gray's back with her arms around him. Eventually, she stopped and simply let him hold her close. She didn't feel in any particular danger, only in potentially being suffocated. Besides, he was a fairly muscular person, and even though she didn't mind the cold, his body heat felt nice.

She patted his back with one hand, trying to replicate what mom would do when she was upset. She couldn't tell if it helped any. In the midst of it all, she noticed the ice rose she made was beginning to melt. It must not have been as sturdy as Gray's own, as near the heat of his body the ice of her creation slowly melted, dragging its cold water down his back.

The water swirling within the trapped pond, falling from the sky, leaking down his face, and now melting its way down his back. A feeling of great discomfort welled up within Ultear as she couldn't stop herself from crying as well, over the loss of her gift or the uncomfortableness in her chest she couldn't tell.