She chirps his name, and Erik... he's not used to hearing it in an accent that's not among his own. It allows the shadow of a smile to play at the corner of his lips, and behind his eyes too. The boy relaxes, to a degree. It's different... Ember is. She's not family, and this is probably the first time he's been truly alone with a not-family girl. A pretty girl, too, if he had to remind himself. He reminds himself to smile at her... intentionally. Looking confident was easy, friendly? That's a bit harder.
Leading the way through the snow, Erik makes a point to leave large enough tracks for Ember to step in. They would be a bit more packed, and as long as he shortened his stride, she shouldn't have to hop too much to close the gaps. Right, she had every right to ask about where they were going. It wasn't a long walk, though it was a little hilly at the end. They were coming to the close of it now, a few large boulders to scramble and then they were home free.
"Better view." Erik's words were ragged and frayed at the edges, the crystal damage more than clear. As they approached the scramble, Erik anchored himself against the bottom boulder, leaning in hard. He offered his other shoulder to boost Ember, orange gaze glimmering ever so slightly.
"Speech"
Warning: posts from this character often involve body horror.
Erik has a Norwegian forest cat that is assumed with him at all times.
