I liked living. I think most people do. Unless they're depressed or suicidal, but that wasn't something I had to deal with. Right now, my biggest problem and the threat to my existence was the huge fucking giant chasing me. Now, I wasn't one for being a coward, I'd had plenty of street fights with the other orphans and crackheads downtown, but this was definitely a fight I couldn't win.

I had been sitting in the library, the last safe spot where most of the monsters didn't bother with me. I had heard them say something about my smell disappearing. Whatever that meant. I mean, it had been a few days since I showered but I figured I didn't stink too badly. Not enough to get kicked out of the library.

Anyways, I was pumping my legs as much as an 8-year-old could, trying to plan out a path to lose the lumbering dunderhead giant behind me. Every step he took damn near shook the earth. I had been running form these guys since I was 5, but this is the furthest one had ever chased me. It was easy to lose them in crowds but it was December 24, and the streets were barren as people had family and friends. That must be nice. Hahaha…

I remembered this abandoned warehouse I had seen some kids skating in this past summer, on the outskirts of Minneapolis near the river, and I made my way towards that. I was getting tired; my little legs and small lungs could only go so far without a break. The giant threw a literal fucking car over my head, and I skidded to a stop on the ice-covered street. What the literal fuck? He can just pick up cars and throw them? I was in for a scary time.

I ran around the car and a few moments later I heard him trip over it. Ha! What a loser! I thought, right as I tripped over a curb. Oh, the karma. I got up and realized I had made it to the building. I climbed under the slightly ajar but chained up doors and sprinted to the back. I had climbed up to the roof and I remembered where the ladder was.

As I started climbing, I heard the giant slam into the doors, and they almost buckled.

"Little child! I know you're in here! I can smell you! You will be dinner for me and my brothers!"

Brothers? Well shit. As soon as I made it to the top of the ladder, I heard more heavy footsteps. Of course, there were always more. Just my luck. I kicked at the rusty ladder, hoping it would break. They eventually did, thank whoever was listening to my prayers. It took only seconds for the giants to bust open the doors, landing in a pile on top of one another. It took them a second to get up and get their bearings, so I snuck out onto a ledge outside.

The wind whipped around me, but never bothering me. The cold never had. It had always gently caressed me while it harassed others. I was very thankful for that right now. The ledge was icy, but my feet never lost their grip. It almost seemed like they stuck to it. I shimmied as far as I could from the window and tried to calm my racing heart and heaving lungs. I heard them clambering and climbing to the second floor.

I waited, listening to them lumbering around. Then it went silent. Had they left? I waited some more. They weren't smart enough to wait for me, right? Where had they gone?

After 30 minutes, give or take with my ADHD, I shifted back near the window to check if the coast was clear. As soon as I made it close to the window, a hand came smashing through, knocking me back and off the roof into a pile of snow.

I laid there, dazed. The snow felt so nice. It was almost warm; it was so comfortable and it felt like home. I had always loved the snow. It had always been in tune with my emotions, and it loved me as much as I loved it. Hypothetically of course. I'm not crazy, I know snow and ice and stuff were inanimate objects.

I heard the giant's' heavy footsteps making their way towards me. What had I done to deserve this? Why did they chase after me and not the other kids? Why was I the target of these monsters?

I couldn't fathom why. But I was mad. I never did anything to fuel their spite, yet they still chased me and hated me. I'm tired of this shit. I want to kill them. I want to see them turn into the golden that they do. I want to hear their screams. But most of all, I wanted to see the fear in their eyes as they begged for their life. I yearned to see that look; one I knew I had put on many times.

The wind picked up. Strong gusts that would knock you off your feet, wind chilling to the bone. Snow starting falling, dropping the visibility to barely in front of your face. But I could feel through the snow. I wasn't able to explain it, but I knew exactly where they were. It was almost like a magical feeling, I could see their movements.

They were shielding their eyes and making their way kind of towards me. The wind had slowed their progression, and the snow quickly built up, making them pick their huge legs up to continue. I felt rage at them. They were 4 times my size, why were three of them chasing me? It mad no sense. I wanted to kill them right now.

As if the wind heard me, it whispered back.

"Use the ice. Weapon."

It whispered in my ear, and I involuntarily held my hand out, reaching for a…well I don't know what I was reaching for.

"Imagine a weapon."

It whispered again. Like a sword or something? A shield from Captain America? The first mental image to pop into my head was from a book I had read. A guy had used a Trotsky Ice axe and ice pick to fend himself off from a grizzly bear. Instantly snow started flurrying around my hands and soon in my right hand was a Trotsky ice axe and in my left was a long ice pick. Both were completely made of ice.

I grinned. The snow storm only got worse as I made my way towards the giants. I wouldn't be bullied anymore. I wouldn't be hunted anymore. Now, I was the hunter. I would kill as many of these monsters as I could. No, scratch that. I would kill them all. I got to the first one, and swung my axe point at his feet, stabbing it into flesh and tearing through bone. He absolutely screamed in agony and bent down to grab his foot. As he bent over, I stabbed my ice pick into his eye, as deep as I could. He screamed even louder, but his screams were drowned out by the winds whistling at a high pitch. I took my axe out of his foot and he collapsed on the ground. I swung it high overhead, bring it down on his skull and he melted into a cloud of golden dust.

