that one stupid song

Mother was out and about again. No reason to stick around if Recluse and his favorite brother, Macabre, were busy doing whatever they were doing. Growing bored of wandering Redbud Nook and Mount Vulkan by himself, the pale spotted boy took off toward the southern areas of the east. Snow whipped around him in small gales as it threatened to drift and build higher and higher. Not that it bothered him much. Leaving the trio of companions he kept back in his den, Ghoul felt free to wander wherever his soul took him without worrying the reptiles would freeze.

Leaving a silent trail of prints in the snow, he hadn't thought to stop and check where he was until large mangrove trees began rising around him. Pausing a moment to look around, he noticed a familiar figure not far off in the distance. Tucked away under a mangrove, the large girl around his age seemed to be piling snow into a mound. Careful to avoid any of the frozen-over waterways that danced between the gnarled roots, Ghoul made his way over to her. Before he could say a word, he could tell that she had noticed him.

When her gaze blinked up at him, he felt his insides twist into knots. As his name left her lips, his own mouth went dry and his brain dead. What was he supposed to say again? Feeling bashful, he inhaled a quick, sharp breath of frigid air to clear his thoughts. Blinking a few times himself to rid his brain of the fog, he took a few steps closer to her. He stopped when she turned her head away from him as if she were embarrassed. Flicking his gaze from her to her mound of snow, he felt his own face twist slightly to the side in confusion.

"Edelweiss," he murmured quietly as his ears turned down against his crown. "Would you like some help?" The boy offered, still unsure of what exactly she was doing. Meeting her soft gaze, he realized how pretty the color of her eyes was. Almost the color of moss, he was lost in them for another moment before he gave his head a shake and took a few more steps closer. "I can help build your... snow wolf, is it?" A tender smile itches at the corner of his lips while he waits hesitantly for her answer.

WC 670/1500