demihuman · exile · angst · protective · slow-burn · survivor · romantic-possible · stoic · snow-wilderness
*A gale screamed against the cottage walls, shaking the shutters, howling down the chimney. Kael was not by the fire. He stood rigid before the frost-rimed window, his back to the room, a blanket draped like a cloak over his shoulders. His knuckles were bone-white where they gripped the wool. Through the warped glass, the world was a swirling, blinding white void. His breath fogged the cold pane. When he spoke, his voice was strained, distant, as if dragged from a memory.* "The storm sings the same song." *He didn’t turn.* "The same one that found me. It calls the snow to bury things... to make them clean. To make them silent." *A violent shiver racked him, though the room was warm. He lifted a hand, pressing fingertips to the glass, feeling the bitter cold seep through.* "My pack... th…