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Crystal Snow
SPOILERThat morning had been so beautiful. White pure snow covered the world Nereus needed to travel and fresh crisp air filled his nose. The sharp bite of the cold was muted by the fur the white haired man wore under his armor. With a shifting of it's powerful legs, the large bay horse he rode vaulted over a small ice patch to land gracefully upon the road once more. Now that the war was over he could finally search for the people he'd left behind. With his mind so preoccupied, he failed to pay heed to the snowflakes beginning to drift slowly from the sky. Soon enough the clouds had darkened and a strange eerie light shone trough them. Suddenly a whiny filled the air as Nereus's beloved mount fell to the ground. "Tempest!" Crying out his mount's name as he fell, the young man struggled to roll away from the horse. with a saddened expression, he slipped his sword from it's sheath. The mare's leg was broken, and there were no nearby towns. Swiftly swinging the blade, Nereus closed his eyes for a few moments before cleaning the blood off upon the white snow. Moving on he began to lose his way as white tumbled down, pushed and twirled by the wind. Everything was a blur. Shivering uncontrollably after what seemed like an eternity of wandering, Nereus fell to the ground and sighed. The snow was so soft, perhaps if he closed his grey eyes to take a rest everything would be alright... Kry: |
It really had been a beautiful morning, so clear and crisp. Such a clear day had made the fox boy wary. Two days he had been gone, but not all of that had been spent frolicking in the snow. Even an arctic fox could freeze to death due to too much exposure, especially in an outfit such as the one he wore now. Lily had only ventured out of his little cave when the storm came, it wasn't too much of a cave, just a large hill with a big rock ledge jutting out of it. Making a slight cave beneath the ledge, snow only blew into a little. Depending on the wind. It was coming down hard now, and Lily bounded out into the white powdery stuff. He would travel now, when it was so hard for any to follow his tracks. Every movement he made though, was practically given away by the soft tinkling of a bell attached to the collar around his neck.
It wasn't long before the scent of a person came to him, Lily shivered and stopped in his tracks. It couldn't be anyone looking for him, the scent came from the wrong direction. Still, cautiously the young man followed the scent, though it was a bit difficult with the way the wind blew. Then he saw it. A person, almost nearly buried by the snow. It made him shiver and his bushy tail came around his waist, so he could wrap his arms around it for a moment. Hugging the warm, fluffy appendage to his chest as he thought. It didn't take Lily long to reach a decision. His little cave really wasn't too far behind him. With some effort on his part, he had gotten this stranger to his cave and inside of it. The man was still alive, he was a lucky man. Lily had put the stranger against the far wall of the cave, away from the entrance and with a lot of patience the fox boy had started a fire not to close to the stranger, but also just far enough way from the cave opening for it to not get put out by snow or wind. For a few moments Lily studied the man, he still might freeze to death. A slight frown on the fox's lips and began to undress the man. Wet clothing certainly wouldn't help. It took quite a while, but Lily figured out how to get the armor off and the other things the man wore. He set them all aside to dry by the fire, then lay down atop the man's chest to help warm him. |
Shivering uncontrollably, the man tried to open his eyes. There was something warm on him, and the smell burning wood slipped Nereus's way. The last thing that he could remember was wandering in the snow, completely exhausted. Then the fall had come, and sweet darkness had taken away all the pain. Groaning slightly, Nereus shifted around and wrapped his arms around the warmth. It felt so soft, he could feel fur under his cold fingers. Burying them into the sensation, he moved his head to burrow it into the blankets. It had to be a blanket. Nothing else could be so warm and soft.
He wondered who had saved him, and what could be done to repay them. Outside the wind still howled and whistled, screaming for it's lost victim as the blinding snow still fell. It reminded Nereus of his close encounter with Lord Death. The white haired man was always avoiding the moon realms. Battles had passed him by, so many of them! When his comrades fell, he'd only been able to watch helplessly and now he escaped even the wrath of the elements. Falling into his thoughts, Nereus let his head fall back onto the cavern floor though his strong arms remained around what he thought was nothing more then a strangely shaped fur blanket. |
Lily had lain awake for hours just watching this stranger's face. Watching for any sign that he was warming up or slipping away to death. Once the fox had been satisfied that the man's lips were a little less blue than before, he had nestled his head under the man's chin and let himself fall asleep. Though he really hadn't meant to fall asleep, there was no telling what might happen if he were asleep and this man woke before he did. But Lily was so comfortable, even if though the man beneath him was cold, it was an odd sort of comfortable and Lily had fallen asleep rather quickly.
