THE ARCANE ORDER (KoTLC fanfic)

The Boy Who Was Cold But Warm

Sophie Foster was six, when her family took a winter trip to Canada. She remembered getting lost, in the thick forest behind the cabin her parent's had rented. But instead of feeling scared, like a normal child her age should have been, Sophie was just grateful for the small peace and quite her mind was having.

No loud, bothersome human thoughts.

She continued like that for a while, enjoying the peace silence brought to her mind. Was it wrong for her to not want to return? Maybe it was was, but then again she was a child, so doing things in a whim wasn't much of a struggle.

Sophie remembered being surprised at the sudden presence. Her gaze was on the floor when a pair of very peculiar feet came out of the blue. Sophie looked up and was greeted with the sight of an unusual boy.

He was full of quirks. For starters, the boy wore no shoes, despite the freezing cold, and he seemed unbothered by the black forsbites on his toes. His hands were a matching black to his toes, forsbiten as well. A long black robe reached past his knees, and a hood was over his head-- it, however, did nothing to hide the boy's face.

Sophie stared at him for a while, mesmerized by his cold beauty. She jumped at the sound of his voice, a little too deep to fit his young appearance.

"Child", the boy bent down on his knees, and opened his arms, much like Sophie's father did when he was about to lift her up, "Come, you must be cold."

As soon as the boy finished talking, a chill ran through Sophie's spine. She had payed no mind to the cold until he had mentioned it. It seemed almost like the boy has evoked the cold by speaking of it.

Sophie ran into the boy's arms, and despite the cold, her cheeks were red with shame. The boy chuckled a little bit at the sight.

"You didn't hesitate to some into my arms. I don't know whether to call you fearless or foolish."

Sophie raised her gaze, confused, and then realized what the boy most likely meant.

The boy's skin was a pale shade of blue, like that of a drowned corspe, there was a black marking that went from his bottom lip all the way to the end of his chin. His eyes were yellow and glowed in the darkness, in addition, were there should have been white, the boy's irises were surrounded by a deep black. On top of his head rested the skull of a horned animal, Sophie wasn't sure what animal it was, but she admired the immense horns that came out of it.

From a distance, the boy's silluette would have been scary. But Sophie wasn't looking at him from a distance, she was looking at him from up close, and, in her most sincere opinion, he looked beautiful.

His eyes and attire reminded Sophie of a black cat.

The boy picked her up and walked towards a tree, then he sat down with her on his lap. Silence revolved around them for a while. Sophie being too shy to speak up. She had always been shy, even before she won that damn spelling bee contest and skipped many grades at school. Plus, it didn't seem like the boy had anything to say either.

But there was one question that wouldn't leave her mind. So, bracing herself with what little bravery she could manage, she called to him in a low voice.

"Mister, mister..."

"Ah, so you can talk. Say, what is it?", Sophie's cheeks redenned even more at his words. Had he found her lack of speach annoying?

Pushing that thought to the back of her mind, Sophie let out the question she originally was meaning to ask.

"What's your name?", the boy didn't answer for a while, Sophie panicked, thinking she may have insulted him in some way. Until he smiled softly and finally answered, "I am Skrael of the north wind."

Of the north wind? Was that the boy's last name? Sophie's questions were written all over her face, Skrael took notice of this, but made no comment regarding the matter.

They stayed like that for a long time, Sophie was surprised to find out how comforting the boy's cold embrace was.

It was similar to an igloo(Sophie remembered reading about the peculiar houses in a book). A layer of cold that protected you from the cold. Skrael was her igloo, Sophie concluded, he was her safe place in the storm.

For a small child like Sophie, who was scared out of her guts for many different reasons, the mere presence of the peculiar boy was, in itself, comforting.

Sophie didn't notice, at least not at that time, even when she bid her good-byes with Skrael, who promised that that would not be their last meeting, or even when she was scolded by her worried parents after her safe return. She didn't notice that while she was in the cold yet warm embrace of the boy, not only had she been sheltered from the cold, but also from the piercing, loud human thoughts.

"Sometimes all we need to loose it, is a little push."