"Alright…"
She puts down her tools and looks over her work, turning it on to receive a faint orange glow, and warmth emitting from it.
Shiro smiles, her efforts not in vain.
As the moonlight shines through the shed's slightly open door, the dim light pushes back the darkness alongside the orange glow of the heater while the chill cold wind creeps up on her, her coat and the heater protecting her from it.
The warmth, it reminds her of a certain person. One who always seems to be full of it, either through a form of repressed anger, or something else entirely.
One who calls herself her servant, and her tool.
…Just thinking that makes her uneasy.
She sighs. Pulling her mind away from her thoughts, she reaches out her hand to turn the heater off and then-
"What are you doing here?"
A startled yelp exits from her lips as she turns around, her ponytail swinging like a whip from the speed of her movement.
"Avenger?"
Avenger stands in the doorway, leaning on the frame with her arms crossed. Her faded gold gaze sharp as it peers at her; a dragon's stare that seems to pierce through her being into her soul while her pale hair sways inward from the wind, her dark cape with fur attached to its collar connected with chains covers her body.
The moonlight illuminates upon her figure, an ephemeral-like glow that contrasts against the fiery gleam of her eyes.
It is like staring at a humanoid dragon, one that would burn her at any moment.
And yet, Shiro can't fight off that sense of awe and beauty radiating off her, no matter how much she tries.
"Don't scare me like that."
"Not my fault that you left the door open. What are you doing anyway?"
"I was doing some fixing, here, look." Shiro points at the glowing heater.
"That's it?"
"Mhm. What about you, why are you here?"
She shrugs her shoulders. "Just bored, I guess."
"Is that so? Then, how about sitting here with me?"
Shiro taps on the tarp laying on the floor beside her, various junk and tools littered upon it.
"With you? Surrounded by all that junk?"
"What, are you scared of getting dirty?"
A subtle twitch of a brow.
"Scared? Hah, yeah right. I will sit, watch."
Avenger pushes herself off the doorframe and walks toward Shiro, her armour and chains rattling within the shed as she sits down on the tarp, crossing her legs.
They sit there for a few moments. The constant hum of the heater only emphasises the awkwardness between them.
Shiro fidgets, glancing at Avenger before looking away multiple times, a question stuck in her mind.
A question about Avenger's nature.
Getting an understanding of what her personality is truly like has been difficult to say the least. It is as though Avenger hides herself under a mask, one that seems so tightly worn that it may never come off, and whether it is a facade or not. And yet, at times, a glimmer would show itself, reminding her of what lies behind the mask.
And that alone makes her want to know more about her. To know more beyond the reality of history, to know more than the dreams that were shown to her through their connection.
She wants to know her, not as a servant, but as a human.
All she needs to do is to take that one step.
Pulling her legs to her chest, she takes a deep breath.
"Avenger… may I ask, what is your wish?"
Avenger glances at her, a subtle annoyance hidden behind her gaze.
"What is this about?"
"Nothing, it's just that… you never told me what your wish is after all this time."
"I don't have a wish. That's why I never told you anything about it."
"Is that really so? You have got to have a wish hidden deep inside, I know it."
"And you know nothing. I don't have a wish, and that's it."
"Are you really about that?"
Avenger glares at her, the glow of her eyes intensifying from the apparent anger emanating from her.
But, that anger won't deter her from trying. Avenger has a wish somewhere within, and she just needs to find it, no matter how much she denies it.
"You do have a wish. It's just deep inside. Everything and everyone always has a wish no matter what. Despite how much you say you don't have one, it's there."
"And what makes you so knowledgeable, huh? About wishes, about me? What makes you the arbiter of what I am, of my thoughts?"
"It's not that I'm knowledgeable or acting as an arbiter, it's just that I know. And even if you truly don't have one, there's always the chance for a wish to appear. You just need something to see it."
"What makes you so sure of that?"
"Nothing. I just know it."
"...You're delusional."
"No more than you."
Avenger glares for a few more moments before giving out a resigned sigh, the fire in her eyes fading as she slumps down.
"Why am I stuck with you as my Master…"
"I don't know. Maybe it's fate?"
A snort is her reply. "Fate? Yeah, as if."
"Was trying to be poetic…"
"And you're horrible at it."
"Meanie."
"Idiot."
Shiro pouts at Avenger who only stares at her with a condescending smile, before a certain noise catches Shiro's attention.
She looks to her side, and notices that the heater is flickering.
The heater continues to flicker for a moment before shutting off, replacing the warmth that was provided from it for the cold nightly wind creeping into the shed.
"Oh no…"
The chill wraps around her, piercing through the layer of her coat, her only defence.
She breathes out fog as her body shakes involuntarily, wrapping her arms around herself to fence off the freezing cold to no avail.
Then, a shadow drapes over her. A darkness that should've been cold, and yet not. Instead, a pleasant warmth spreads over her body as though she's being embraced, comforted by it.
Shiro glances to her side, watching as the shadow trails back from where she is, to the servant before her. Her cape covering her body as Avenger's gaze is turned away, a level of shyness that surprises even her.
This little gesture alone makes the night already worthwhile.
Shiro smiles as she leans closer to Avenger, resting her head upon her shoulder.
Despite her stiffening, despite her apparent discomfort, Avenger makes no move to push her away. Only wallowing in her silence, staring at some junk scattered about.
And so, Shiro closes her eyes, wrapped around as she indulges herself in the comforting warmth of her servant for just a little while.