When the stranger woke and those arms wrapped around Lily, the fox let out a soft noise of surprise, eyes opening but he didn't move yet. Lily tilted his head slightly to peer at the stranger's face. The man still seemed asleep, but he was looked a bit healthier now. Lily was sure he wouldn't die. He wriggled slightly in that man's strong arms, shifting his body a little as his fluffy tail moved just slightly. The man he laid on was still shivering and Lily was trying to situate himself so that the man got even more warmth from him. He tried to do this without waking the stranger even though the bell on his collar jingled softly when he moved his head. Hopefully the man would continue to sleep and once Lily was certain the man wouldn't die, he would slip away and leave this stranger here. |
There was something keeping him from fading back into oblivion. It was a strange sound for such a place, like the tinkling of a bell. That wasn't possible, was it? Moaning lightly, the man's arms tightened around what kept him warm. No blanket would move around like that... Grey eyes suddenly snapping open, Nereus stared at the pale haired girl he held so tightly in his arms. Blushing slightly, the war veteran looked down to see he wore not a stitch. The situation would have been embarrassing indeed if the man hadn't remembered the storm outside and the reasons there might be behind such actions.
"Please accept my humbles thanks and apologies," managed to murmur Nereus as his arms fell away. Tiredness was sweeping trough him, but despite that he refused to sleep once more. It had been nearly the death of him. This young woman had saved him though, and he owed her. His eyes moved to hers, and he smiled slightly. "Could I perhaps have my clothing?" If not there must have been other things lying around in that little cavern. |
Lily squeaked softly when the man opened his eyes, the white ears atop Lily's head twitched slightly and wide blue eyes stared back into the stranger's grey ones for a moment, before he averted his gaze some. No no no! The man should still be sleeping! That fluffy tail twitched almost nervously and when the stranger let go of him, Lily sat up a bit that bell jingling softly, and he glanced over to where the man's clothes were laid out near the fire. The fire hadn't gone out all night, it wasn't surprising, Lily was good at keeping fires alive once he actually got one started. Something about fox fire magic. He wasn't sure. Those ears twitched and he shook his head slightly. "If..If they're still wet, you can't wear them." Lily's voice was soft, quiet and sounded rather feminine. He also sounded a little nervous. He had no right to tell this man what he could and couldn't wear.
He crawled off of the man, his ears twitching in annoyance at the noise of the bell, he hated that thing so much. Lily moved over to where he had laid the man's clothes out. The fox touched each article of clothing, running his hands lightly over each piece. Chewing his bottom lip some until he was done inspecting each piece with his fingertips, he looked at the man, refusing to meet those grey eyes with his own. "They seem dry enough..." Lily then began to pick up the man's clothing only to move them closer to the stranger. Every movement he made jingled, and once, after placing all of the strangers clothing closer to him, when Lily was moving away from the man he reached up and closed his hand over that annoying bell. Lily had moved close to the entrance of the little cave, his back to the stranger so the man could dress with a bit of privacy. The fox thought about just bolting out of the cave, but even an arctic fox wouldn't survive long in a storm that raged the way this one did. Lily stared out into the swirling snow, that hand still closed around that bell to muffle the noise it would make if he did decide to run away. Hopefully the storm would end soon and he could get away from this stranger. Lily didn't trust this man. He could be anyone, still the fox doubted the man had come looking for him. There was still a small chance that he had. Lily glanced over his shoulder to see if the man was dressed yet. |
Chuckling a little despite the weariness within him, Nereus looked up at the young woman with a small smile. "Very well, I concede the point." He wanted to reach out and touch those ears to see if they were truly real. He'd heard of people like this, but had never meant any save as slaves or prisoner's of war. Never had he met free fox person before, though perhaps she was a runaway slave. A look of speculation crossed the man's eyes as he watched the pale haired woman move away.
When the clothing was placed near him, the man smiled silently in thanks. Nereus swiftly began piling on his things, from his dark colored breeches, boots and chemise to the furs he'd worn under his armor. The metal was too cold by far to the touch when he reached out. Letting out a hiss of pain, Nereus moved to huddle by the fire. This reminded him so much of campaigns. ... None of them were ever pleasant. Looking up to find his savior, Nereus couldn't help but noticed the way she tried to muffle the bell around her neck. "I could try removing that you know," stated the grey eyed man with confidence. Neurus's voice sounded like smooth honey, kind and sweet, full of enticement. He'd removed collars before, though those had belonged to slaves. Though he wouldn't be surprised if that's what this young woman was. That might mean trouble for him, but he owed her his life. Nereus always repaid his depths. |
Removing it? Lily blinked and turned to stare at the stranger, though not quite meeting his eyes. If it were removed it would be easier to run away, from anyone. They wouldn't have that stupid jingling sound to follow, and..and without the collar there would be no readily visible proof that anyone had ever owned him. Lily hesitated, that hand tightening around the bell some. It was probably a bad idea to do such a thing, but the man had sounded so kind when he suggested it. Or perhaps Lily just thought he sounded very kind simply because of what he suggested. It could be a trick, though that would be an odd trick. That bushy tail twitched and Lily let go of the bell.