I frowned. The ice axe would be useful for climbing, but it wasn't great at combat. I wanted to feel their flesh slice under my hand. I imagined a different axe, and a dual bladed tomahawk appeared in my hands, just big enough to not be awkward for one handed swinging. The smile on my face couldn't be bigger. I couldn't help as a maniacal laugh rang from my throat, the wind dying down almost as to listen to me, picking back up after I was done. I made my way towards the last two giants. I sliced upwards in between the first's legs, as he keeled over to grab his jewels, I stabbed him sideways into his brain, before pulling the pick out and slicing across his throat with the axe.

The last one was the first giant that had chased me down. I walked behind him, as he couldn't see me due to the heavy snow. The wind picked up, buffeting and almost pushing him over. I decided to have some fun.

"Beg for mercy." I whispered out into the snow.

The way he reacted it seemed like I had been right next to his ear. He jumped, swinging his poorly made mace wildly. I let him swing until he realized he wasn't hitting anything and calmed down. That's when I struck. I sliced both of his Achilles tendons, crippling him and making him fall over. Next, I clambered up onto his back and hacked at his back, listening to his screams as I tore into his flesh. I kept swinging and swinging until eventually he just faded into gold dust.

The snowstorm faded into nothing, and I realized how exhausted I was. I stumbled my way towards the river, near a empty patch of trees and dead bushes. My vision was going blurry and the edges were quickly turning black. Just before I closed my eyes, I saw a startling pair of coffee brown eyes before me. Just before I lost my consciousness, I heard something.

"Not bad for a mortal. I think I'll take you home."

And then blackness.

Khione's P.O.V.

I had been traveling for a while, just exploring the major mortal cities covered in snow. It was the only time I could bear to be around the crude and ugly creatures. There was a certain beauty in the children, the ones that played in the snow, that enjoyed it's embraced that I loved to watch. As I travelled from city to city, I suddenly felt an aura. It was an aura that only deities of the north had. A cold presence washed over me, which should have been impossible. I was the queen of the cold. Intrigued, I made my way to where the aura had appeared. In front of me was a mortal child laying in the snow, being approached by three giants.

This mortal had enough power to make me feel cold, something that even my father struggled to do? I liked the look of him too. He was around 8 years old if I had to guess, with a deep black hair and very tanned skin. He was definitely from a mother whose complexion was dark, but he was light enough for me to know he was mixed. I could feel his presence washing over me, cold hitting me in waves. He was an incredible specimen. If he was my father's child, he was one hell of a demigod.

The thing that drew me in the most were his eyes. They were swirls of an icy blue, white fleck, and a swirl of purple. It was something I'd never seen and it drew me in. His aura beckoned me to help him. I decided to whisper in his ear, to nudge him in the right direction. I assumed he would be most comfortable fighting with a weapon, so I inched him towards creating ice weapons.

He summoned them first try, and the storm picked up even more. This kid was impressive. The raw power he had rivaled a child of the big three, if not more. He even switched a weapon after he killed one of the giants. His ability to direct the wind and snow simultaneously, and then summon a weapon and for it to keep its form was almost astonishing. He would be an amazing toy to play with, maybe even see how strong he could get. My little weapon. I then observed how he absolutely mauled a giant and I got even more ideas. This kid had snapped. He was able to kill, with no remorse and such a young age? He would be my secret weapon. I was going to take him home with me.

I made my way to where he stumbled, him barely staying awake.

"Not bad for a mortal. I think I'll take you home." I said to him as his eyes closed.

I scooped him up into my arms and teleported to an empty room in the penthouse my father and brothers stayed in just outside of Quebec, and laid him down in the spare bed. I walked out of the room to find my brothers and father standing there looking at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Who is that?" My father questioned.

"Mm, I haven't decided yet. I think he'll be my assassin or personal body guard or something. He has a ton of power. Power like ours. I was wondering if he was yours actually."

My father hummed and peeked into the room.

"No, I haven't had any sexual intercourse with a mortal in years. He's far too young. Not mine."

I began thinking. Who could possibly be the parent of this child? There weren't a lot of winter deities. There were my and my father, who were knocked off the list already. Despoina couldn't possibly produce a child of this caliber. She was far too weak. He was obviously Greek or Roman, because I didn't get any other vibes from him. Koios was in Tartarus, I don't know how he would father a child. Very intriguing. Perhaps a godling, from Poseidon, the handsome bastard. Eos hadn't gotten active in centuries, and she didn't seem like the type to change her ways very fast. She was always set into a routine.

"Well, whatever his lineage, he is powerful and I wish to raise him. Father, I hope you would bless him, if he proves himself worthy of it."

My father thought for a moment. "I don't usually go around blessing people. I have yet to bless a mortal. If he proves himself capable and able to hand the power, I shall grant him so."

I nodded in agreement. I would make him worthy of the blessing. Who else would be a good fit for a blessing? While I scoured my mind, my incompetent brothers and father left. Shaking their wings, they flew into the morning, sun glinting off their sleek feathers. An idea popped into my head and I grinned. I had a favor to cash out on.