𓈊 Icy Eyes

2; "It's like a little sculk yeti!" "...It looks like a gnome."

A few years later . . .

"Zedaph!" Impulse shouted as Zed fell into powdered snow, the brunette hurrying to pull his boyfriend out. "Don't let go!"

The two of them had been out exploring in the snowy mountains, but got stuck in a massive snow storm. They're now looking for shelter in a cave somewhere to get out of the ice and snow.

The rough wind ripped at their coats, which were nowhere near thick enough to themselves warm, and the freezing air nipped at their rosy cheeks and noses. Poor Zed had even lost his earmuffs that were keeping his floppy little ears warm, and Impulse couldn't manage to keep the hood of his coat over his horns.

Before the storm, there had been patches of ice and small flurries of snow but it was nothing that would hinder them from their once-delightful adventure. However, right now during the storm, the snow came up to their knees and ice was everywhere beneath the thick, wet, cold snow.

"Don't let go of my hand!" Impulse said once Zedaph was out of the snow. "We'll find shelter soon!" I hope...

Luckily, Impulse was right. They found a nice, deep cave that, once they got a fire going, would keep them warm until the storm blew over.

Zedaph let out a long sigh as he tossed his coat off of himself and onto the floor, happy to have that mass of wet and cold fleece off of him.

"Z-zed-" Impulse snickered.

"Hm?"

"You have- You have icicles hanging from your horns," he said finally, then started to laugh lightly.

Zedaph snickered. "Do I?" He reached to touch one of his curly horns, a few of the afore-mentioned icicles falling off as he touched them. He laughed. "I guess I do." He reached into his travelling bag (which was infinitely deep, thanks to Scar doing some weird Elf magic stuff) and pulled out a couple of lighters and short logs. "Use these to start a fire," he told Impulse, "whilst I-" He paused he looked toward the back of the cave, suddenly curious about a faint blue glow. "What is that?"

Impulse looked over and frowned. "I don't know, but I don't trust it," he said. "We better stay away from-" He stopped when he turned back to Zedaph... except Zedaph was gone already. Impulse watched in a panic as Zedaph rushed after whatever was causing glow, which seemed to be some sort of creature. "Zed! What if it's dangerous?"

The blonde man didn't seem to hear as he laughed, chasing a... little ice man?

Heh?

It was small, couldn't have been taller than four feet, and seemed to waddle when it ran. It looked like it was covered in sculk and ice with blue glowing hair, bright blue glowing eyes with no irises, and pointed teeth and ears. Its skin was a pale, greyish shade of blue and it wore what looked like a black wizard's robe with all sorts of icy-looking emblems embroidered on it. There was a belt around its waist that held a ridiculous amount of keys, and its little feet looked like polar bear paws.

"Impulse, look!" Zedaph shouted when he caught it and picked it up. "It's like a little sculk yeti!" The poor thing squirmed in Zedaph's hold, making all sorts of little distressed whimpers and growls as it was brought over to Impulse.

Impulse blinked. "That thing is not a yeti, Zed," he said. "It looks like a gnome."

"It reminds me Tango," Zedaph said thoughtfully, setting it down and examining it.

Impulse rolled his eyes and got started on the fire. His boyfriend was always too curious for his own good.

Zedaph put his hands around the creature's cheeks and looked into its eyes, which were frequently squinting and looking around like it couldn't see Zedaph. "Oh, you can't see me," he said, and the creature's ear twitched and it tilted its head a bit, sniffing Zedaph's hand. "Aww, you're blind!"

"Did you just say aww at that?"

"I wonder... Can you detect light like Tango can?" Zedaph wondered aloud, recalling that Tango was also mostly blind. But he had special glasses given to him by the admin, so he could see well enough. Not perfectly, but enough to create Decked Out, Zedaph supposed.

Zed stared into the creature's eyes, finding its baby blue irises just the most adorable thing ever. He couldn't help but smile at how cute it was. "Maybe if I take you home, I'll find out. Hey, Impy-"

"No, no, nope, no way, nuh uh," Impulse said, shaking his head and making an 'X' with his arms.

Zedaph frowned. "Well, you're sure quick to respond, meanie." He huffed, then the little creature's small, four-fingered hands reached for his face. "Oh, hello."

"Zed, it could be dangerous," Impulse said urgently, pulling it off of Zedaph, who frowned again. "What if it has a momma and she comes looking for her baby to see us and thinks we're trying to attack it? What if she rips us to shreds because she thinks we're hurting her kid?"

Zedaph stared blankly at him. "Then we respawn at home," he deadpanned. "Duh."

Impulse rolled his eyes. "Well, yeah, but we'd lose our things and we'd make an enemy for life," he said. "Let's just leave it alone."

Zed sighed and let go of the creature, which let go of him in turn. "Okay..." He pursed his lips and looked at it, its big round eyes glistening like ice. It tilted his head, blinked, and squinted, intriguing Zed. He hummed as he watched its eyes move around a bit like it was trying to find him. "Perhaps you can detect light and colour, but you can't see clearly." He reached to cup the creature's cheeks in his hands again, ignoring Impulse's sigh, and looked closer at its eyes. "No irises, but it seems to still be able to see," he noted. He glanced toward the fire Impulse made before turning the creature's head toward it, making the little guy wince. "So, you can see light. Interesting."

"Zedaph, let the thing go," Impulse said, grabbing a small packet of beef jerky out of Zedaph's bag.

"But-"

"Zed."

Whining, Zedaph picked up the creature and showed it off to Impulse. "Tell me he's not the cutest thing you've ever seen," he said.

"Zedaph."

"Come on!"

Impulse stared at the little ice guy for a moment, seeming to melt for just a second before shaking his head. "Just because it's cute-"

"Impy, please?" Zed begged, hugging the creature. "This would be such a nice surprise for Tango, wouldn't you think? If we study this little guy, we can find out more about Tango!"

"And how do we know they're the same species?"

Zedaph rolled his eyes. "By looking at them," he said. "Come on, you know Tango struggles with Imposter Syndrome because he knows nothing about his own species. This can help him."

Impulse sighed. "Fine," he caved. "We'll bring him home."