“W-Why,” the girl tried to speak, but her shudders made it rather difficult to pronounce anything. “Why would you help me?”

“I…” he looked up at the sky, gazing at what little light remained behind the looming clouds. Snow continued to fall, landing on the bare portions of his face before melting away. “I really don’t know… I suppose I saw myself in your shoes.”

“W-Well, thank you,” she turned to face him after finishing the cracker. “What’s your name?”

“...Ander…” he replied, taking his time to do so. Just as he had done with everyone else who asked for his name, he never gave them his surname, worried it could trace him back to Sylrel.

“I’m N-Nina,” came the silver-haired girl, still shivering. Feeling the pity in him continue to grow at her sorrowful stature, he decided to make a rather brash decision. The boy shifted around one of his layers and stripped it off his back to hold in her direction. It was a light coat, but it would do no harm with her borrowing it.

“*Sigh*, here, take the damn coat,” he spoke with conviction, looking her in her eyes. Matching her hair, her pupils were a pure silver, bordered by white and black as they shone in the low light, staring off into his green ones. Upon making the offer, she again showed a sense of caution, before deftly taking the coat and layering it around her body.

“Are you still hungry?”

“Am I still hungry?”

“Yeah, are you?” All of his concerns regarding his food supply were fully vanquished as he asked the question. “When’s the last time you ate?”

“Y-Yesterday,” she looked down, seemingly embarrassed by her statement. Yesterday, he cringed, feeling ever more condolence for her. Against his better judgment, he pulled out his satchel and placed it between him and Nina, stationed before the heat vent to allow the food to warm up.

“You’ll give me more?” Her silver eyes lit up, as did her shivering reduce slightly.

“I guess I will,” his response bore no amount of regret as he spoke. A minute passed, and when he assumed the dried meat was dethawed, he opened the satchel to pull out the food. All it held was a few more crackers, some rye bread, a handful of oats, and some dried pork, salted to maintain its cleanliness. He took the pork, and with his cold hands, he tried to break off a piece for Nina, but to no avail.

“Wait, let me help,” Nina, with a newfound sense of vitality, reached into her inner coat and pulled out a small bundle of cloth. When it was unrolled, it revealed a small, worn knife, coated in rust and other dried debris. She cleaned its edge off in the snow, and then took to the pork, cutting it up into smaller pieces. The girl glanced up at Ander, wanting to confirm this is what he wanted.

“Thank you,” he nodded softly as she resumed her work. She left the pork diced into smaller chunks, and the rye bread cut into loaves. Without noticing it, the two found themselves sharing a meal, an experience neither had participated in for quite a while.

“No, thank you!” She waved her hand, leaning over to move closer to Ander. As her coat brushed up against his, a strange sense took hold of him. It had been so long since he formed an actual connection with someone, a mutual friendship he could fully rely on. He had no clue if, deep inside, Nina held malicious intent, especially with a knife at her disposal. But nonetheless, he chose to trust her, going by what his gut assured him was safe.

“C-Cheers, I suppose,” he layered a bit of pork on top of the bread and held it up. The silver-haired girl did the same, and they tapped their bread together. It was a quaint meal, but still the best either had received during the harsh winter.

“How old are you?” Ander, waiting until he finished chewing, asked the girl, who herself was showing restraint in her consumption of the food. 

She waited to swallow and then replied. “I’m almost sixteen… How about you?”

“Same here, my birthday’s a little after the summer solstice,” he sighed, the thought of his fifteenth birthday bringing back all forms of sickening thoughts. He was still as dull as ever, but something was different about these memories. Maybe Nina, being the first person he had truly spoken to in a while, had changed things, even if just barely.

When they began to eat, the two had pulled down the front of their coats to allow access to their mouths. As the meal went on, Ander’s eyes found great interest in Nina’s looks. Much like her silver flowing hair, and her glistening eyes, her skin was rather pale and smooth. It was cruel to think, but it seemed to him that she belonged in the snow, like a personification of winter itself. There was a beauty to her, no doubt, and as the emotion abscess in him swelled, he could only get a little attached to his new friend.

“Where are you from?” He continued the conversation, all the while sneaking peeks at Nina’s charming looks. “Are you from Vimbaultir?”

