Love Blossoms in Strange Conditions (Werewolf x Herb)

Chapter 5

It had been a while since Werewolf had last spoken to Herb. The howling of the wind was heard outside the cave of the mountains, whistling within the walls for Werewolf to hear. His ear twitched to the sounds, keeping his eyes closed as he faced away from the entrance. Crystals hung upon the walls, letting off a blueish hue of light that reflected off of Werewolf's face. He sat on the rough floor, keeping his hands on his lap as he sat in a meditative position. The noises around him didn't distract him though, but rather it was his thoughts that he focused on.

He contemplated the recent events from a few days back, back when Snow Sugar was found all alone in the mountains, sobbing their feelings away. Werewolf couldn't help but wince at the thought of a child being alone in the cold, especially when it was when they needed company the most. Although the thought harmed him, he was happy to be there for Snow Sugar: he felt good about being there for Snow Sugar. Werewolf thought to himself about the irony of the situation, on how despite Werewolf believing the best thing he could do for people was leave them for good, he couldn't help but be there for them. Werewolf did his best to shake off the thought and tried to bring up a different subject for himself.

The subject of Herb quickly popped up. Werewolf wasn't sure how he felt about Herb, but he didn't feel against Herb. He knew he had some connection with him, but he wasn't sure what that connection was. Werewolf relaxed at the thought of some championship, it was about time Werewolf felt comfortable in the company of others. Werewolf admittedly liked the company of Herb, but there was too much fear within himself to continue enjoying the luxury of relationships.

Werewolf sighed at the revelation and decided to stop his meditation for the day.

He grunted as he supported himself off the floor, finally returning his attention to his surroundings, hearing the howls of the wind again. Werewolf wasn't sure if the meditation was working, but there was no point in doing anything else while he was alone, so it didn't hurt to try something new. Werewolf stood all the way up, letting his body stretch out after sitting on the floor for so long. He raised his arms in the air, getting a few cracks from his joints. He decided to take a walk: the cold wouldn't do much harm to him anyway.

Meanwhile, Herb was inside his warm home, reading one of the books that Eclair cookie had given to him as a gift. It was a book about the history of plant recordings, seeing the trial and errors of researching different plants. Herb was currently reading the section on mushrooms, something that Herb had not considered growing before.

Snow Sugar walked into the living room, seeing Herb sit on one of the couches near the fireplace.

"Hey, Herb?" Snow Sugar called out.

Herb put down his book, "yes?"

"When will I be able to go outside again?"

He sighed, "I don't know buddy. I would really like for you to go outside, I really do. The weather on the other hand doesn't seem to want to be nice today, so I'm afraid you can't go out today."

Snow Sugar glanced by a window that was covered by curtains. They walked over to the window, pulling back the covers as Herb went back to his book.

Outside, all Snow Sugar could see was a white fog brushing against the window. The fog was many tiny snowflakes, quickly rushing by to the current of the wind, making the town impossible to see. Snow Sugar looked out in disappointment as the snow kept going, closing the curtain back to its original state.

"Can we still have cocoa?" Snow Sugar asked in desperation.

"Of course. Just because we can't go outside doesn't mean we can't enjoy the drinks of winter."