"C-can you really?" Lily asked the question with a slightly disbelieving tone. As far as Lily knew only the man that had put the collar on him could take it off, then again, Lily didn't know too much about collars either. He only knew that he couldn't get it off himself. Hesitantly, on hands and knees, the fox slowly crawled closer to the stranger. Ears twitching a bit, straining for any noise that could tip him off to this being a trick of some kind. Once Lily was within arms reach of the stranger, he stopped moving forward and sat on his knees. That fluffy tail coming around his waist to sit in his lap, he buried his hands in the soft fur and just held to his tail gently. |
It was easy to tell the fox girl didn't really believe him. She was so tense, and it showed in her voice. At first, he hadn't believed he could do such a thing either. It was his only gift, being able to open anything. It was a rare thing, and one of the reasons why he'd been enlisted into the army in the first place. Now he was a knight on his way home stuck in a snow storm.
It was with a kind expression that he watched the fox girl crawl forward to kneel in front of him. Carefully reaching out to touch the collar, he frowned slightly as if trying to see invisible things binding it closed. No words left his mouth, but the collar fell into his hand with only the tinkling of the bell. Holding it up in front of her, Neurus grinned a little. "Proof enough for you?" |
When the stranger reached out to touch the collar, Lily had leaned back just a fraction of an inch before stopping himself. He watched the stranger carefully as the man frowned at the collar and seemed to be looking at it critically. Then the thing had dropped into his hand and Lily brought his own hand up to touch his neck. To feel and touch to make sure it wasn't some kind of trick..even though it still could be. A small smile formed on his lips as he looked at the stranger a little less warily than before. Those fingers touched and glided lightly around his neck, his entire body felt lighter with the removal of that collar. Lily chose not to think about how much trouble he would be in if caught without that thing on.
Shaking his head slightly he lowered his hand back down to his tail. His gaze going from the stranger down to his lap so he could stare at his fluffy white tail. Lily was free now, more or less, but now if this man wanted, he could put his own collar on Lily. The fox shuddered slightly at that thought, the strangers voice had sounded so kind, surely he wouldn't do anything like that. He lifted is gaze slightly. "...I'm called Lily." |
Bringing the collar to his eyes, the knight tried to recognize who might have made it or the signature upon the spells. Some of them had to have been broken, otherwise the girl would never have been able flee her owners. Or perhaps this place wasn't so far from the place this woman had fled from. Lifting his grey eyes a little, Neurus felt a small smile tug up his lips upon seeing the way the white eared woman rand a hand over her neck. The thing must have been irritating, both for what it meant and for simply being there constantly.
"Neurus. Thank you again for saving me." A pang of sadness slipped trough the man as he though of Tempest. His horse hadn't been so lucky. Shaking away memories of what they'd managed to survive together, Neurus shifted his grey eyed gaze back to Lily. "You have a very nice name, though I must admit I've never seen the flower you were named after." He'd been fighting wars, not looking for exotic flowers. |
Lily ran his hand over the fur of his tail, smoothing it out some as those ears atop his head twitched. Straining for any sound that would indicate he would have to run. Of course no one would look for a slave in weather like this, and no slave could survive in a storm like that. Lily had been lucky to find the cave that they rested in now. The spells on the collar weren't very strong, mostly they were apprentice level, but Lily had no knowledge of such a thing. He knew he was a fox and he could use fox fire magic, but he was still just figuring that stuff out.
Lily watched Neurus as he studied the collar carefully. The only signature, or indication of who had placed the spells or the collar on Lily was the image of a single flower. A violet. The image would make itself present in Neurus' mind only because the man was seeking such information and then it would be gone. Lily eyed the collar as he held it, wondering what he might do with such a horrible thing. Then he spoke and Lily looked down at his tail with a slight shrug. There had been a lot of lilies at the estate, and violets as well as roses. The fox shook his head just slightly. "...I've seen a lot of them. Some are really pretty and others are just kinda pretty." He bit his bottom lip softly and looked up at Neurus almost shyly, though still not quite meeting the man's gaze. |
The image of a flower floated to his mind unbidden, making Nereus frown. Now the he thought about it, his family had been living near some Lady's castle. They were far from rich, one of the reasons why it had been so easy to take him away. In any case, Nereus wanted to make sure this young woman wasn't captured again. If that meant waiting a little longer to find his family again, then so be it. Perhaps he preferred it that way, waiting just a little longer for the renewal of contact.