“Yes, I am,” she nodded her head in thought. “I’m not quite sure where I was born, but I was certainly raised here… I was brought up in the northern orphanage, the one just beside the upper lakes. It was my home for, let’s see, for as long as I can imagine…”

“I never met my parents. I can only assume they weren’t, well, they weren’t prepared to look after me. That’s what I hope, at least.”

“Did something happen?” Ander pressed forward before apologizing. “No, forgive me. I don't mean to intrud-”

“-No, no. It’s fine, really… In the summer, we received some grave news. Some very grave news. Because of shortages for the solider stationed in Vimbaultir, the orphanage was forced to let some of its kids go. Normally, we would be thrown out after turning eighteen, but when their hands were forced, they changed it to fifteen, and so… here I am.”

“I’m… I’m terribly sorry, Nina,” he shook his head, to which the girl tried to contain her sorrow as the thoughts of her past life drifted across her consciousness.

“What about you?” She looked up into his green eyes. “Are you from around here as well?”

“I… I’m sorry,” he shrunk into his coat, avoiding her gaze. “I don’t often talk about my home. It’s quite… painful. I’m sure you would have no interest in it either.”

“Of course I would!” She exclaimed, leaning towards him. “You showed me- Ander, you’ve shown me kindness. True kindness. I sat in the snow, not a spec of food or hope to spare, and you lent me a hand. The least I can do is listen to your story… I’m sure if you tell me about it, well, maybe it could… help?”

“You won’t-” he gulped, pausing before speaking any further. “-You won’t judge me for my past? The few people I’ve told my origins to, let’s just say they found me quite repulsive afterward.”

“Who am I to judge you?” She was absolute with her words, moving a bit closer to the boy again. He could feel her breath reach him through the dry, cold air, even through his many layers. “On the little life I have left, I will show you no judgment. Honest.”

“A-Alright,” he stuttered, preparing himself to divulge his past, the very past he had hidden deep within the recesses of his soul. “I… I come from Sylrel. The cursed city. I was there when it caught aflame, and I fled during its fall. But not without scars, I’m afraid...”

He removed the mitten from his left hand and presented Nina with his palm. The chars of his burns were now permanent in his skin, the lines of black making sharp contrasts with the pale skin it resided on. While his burns were no longer infected or dangerous to him, they had made eternal residence on his flesh, forever with him even as time went on. She gasped in response, covering her mouth as she examined the burns of his hand. That act of sympathy, her display of care and compassion, only tore Ander apart further. Am I… falling for this girl?

“I lost… Everything in that fire,” he mouthed the words, going on as he reached into his coat. He pulled out a small piece of parchment, folded up to preserve what was transcribed on it. Handing it to her, she opened it up to stare down at his family portrait.“I lost… Them.”

Nina, with eyes full of sorrow, examined the lost faces of the Idrises, tearing up as she took in the magnificent portrait. Being his most, and only, prized possession, it was in the same condition as he had received it in, regardless of the many long, cold nights. Even without knowing anything beyond his name or place of origin, Nina found herself crying over his dead family, wiping her tears so as to not let them fall on the paper. When she finally gave it back, Ander stowed it away as the girl stowed away her emotions.

“I’m, *hicc*, I’m so sorry, Ander,” she shuddered, but not from the cold. “Forgive me, I didn’t know. I’m sorry for bringing it up.”

“It’s… It’s quite alright,” he shook his head, looking conflicted all the while. “It’s rather strange, really. It’s been so long since it all happened, and yet… I just can’t bring myself to, to…”

Tears swelled up in his eyes. It was all coming undone. The cold, impenetrable tomb of his emotions and plagues was beginning to burst open and out came the torrent of all his woes and torment. He did his best to stifle his sobbing, and Nina was quick to try and comfort him.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he repeated, clearing his eyes of emotion with the fabric of his coat. “Please forgive me, I didn’t mean to well up like this.”

“No, Ander, I mean…” she put a hand on his shoulder, eyeing him with a sincere gaze. As his vision cleared, he couldn’t help but revel in her beauty. Her pale lips, her pert nose, her glistening silver eyes and her slightly crimson cheeks. Whether it was the excess of emotion running through him, or the months he had endured without a lick of kinship, it didn’t matter. He was absolutely smitten by the young girl, he could say that for certain. “I’ve heard things about Sylrel. I had those I cared about at the orphanage, but… to lose your family, I just can’t imagine.”

