Snake peered out the window as the two boys came upon the snow-covered hill just before his cabin. They wore similar animal skin coats like before. He smirked at them and they both smiled in greeting.
Standing up from his bed, he opened the door for them and then set about making some hot chocolate. The boys brushed the snow off them before stepping inside; the older one closed the door.
"I'm glad you came, do you know what hot chocolate is?" Snake said, not knowing truly how advanced their culture was.
"Just because we wear animal fur doesn't mean we're stupid sons of native tribal leaders who hate white men and their advances." The older boy said, the younger one added a shake of his head and a giggle.
"Whoa, okay, well, here you go." Snake said, handing each one of them a mug with steaming chocolate in it. They took them with mitten born hands. "Oh, go ahead and set them down on the coffee table, you can put your coats on the loveseat."
Both boys immediately put the mugs on the table and began taking off their coats. Snake took a seat in the large recliner chair and sipped a thermos. Realizing how cliché the scene looked, he quickly got up and pulled over a kitchen chair to sit in. Both boys chuckled at his actions.
With a loud knock the door was swung open then shut immediately, a woman with dark hair pulled down the hood of a coat that looked like a ski jacket.
"I wanted to make sure it was okay for my boys to stay here for a while. My husband and I are going to town today to pick up supplies for the month and the boys begged to stay here. So is it okay?" She said, he voice emphatically feminine.
"Uhh yeah, that's fine, I asked them to come in fact." Snake said, not smiling, yet still not unhappy or angry to see her.
"Kay, good, I wanted to make sure. Eh, can I talk to you privately for a moment?" She said, motioning to the door to his bedroom, how she knew the door to his bedroom from another closet was beyond him.
"Uhh, sure." He got up and walked to the door after the woman, noting the boys' silence.
In his bedroom the woman flicked on a light and turned to him, her eyes seemed to be ablaze.
"I also want to make sure you're not going to do anything funny to my boys. We don't abide pedophiles around these parts. If your aim was to do something screwy then I'll take them with me now and I wont say anything to anybody about this." She said, he was actually afraid of her voice; more afraid than a man with a gun pointed at his head.
"Point taken, I'm not that kind of guy. I would kill a man who would do that to a child." Snake retorted.
"Good," she spat, "We are in agreement then. I had better go, my husband will be waiting." Snake noticed a slight emphasis on husband.
"Yes ma'am, shall I send the boys home if it gets late or will you pick them up?" He asked.
"I'll pick them up, early, before it's dark out." She hissed.
"Right, okay, see you later then." Snake caught a momentary scowl as she left the door to his cabin. Both boys seemed to relax their muscles and Snake did too. Sitting down in the kitchen chair he crossed his legs.
"So you want to hear the stories of an old war hero eh?" He began, hoping to take their minds of their stressful banshee of a mother.
"Yes, please." The younger one said, as if it were a practiced statement he had recently learned.
"We never hear any stories from our dad, he's always too tired." Added the older one.
"Alright then, let's see, I first began about 20 years ago…" Snake began with his training at FoxHound, first hearing about the Zanzibaar Revolt and his involvement with it.
Several hours later he heard a familiar knock on the door. Then a burst of wind, flashes of color, and before he knew it she had her boys dressed. She held them by their shoulders.
"Sorry I have to cut this short but…I…My…" She said, he voice heaving, tears drying quickly on her face.
"What's wrong, what happened?" Snake said, genuinely worried. He had met strong mothers like her, they were usually not easily shaken.
"My…husband…He's dead."