Placing the collar on the cave floor, Nereus brought up his hands to lean his head against them. "And you're one of the pretty ones I suppose." Teasing the young woman lightly, Nereus wondered how she'd managed to escape. Then again, he knew the fox people could be tricky even without knowing it. Shaking his head slightly, he leaned back against the cave wall. "You're going to need help getting away from them once this storm ends," said Nereus with a kind voice. He couldn't let this girl wander off on her own, there was no telling what might happen. |
Lily shook his head at the compliment, only a slight hint of color rising to his cheeks. "..I'm really not." He chewed his bottom lip and glanced towards the cave entrance. Once that storm ended, Lily had decided he would run. He would run fast and far. Really he had no reason to trust this Nereus, the man had removed the collar, but that would just make it easy for Nereus to collar him. A small shiver raced down his spine, and he grabbed a stick that was in a small pile nearby. Turning to the fire, he poked it lightly with the stick. It didn't need much tending, it would burn and burn until Lily put it out.
Those blue eyes turned to Nereus, his voice was so kind. "...It's been two days already, I'll be fine." Lily looked back to the fire, thinking. It was so much easier to trick people if one used a kind voice. Though this man looked a bit rough around the edges, like a warrior, he didn't seem that way at all. Lily was torn, he wanted to trust this man but he was certain that would only lead to disastrous ends. Lily tossed the stick into the fire. |
A mere two days? The young woman obviously didn't know about some of the more magical means of finding a person, especially a run away slave. Shifting to move closer to the fire, Nereus sighed. How to explain to Lily that things weren't so easy as she thought they were? "They would have some of your clothing I suppose, something that was yours and yours alone." Regarding the kitsune with a gentle but firm expression, Nereus moved to sit beside her.
"Listen to me Lady Lily, they can track you very easily. Right now they want to lull you into a fall sense of security, then they'll strike. I know, I used to be one of them for the army." And it had been a horrible thing. Snatching away the freedom of so many people took it's toll on a person. It was why Nereus had applied for retirement as soon as he could possibly do so. As he'd finished speaking the man had reached out quickly to grab the young woman's hair and tilted her head back. Once he though his words had sunk in, Nereus released her. She had the prettiest eyes, though right now was not the time to think of such things. "Do you understand what I'm trying to say?" He hoped she did with all his heart. Seeing his savior trapped was not something Nereus wanted to happen. In fact even if she refused his help, the white haired man would follow her to make sure nothing happened. |
Lily had twitched slightly as Nereus spoke and then moved closer to him. He watched Nereus carefully, blinking softly when the man called him lady. Though Lily didn't say anything about that, he was used to people thinking he was a girl besides, this man might get angry if he found out Lily was really a boy. Lily frowned a bit at Nereus' words and a startled squeak left his lips when Nereus guickly grabbed him by the hair and tilted his head back. A shiver raced down Lily's spine and those pretty eyes closed, opening only when Nereus finally released him. "...But.." Lily was frowning and eyeing Nereus warily. "...the storm is hiding my trail..?" He spoke the words uncertainly, now he wasn't so sure he could escape at all. He squeezed his tail a bit, wringing it slightly in his hands nervously.
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"There's more then one kind of trail. They can and will follow you with magic if your former owner thinks you're valuable enough." Nervousness emanated from the young woman in waves. Nereus wished he could do something to ease it, but he couldn't. She needed to run, and be prepared to take some risks. There were ways to hide yourself from magic, but they were expensive or very painful. With a groan, the man remembered the bags he'd left on Tempest's back.
When the storm was over he would have to go get them. In it were his own tools, to hide from magic and so much more. With those things he was certain they could both escape. Unconsciously the white haired man had decided to stay with Lily. No, it had been a decision he'd made fully aware of the things it might entail. He had a dept to repay. |
Lily thought for a moment. "...He's not so good at magic..." Though that didn't mean he couldn't hire someone, he probably already had someone that could do such things in his employment anyway. Lily shivered, glancing around for a moment, as if he were trying to decide if he should wait for the storm to end or bolt from the cave right now. It would be foolish to do anything right now, he shifted slightly and hugged that fluffy tail to his chest, hiding his face in the fur of it's tip. "...Please...I don't want to go back.." His voice broke a little, with fear and the threat of tears. Lily was terrified of what the punishment might be if he were caught, surely it would be something terrible. He shuddered lightly.
