Snow Leopard (bxb)

Chapter 1- A Fresh Start

[Nobu ^]

"Nobu?" my mother called.

"Here mum!" I shouted back. I heard her footsteps on the paving and the sound of the garden gate opening.

"What are you doing out here dear?" she asked me and brushed a loose strand of strawberry blond hair behind her ear that had escaped from her bun and looked down at me. I sat on the ground, leaning against our new fence.

"The gardens pretty much a ground floor balcony, it's shit. There's no grass or shade. The view on this side it much better." I explained. She scowled at me a little from the vulgar language but took in the view I had been admiring. We had just moved houses, moved towns. We were a lot more further up North than before. My father got offered a higher position in his company over here as there had been an opening so we all packed up and moved. I didn't really mind, I was kind of excited actually. I wasn't the biggest fan of our previous town, for obvious reasons, a fresh start sounded good.

My mother and I gazed out at the landscape before us; forest started right outside the garden gate and led to nearby mountains that disappeared up into the clouds. "I'm really happy father's job brought us further up north." I told her. The mountains and their snow-capped tops called out to me in a primal and instinctual way. I felt a lot more at home here already.

"I bet your glad it doesn't get as hot over here hmm?" she guessed and I nodded.

"Lots more snow too." I couldn't help but smile at the thought, I loved the snow. I couldn't wait till winter. She smiled at that. The family had been worried about me of late, I rarely shifted and I had no friends at school. I spent most of my time at home either in my room or in the garden if it was too hot. I didn't do well in heat, I overheated very easily, but I never got cold, I loved the cold.

"How are you feeling?" she pushed.

"Hot." I grumbled. It was the end of the summer at the moment, the beginning of September, it was too hot. We we're experiencing an end of summer heatwave and it was hell. It was why my family had insisted that I go and sit in the garden whilst they moved everything in, I wouldn't be any help, I would just get hyperthermia and pass out.

"Well we've got everything in, your things are ready to be unpacked in your room when it cools down. Why don't you go into town and get some ice-creams with your brothers and sister?" she encouraged. My ears pricked up at the sound of the cold treat, I knew she just wanted me to get out of the house and explore the town, but I was all up for bribery.

"Sounds good." I agreed and languidly stood up, my ass feeling numb from sitting on the ground for a considerable amount of time. My mother smiled and turned, heading back through the gate and I followed her, closing it as I walked through.

"Emelia! Jasper! Otto!" my mother called as she walked into the house, I heard their footsteps thunder down the stairs.

"Yes ma?" Otto's deep voice rumbled as the giant oaf reached the bottom of the stairs followed by the slightly smaller Jasper and the agile and lithe Emelia.

"I was suggesting to Nobu that the four of you go into town and explore, getting some ice-creams on the way of course." she added for my benefit.

"Sounds lit." Emelia declared and I frowned at the 'cool' word, I hated those slang terms, I mean where the hell did 'lit' come from? I know what it meant, I just didn't understand it.

"I'm down." Jasper nodded his head and Otto was already making his way over to the door.

"Be careful, look after each other." my mother yelled as we shut the door, motherly concern in her voice.