“...” He had no response as the two continued to look deeply into one other’s souls. The thoughts of his familial tragedy crept down his back, replaced by an overwhelming urge to speak his mind. His extreme lack of connection, the ages he spent alone: it was all too much. He was at his breaking point, and at last, he spoke.

“N-Nina, I think… I think I’m in love with you…”

“Mhm!” She froze up, her silver eyes widening as her back straightened. A thousand thoughts rushed across Ander’s mind as the two stared at each other, unwilling to speak. Everything had happened so fast. Not five minutes ago, the two were total strangers. All it had taken was a small showing of humanity to make the boy fall head over heels for the silver-haired lass. “M-Me? N-No, you cou- Mhm!”

Without any intent on his part, he leaned forward and kissed the girl, making contact with her lips as her disjointed response ceased entirely. There was tranquility in the exchange, and, surprising to Ander, there wasn’t any rejection put up by Nina. It lasted no longer than a second, after which the boy leaned back, his face painted with dark crimson. It had been his first kiss, one that his body made for him.

“I think I am.”

Seconds of painful silence ensued. Fearing he had made a grave mistake or one that would make Nina run off frightened, he began to apologize profusely for his actions.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” He waved his hands in the air, flustered beyond belief. “I’ve just been- I’ve been so alone! I’ve had no one, Nina, no one, and, and, *hicc*, you’re the first person I’ve spoken to, an-”

He was cut off as a hand was laid on the front of his coat, silencing him in an instant. His eyes had strayed away from the girl out of embarrassment, but when he fell quiet, he gazed over at her. Much like in his eyes, tears began to form in hers, running down her open face as snow drifted down from above. Tranquility regained the air, and as Ander’s heart continued to beat like a little steel drum, Nina spoke softly to the boy.

“I-It’s okay,” she said, a smile on her pale lips. “It’s… Okay…”

Slowly - very slowly - the two crept forward, inching closer as their eyes began to fall close. Feeling one another’s breaths on their cheeks, they closed the distance, and kissed again. Heat flourished in the embrace, far stronger and more abundant than any vent could muster. The seconds ticked by, but neither felt any insistence on pulling back. For the first time in months, Ander, with all of his body and soul, felt warm, and above all, he felt connection.

The kiss ended with a quiet *Chuu*, the two of them wearing dark shades of rose on their cheeks. They couldn’t bring themselves to look one another in the eye, finding sights to look at so long as it wasn’t their partner. Their relationship, which just a moment ago had been a simple friendship created over a meal, had grown into something much stronger. Neither had any idea what came next, but worry wasn’t present in them. Finally, Ander spoke.

“Do you promise not to laugh at me, Nina?”

*Nod*

“That was my… That was my first kiss, right there… honest.”

Silence returned as he finished speaking, but only for a second as a few chuckles began to manifest out of Nina’s mouth. Ander, feeling betrayed, looked up at once and admonished her. “H-Hey, I said no laughing!”

“No, no,” she giggled, covering her mouth, “It’s just funny - it was mine as well.”

“Hah, hah,” he began to smile, relaxing against the increasingly warm brick wall. He felt no hesitation looking into her silver eyes. They gleaned with hope. “I suppose that is funny, really.”

“I’ve been alone too, Ander,” she looked off at the wall opposite to them, hugging her padded legs against the front of her coat. After their embrace, the two were considerably closer, as close as they could be given their winter layerings. “All I’ve had are these, these matches here. That’s it. No friends. No family. Just a box of matches I found the day it began snowing, discarded on the street. I’ve been trying to sell them ever since, thinking I may get another meal out of them… To be honest, I’m surprised I’ve made it this long… Alone.”

“Nina-”

“But,” she put a hand up, silently requesting his patience. “But you… I moved on your alley, I brushed you off, and yet, you still chose to help me… There are some pretty bad people out there, Ander. But every once in a while, you find a good one. I have half a mind to say I found a good one today… Thank you.”