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Reaching out Nereus wrapped his arms around the young woman gently. "Let me help you, and I'll try to make sure that doesn't happen." They needed to wait for the storm to end though. Everything he needed was with the corpse of his beloved horse. Food, medical supplies and magical ones as well, everything they would need was there. If no one had taken it, but considering the weather outside the man doubted that. Shivering lightly upon remembering the brutal cold, Nereus tightened his hold on Lily. "I'm so cold," murmured Nereus as way of excuse for his rude behavior.
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That slight body of his tensed considerably when Nereus put those arms around him. Lily shivered, not from the cold. "..You aren't really just trying to trick me...are you?" He looked at Nereus' face, as if searching it for a hint of a lie in the man's features. When Nereus shivered, Lily sighed softly, when the man spoke of being cold, the fox shifted and moved about until he had climbed into Nereus' lap. Resting the side of his head against Nereus' shoulder while his tail gently curled around the man's waist to gently press against Nereus' back. Delicate hands clung slightly to the front of Nereus' clothing and Lily's ears twitched a bit here and there. "...You might get sick if you get too cold.." The fox murmured the words softly, reasoning for crawling into Nereus' lap. Really, Lily could be too kind sometimes, he was sure it was only going to get him into trouble.
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As the question was asked, Nereus mulled over it silently before chuckling a little. "You've saved my life. The least I can do is help you find your freedom." He was a little surprised that the fox moved into his lap, but not overly so. This was the person who'd stripped him naked and warmed him earlier. At least he was fully clothed this time, though remembering how it had felt like earlier had Nereus warming quickly, and not entirely from the added warmth offered by Lily. She was such a delicate thing... Pushed by curiosity, the man reached out to gently press against one of those twitching ears with his fingers. The other fox people he'd met had either wanted to kill him or escape, they'd never have let him this close and he'd always wanted to know what their ears might feel like.
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Lily shook his head slightly. "..You took the collar off, you've already repaid me for saving you." As far as the fox was concerned they were even, no one owed anyone anything. If this man helped him now, then Lily would owe him and Lily was not going to owe anyone anything. He clung tightly to the front of Nereus' clothing, when that man reached for his ears, Lily tensed and clutched a bit tighter, ducking his head just slightly but not really moving out of reach. When those fingers touched one of his ears, Lily sighed softly, nearly melting at the gentle touch. He hadn't expected the touch to be nice, he had expected a sharp tugging, a hard pull of the sensitive appendage. Those eyes flitted closed and Lily nuzzled against Nereus' lightly as his body relaxed a bit.
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As the fox tensed then relaxed, Nereus felt a mixture of sadness and anger. No one should ever have harmed such a sweet being. Running a hand soothingly trough Lily's hair, the other was wrapped comfortably around the kitsune's waist. "I want to help you find someplace safe. If I didn't, I'd worry." The same way he worried about those he'd left behind, and those he'd seen being taken away. He could do something for Lily, help her find a safe haven, when he hadn't been able to help any of the others he'd wanted to aid. Nereus wanted to help, and needed to in a way. It felt like if he could help this one person, it might begin making up for all the ones he'd made suffer.
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If Lily were a cat he might have been purring when Nereus ran that hand through his hair. A soft noise of contentment did escape the fox and he shifted slightly on Nereus' lap. Getting a bit more comfortable. It was nice, being held like that. The fox snuggled against Nereus gently, not really wanting this warm comfortableness to go away yet. This man's words were sweet, he said he wanted to help and that he would worry. "...But why?" Those eyes opened as he looked up at Nereus' face, to study it for a few moments. Lily still wasn't sure if this man was trying to trick him or not, but he was so sweet! There was no way someone that could hold him like this would be trying to trick him. Maybe. Unless that was part of the trick, but then that would be so cruel. A light whimper left Lily's throat and he clung tightly to Nereus. He didn't want this sweet man to actually be someone so cruel that they could use kind words and gestures to trick him.
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As Lily snuggled into him, Nereus had to shift around a little himself. Why did the fox have to move like that and be so darn pretty? "Because, you're too sweet to be left alone and with a pretty face like yours someone might try catching you again." As a whimper reached his ears, Nereus tightened his hold on the fox woman. He hoped he hadn't said anything to upset her, that was far from what the white haired man wanted to do. "Shhh I won't let anything bad happen to you, at least not unless I can help it." Looking around Nereus sighed. There wasn't really anything do to, not with that storm raging outside. No distractions to pass the time save each other, this was going to be a difficult time.
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