Steel Hearts

Chapter Ten: Keeper

Snow awoke before Nessa, blinding himself from the radiant light the sun had from outside. He slowly stood and made his way to the mouth of the cave. He looked out at the snowy terrain and watched as the white clouds above scattered and became distant. The sun beamed down brightly and the sky a usual morning azure blue. He scanned over the area quickly and soon his eyes stopped upon something sticking out of snow not too far from the tunnel. He looked back at Nessa, sleeping peacefully with a warm smile placed on her face and smirked, "She's actually cute when she's sleep..."

After chuckling to himself, he made way to the object sticking out the snow. As he drew closer, a weird feeling fell upon him. A longing sensation wrapped itself around him and his heart clenched, vibrated, and soon dropped. He stared at the object, transfixed. He bent over and picked it up, its' snow white surface cold and wet. Darkness consumed the sides of the gun, unique swirls running through the darkness. As he touched the long, but wide barrel, his mind slightly went blank. He felt at ease and for some reason, he felt secure with the weapon. "Is this...mine...?" He said to himself.

"You think?"

He jumped back and quickly pointed the gun at Nessa in a swift manner. She stood dazed, "U-Um..."

He became at ease soon, "Don't sneak up on me. Remember that rule."

"R-Rule?! When did we start making rules here?!"

"Just now." He said casually with a smirk. "Sleep alright?"

She dropped the past conversation, shaking her head and sighing, "Yeah...What about you?"

"Comfy." He lied.

"Whatever." She looked out and noticed they were near the top of a mountain. "Still confused to how in the hell I got up here..."

He shrugged his shoulder and stared back at the gun he carried, mesmerized by its' weight and figure. Nessa looked over at him, then to the gun, and then back at him curiously, "You really like that gun. Do you remember something?"

"Not exactly. But, I feel...good holding it."

"Right..." She responded, giving him a awkward look.

She fled from the scene and returned to the cave. He followed after her and watched as she gathered her stuff. He looked at her sideways, "Er...what are you doing?"

"Don't tell me you plan on sitting on your ass here all day? Time to move, Snow."

He felt a sense of authority from her and found himself packing his own stuff, or atleast what he believed to be his, "R-Right...So, where do you plan on going?"

"Someplace away from here. I hate the cold more than anything."

"At least we agree on something." He smiled.

Nessa paused for a brief moment, resumed moving, and once again paused, puzzled by a odd feeling. Snow noticed and with a perplexed look, he asked her, "Is everything alright with you?"

"Not exactly. I'm getting a weird feel from something..."

"What are you the "Chosen One" or something?" He laughed.

"Haha...very clever." She mocked.

"Young miss, you are certainly weird."

She gave him a amused smile, slightly blushing, "And you aren't...?"

"Finally. I have found you."

Together, Snow and Nessa cut their eyes to the mouth of the cave. Jinx stood tall, scanning his sharp golden eyes over Nessa. She suddenly shuddered and fell to the ground, "W-What are you doing here...?!"