In The Midst of Snow

And They Were Cavemates. Oh My God They Were Cavemates.

They had a little conversation after that. Small talks that Xiao- no, Alatus, answered half-heartedly. Aether doesn't mind. Not really. Not when his friend - a valuable, irreplaceable travelling companion - was breathing, living, speaking to him.

Alive.

By the time Aether noticed he was tired, the sun was already beginning to set. He gazed into the horizon in awe as the sun painted the sky with beautiful, soothing hues of orange, pink and purple. Alatus, beside him, followed his gaze too.

For a still moment, it was just the two of them. Just two normal, living beings admiring the vast, colorful world.

But as all things must come to an end, the sun finally disappeared behind the horizon, giving way to starry skies, a glowing moon and biting coldness.

So pretty, yet it felt...so lonely.

Aether shook his head. Since night has fallen, they needed to find a warm place to stay; a shelter for protection. The coldness was going to worsen the longer they went into the night, after all. Aether could barely stand even a gentle breeze. If there was going to be a blizzard, who knew whether he could survive through this or not.

"Hey," he said, turning to Alatus. "Do you have any place to stay? If not, we can set up camp in a cave somewhere."

"Whatever. Do as you please."

It was then Aether noticed that Alatus was gripping both his arms tightly, holding them tightly to his chest. If anyone saw this, it might seem that Alatus was trying to act bossy, but Aether could clearly see how his arms faintly trembled.

Alatus couldn't bear to meet Aether's eyes, fear that he would be punished if he were to be caught lying. The boy can do what he wants, and he won't care if he ditched him here to rot and die in the cold. Not that he would die, but that's what most people would do, anyway.

In fact, most would have already ran away at the sight of him. He was a harbinger of doom, after all.

He was not expecting to be wrapped in a warm fabric. He blinked curiously at the long white cloth draped over his shoulder. Was this something mortals had invented? It smelled of Qingxin flowers, those exotic flowers that grew on tall mountains in Rex Lapis' turf. It smelled relaxing, really...

If it weren't for the distinct scent of blood.

He decided to keep quiet about this. Who knew, if he were to point it out, Aether would turn out to be...not as nice as he seemed. He wanted to keep the current image of a kind young boy who gave him food and a scarf to warm up, for some reason; he didn't want to view Aether in any other way.

Isn't it because you desire to be viewed that way too?

"Thank you," he mumbled, voice muffled from the scarf. A luminous smile graced Aether's face, and Alatus couldn't help but bask in its light.

Although, he noticed Aether's outfit that was...rather unsuitable for this kind of climate. His middle was widely exposed, clearly not protected from the cold. Yet to still lend his mortal-made equipment to Alatus...

Another thing that had caught his attention: Aether did not seem native to these lands, despite how deep they were in his god's turf.

"I know of a cave nearby," Alatus said reluctantly. Honestly, why was he doing this? He knew better than anyone that he would only bring despair to those near him. So why - why is he not walking away?

"Really?" The way Aether's face brightened up could have lightened up the entire world. Alatus had to blink twice before he realised he was staring and had not given an answer.