CRYPTOMNESIA // Eret x Reader

Three

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You had fallen asleep at some point that night. Through the shock and shivering, you still weren't able to tell when it had exactly happened. You knew it had, though, because you woke up to the smell of biscuits and gravy the next morning. "What's happening...?" You groaned, removing Eret's polar bear cloak and standing up on shaky legs.

"I think you fell in a fox burrow or something? I'm not sure." Eret responded, peeking his head through the first floor trapdoor.

"Wonderful. I'll warn Marlow later." You groan in response. You check yourself for any frostbite before walking around. "You don't know where the firewood is, do you?"

"Nope, the fire is still lit somehow." They responded, stirring what you assumed was gravy in a small pot.

You rushed down the ladder and found your boots and began getting dressed to go get firewood. The fire itself had been burning for a good amount of time without firewood and you wanted to not freeze in your own cabin.

"No, no you are not going outside again that is not how healing works." Eret demanded, picking you back up and placing you in a chair.

You instantly got out of the chair and finished putting your boots on before she picked you back up again. You waited until he took their eyes off of you before rushing up the ladder upstairs and grabbing the polar bear coat. You looked down the small hole in the floor to find Eret looking at you with a sarcastic look on her face.

"I don't know about you, but I don't want frostbite today." You argue with them.

"Just tell me where it is. You need rest, you might have a twisted ankle." He bickers back with you. You drop onto the spruce floor and make a rush for the front door.

Your boots touch the crunching snow as you begin making your way to the small shack that held all of the firewood you gathered earlier in the year. Charcoal ran out the front door behind you and was at your ankles in seconds. You opened the door and began grabbing logs to take back inside, thankfully you had a small iron sled that made transporting a lot easier.

Once you had enough to last you for a good amount of time, you wrapped the rope around Charcoal's neck and he rushed back inside. You shut the shed door and followed after him. You opened the front door of the cabin and saw Eret taking the firewood off of the sled.

"I'm fine, trust me. I'll be lucky if you have frostbite with the amount of effort you had." You tell them, knowing that if he were moving around whilst not having a constant flame there would be a higher chance that she would have frostbite.

"I can't feel my feet if that's anything." They chuckled back at you. You began placing wood in the fire and knew that it was a symptom of frostbite.

"Great. You might have frostbite or you're just cold." You reply, not willing to take the joke. You were slowly adding more wood to the fire when a somewhat rational thought crossed your mind. "Don't you have a house?"

"Oh, yes I do, but I wanted to make sure that you were okay first." She replied, a warm smile still on his face.

"Again, I'm fine. I'm used to this, and I don't think that you are, no offense." You respond, hoping that it was taken lightly.

"Yep. My family wanted to see Ensidione from Falconier, so I simply went with them for a good time. I'll admit, I am having a wonderful time with you." They admitted, petting Charcoal.

"Well thank you, I am having a nice time as well when I'm not grounded from getting firewood." You joked at her. You both got a chuckle out of it.

"Can you blame me though?" He asked in response.

"Nope. By the way did I smell like biscuits or something earlier?" You ask, looking back at the kitchen.

"Yeah, I looked at all of the cabinets and saw that you had enough for them and now they simply need to be baked." They answered. You looked at them with a look that said your thoughts. First, why did you look through my cabinets, and second, why did you make biscuits. "I was looking for bandages in case you were actually injured, and then why not make biscuits?"

"You're more confusing than Matthew when Charcoal and I visit." You chuckle.

Once the fire was finally back to how it should be, you looked outside and saw that the sun had begun to set.

"Are you planning on staying the night or do you want to get back to the family? If you are, this right now would be a great time if you don't want to die." You ask Eret, who was now trying to bake biscuits.

"Why do you say that?" They answered, looking back at you.

"Sunset. Most Antarctic predators are more active at night." You respond, crossing your arms at him.

"Oh, well is it alright with you if I stay?" She asked in response. Charcoal looked at you with a hopeful face.

"I think Charcoal would follow you home if I didn't, and you wouldn't know where to go and get lost not long afterwards if I didn't. With all of that in play, I don't think I have a choice." You answered, thinking aloud was something that you did normally.

"Thanks, I guess? I honestly am enjoying it here, but where will I sleep?" He chuckled. You were glad the cabin was prepared for nearly anything.

"There's a guest room upstairs, might not be the warmest thing in the world, but it definitely comes close." You answer. You heard a sigh of relief come from Eret as they got up and stood next to you.

"How is this place not filled with people? It's beautiful." They mumble to herself. You shrug your shoulders and simply look at the coral colored sky over the snowy spruce trees.

"Maybe that's why it's beautiful like this, there's no one really here to disturb the natural balance." You answer; you hoped that it wasn't the case.

"Who knows; I'm from a dark oak forest where the only real scenery I get is the village that surrounds us." They summarize. You laughed and began to head upstairs to try and warm the place up.

The trapdoor for the ladder upstairs wasn't airtight, and the warmth of the chimney stones took care of the wind chills, there was only one (1) way up though. The room that you normally slept in was only a little warmer than the actual temperature outside, so the warm air began coming through in waves.

The guest room was right through the door and wall that cut what would normally be storage space in halves. The guest room itself was nothing special compared to your own; it had a handcrafted bed frame with a mattress filled with chicken and bird feathers, a few blankets from animal furs, (mainly fox and hare) and then a handcrafted nightstand with a scentless small candle. You saw that everything was as it should be and headed back down since you knew that you would need more firewood.

You grabbed your polar bear coat and put on your boots when Eret looked back at you with a confused expression on his face.

"I'm confused. You just told me not to go outside, and yet you look like you're going outside for the great arctic expedition." They question kindly. You saw that Charcoal had already started scratching the door.

"We need firewood don't we?" You answer, opening the door. The snowflakes brushed upon your polar bear coat lightly with the breeze.

You walked to the small shack and let Charcoal pull the sled back to the cabin. After putting the logs on the fire, you and Eret headed upstairs, said goodnight, and then fell asleep.

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