(Untitled)

[sallyslingshot]

Alex had never seen snow before. For that matter, she'd never really even experienced cold weather before, at least not by most people's definition; there had been chilly evenings, days that seemed cooler than the rest, but she knew full well that it could have been much, much more than that. Having spent all her life in a climate so similar to

Comments

[giftless]

"Look out!"

Edmund himself did not like snow overmuch, but Honour, being a direwolf and therefore naturally equipped for the environment, had a much different sentiment on the matter. Today he had decided to steal one of Edmund's gloves before he could put it on and dashed down the boardwalk, taking enough of a lead to leave his human half-walking, half-running after him. Having lured Edmund very close, Honour had just taken off on another sprint, Edmund following. The direwolf was headed straight for the girl when Edmund shouted his alarm, but took a sharp turn to the right and into the foliage before hitting her.

Edmund, not nearly so agile, skidded and fell backwards, saving himself from hitting the ground completely with one hand. He blinked up at the girl, cheeks flushed and a bit out of breath, and smiled. "Sorry," he said. "He's a right troublemaker."

[sallyslingshot]

Attention pulled from the falling snow by the commotion in time to see the very large animal running towards her, but not to react, Alex was noticeably relieved when it veered off the path, exhaling heavily with one chilly hand pressed to her chest. More than anything, it had just been startling, not so scary as to leave her too shaken, but still trying to catch her breath. It wasn't, after all, the sort of thing that she could have expected.

"Don't worry about it," she said anyway, teeth pressing to her lower lip to hold back a smile as she looked down at the boy who'd fallen, holding her hand out. "Just took me by surprise, is all. Need help?"

[giftless]

"A little, please," he said with a laugh, reaching up to take her hand with his ungloved one. Edmund was not nearly so proud that he could not laugh at the ridiculous position he was in.

On his feet again, he brushed the snow off of himself. "He's so used to the tropical climate, I think he gets silly when the snow appears again. It's what he was born for, you see."

[sallyslingshot]

"Oh yeah?" Alex asked, her eyebrows lifting along with the corners of her mouth, genuinely interested. It seemed understandable enough to her; in terms of climate, she might have been exactly the same, but the arrival of the snow had her shedding some inhibitions, able to do nothing but marvel at how fresh and beautiful everything looked all covered in white. "He must really be enjoying this, then. I think it's gorgeous."

[giftless]

"It's .. nice, yes," Edmund begrudgingly agreed. The cold had not yet crept into him, under his skin, and he could appreciate the winter wonderland objectively. "I prefer the regular weather. Without the cold and the having to bundle up all the time. But that's a little hard on a direwolf."

[sallyslingshot]

"Oh, I think it would drive me crazy if it were like this for too long," Alex allowed, exhaling as she tilted her head to the side. She was made for warm weather, had known nothing else; this was a refreshing change, but she knew full well she could never have lived like this long-term. "So that's what he is? A direwolf? I don't know that I've ever heard of them."

[giftless]

"You probably haven't," Edmund said, nodding. Snow fell with a thump from a bush, the only evidence of Honour moving about in the deep shadows, and Edmund's head jerked in that direction on reflex. He grinned faintly at the girl again and shrugged.

"This one-- Well, this one's parents, I should say -- come from a place called Westeros. And even there they're not exactly common, if I understand it correctly. But a few followed their people here."

[sallyslingshot]

The name of the place, at least, sounded vaguely familiar, though Alex couldn't quite identify where she had heard it before. She nodded along anyway, the movement slow, a way of saying that she understood. It made sense, as far as she could see. If people came from all over, different times and lands and worlds, there was no reason why animals shouldn't, too.

"That's really neat," she said, earnest. "That they followed the people here. And then... had more, it sounds like?"

[giftless]

"Yes," he confirmed with a grin. "We don't have any veterinarians here, and even so I think anyone would want to take on a direwolf. Sometimes I think they're almost Talking Beasts. Or like humans, I should say," he amended. Even with all his time on the island, sometimes Edmund forgot that people wouldn't know what he was talking about at all times.

"They disappear like humans too, though," he said, a little less cheerfully. "There used to be quite a few more."

[sallyslingshot]

Alex, whose experience with disappearances was limited but still so recent as to be painful, nodded once, though kept her expression schooled. She had to wonder, though, what Ben would have thought of this weather, and of her reaction to it. Most of the time, she tried to convince herself that she didn't miss him, that she was better off without him, but it didn't always work. Now was one of those times.

"I guess that's the way everything works around here," she allowed, lips pursed thoughtfully. Blinking a few times, almost apologetic, she held out a hand and added, "I'm Alex, by the way. Sorry."

[giftless]

Edmund smiled faintly as he took her hand with his still ungloved one. He did need to get that back, but stuffed in his pocket his fingers didn't freeze. Honour wouldn't let him suffer too badly.

"No, I'm sorry," he said, though to be honest he had been a little hesitant to offer his name to people these days. This, of course, wasn't helped by his usually friendly nature. "Edmund. Edmund Pevensie. Pleasure to meet you, Alex."

[sallyslingshot]

"Yeah, you too," Alex agreed, letting a smile lift the corners of her mouth again. The name sounded slightly familiar, but not enough to be identifiable, and it wasn't anything she was especially concerned with, knowing that around here, it wasn't too uncommon. "So you've been here a while, it sounds like?"

[giftless]

"More than two years," he said after a small, considering pause. "I forget how long it's been sometimes, until I stop and think about it. What about you?" Edmund asked, his brow crinkling slightly. "I think I've seen you around, but not a lot."

[sallyslingshot]

"Only about six months," Alex answered, "which is probably why." Observant as she typically was, most of the people who'd been around for the time she had were familiar by sight, but that gave her no bearing on how long they had been around. "It feels like longer, though, most of the time."

[giftless]

"Time's funny around here," Edmund said agreeably. He grinned as he continued, "Well, time's funny everywhere, I suppose, and in some places it's magical, but especially here. Nothing will happen for weeks and then everything will happen at once in two days. It makes time drag on so."

[sallyslingshot]

"Yeah, it really does," Alex said with a short laugh, downplaying the absolute truth in it. She supposed she ought to have been grateful for it, and, really, she was, but just because she had here what she wouldn't have anywhere else didn't mean she always had to like it, didn't stop her from missing home. "That's it exactly. It's like, you spend so much time just waiting, and then everything happens all at once."